Fun with Bok Choy

I'm still wading through my CSA box and have miraculously used up most of the lettuce, spinach, garlic scapes, and rhubarb. But today is Thurday - which is almost Friday - which means another CSA box to tackle!

Tonight (and lunch and dinner tomorrow) I'm endeavoring to use up all of the bok choy.

Of course I will be making a stir fry (typical and unimaginative, I know, but I really like stir fry for using up lots of veggies) and I'll also be making Spicy Thai Soup.

I wish I could give credit to whoever came up with the soup recipe, but it's one of those photo copies that has been lying around the house for eons. It may well have come from Alice (my step-mom, kinda) or it may have come from a Jane Brody or Moosewood cookbook. I really have no way of knowing.

In any case, I've had a summer cold that will not go away and soup sounds like a wonderful idea to me - even though it has been in the high 80s this week.

If you're looking to use up a little bok choy like I am or if you are in the mood for Thai, I hope you'll give this a try.

You will need:
1 TBSP finely chopped fresh ginger
(I just use a micro-plane because I'm too lazy to chop it)
4 cups vegetable broth
2 tsp minced garlic
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
(you could use just half if you don't like the heat)
1 cup sliced mushrooms of your choice
1 cup broccoli florets
(cut into bite-sized pieces...you don't want a knife with your soup)
1 cup finely chopped bok choy
1 green onion, finely chopped
1 TBSP finely chopped fresh cilantro

Place broth, ginger, garlic, and jalapeno in a pot and bring to a boil.

Add mushrooms and simmer for 2 minutes.

Add broccoli and bok choy. simmer until the broccoli is tender but still bright green and crisp - about 3 to 4 minutes. Do not overcook!

Stir in green onion and cilantro and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Light, Bright, Citrus Dressing

Remember that CSA I talked about in my last post? 

Well, it has blessed me with an overabundance of lettuce.

Seriously, there is only so much you can do with lettuce!

I've tried pawning it off onto unsuspecting guests, I've made filling for numerous lettuce wraps, and I'm wading my way through troughs of salad.

The good news here is that having a truck load of salad greens means that I'm getting to try our a bunch of salad dressing recipes that I've been meaning to get around to.

Now I know that salad is the LAST thing you want to see on a vegan blog but I promise that I wouldn't share any salad with you if it weren't absolutely amazing...and this dressing truly is!

It's light and refreshing. It's bright and citrus-y. It's dressing but it blends in so well with your salad that it doesn't taste like you've covered it in dressing!

Because I have so much salad I made a giant amount of this dressing, stuck it in a canning jar, and popped it into the fridge for future use. Please feel free to half the recipe for smaller mountains of lettuce.

You will need:

1/2 cup orange marmalade

(I used organic orange preserves - my market didn't have orange marmalade)

1/4 cup lemon juice or 2 lemons, juiced

4 tsp Dijon mustard

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

(I used about 1 1/2 tsp salt and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper)

Whisk all of your ingredients together using a fork and voila! Your dressing is ready.

I will warn you that if you use orange preserves like I did, the dressing looks completely unappetizing - it's lumpy and clumpy and kind of gross looking. Trust me - you want to get past this initial gross-out factor because it tastes marvelous!

Greek salad with Vegan Feta

The one and only thing I've been missing since going vegan is feta cheese. 

Salty, briny, soft feta cheese...oh, how I miss you....

Or, rather, how I missed you until I came up with my own vegan feta!

You will need:

1 package of extra firm tofu 

(I like to use the Nasoya Cubed Super Firm Tofu)

1 1/2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 TBSP red wine vinegar

3-4 tsp liquid from olives

(sine you'll be using olives in your salad, you'll have this on hand)

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp fresh garlic, minced

2 TBSP tahini

1 TBSP lemon juice

First, you'll want to drain the tofu as it's packed in water. 

Be sure to squeeze out any excess water by pressing the tofu between paper towels.

In a small bowl, whisk together the other ingredients until thoroughly combined.  

Add the tofu to the bowl and stir a few times until it is entirely coated with the "feta" mixture.

Let sit in refrigerator to marinate for at least an hour before adding to your salad.

For your Greek salad you'll need:

Crisp, yummy romaine lettuce

1 Roma tomato, cut into small cubes

A few slices of cucumber

A few slices of thinly sliced red onion

A spoonful of Greek olives 

(or more if you like)

A heaping spoonful of my vegan feta

2 or 3 peperoncini 

(These are optional. I know tons of Greek salad fiends who leave them out.)

Assembly is definitely up to you so use the ingredients "how much you like it."

I dress my Greek salads with Annie's roasted garlic dressing and a little splash of red wine vinegar (you know, since it's handy from making the feta).

Hope you enjoy and be sure to share with your non-veggie friends. 

Happy eating!

Hearty Shrimp and Corn Chowder

Not exactly a soup, this chowder will still warm your belly!

You will need:

4 slices bacon, stacked and diced
1 each medium onion and red pepper, diced
3 TBSP flour
1 lb red-skinned potatoes, cut in ½ inch chunks (3 cups)
2 cups milk (no more than 2%)
1 can (14 ½ oz.) chicken broth (low sodium)
1 can (14 ½ oz.) whole-kernel corn, drained
1 TBSP fresh (or 1 tsp dried) thyme leaves
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 lb raw medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and cut bite-size
 

Heat a 3- to 4-quart saucepan over medium heat. When you cut the bacon, I like to use kitchen sheers - they make it a lot easier to cut the bacon into pieces without tearing it to shreds.  

Add bacon; cook until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain well on paper towels and reserve.

Drain off all but 1 TBSP fat. You can pour the fat into a jar and keep it in the fridge to use for other things (like pancakes!).  

Add onion and red pepper and cook, stirring as needed, 5 minutes or until soft. It's important that the veggies are soft but not browned. Once they start to soften, keep an eye on them because the color will turn quickly.

Add flour; stir until blended with fat. Stir in remaining ingredients except shrimp.

Bring to a boil, stirring bottom of saucepan and taking care to get into corners. Reduce heat, partially cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. It's really important to keep your eye on this step. You want the potatoes to be tender but not mush.

Add the shrimp and simmer 1 to 2 minutes or until cooked through. When shrimp are cooked, they change color - they'll turn opaque instead of clear. 

 Ladle into soup plates, sprinkle with bacon and serve immediately.

Happy eating!

Tarragon Mushroom Wild Rice Soup

Rachel Ray would call this a "stewp" because it is thicker than a soup but not as substantial as stew.

I prefer my soup to have lots of body but if you like your soup a little thinner, start with 6 cups of chicken stock and add water as needed. You can also add sherry to it, if you want a little extra flavor.

 

You will need:

4 tbsp butter

3 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
3-4 TBSP flour
4-6 cups chicken broth

1 cup wild rice, cooked 
4 cups chicken breast, cooked
1 cup low fat milk (add more as needed)
1 cup tarragon, chopped 
Salt and pepper for seasoning
12 oz. fresh mushrooms (sautéed in extra butter)
 

Heat olive oil in soup pot. Sauté the carrots, garlic, onion, and celery until softened.  Add
chicken broth and wild rice. Simmer 30 to 40 minutes. 

While rice cooks, make a white sauce by melting butter in pan; whisk flour; slowly add
milk. Stir until thick (8 to 10 minutes). 

Add white sauce, cooked chicken, and sautéed mushrooms to soup pot with rice. Add
tarragon, salt and pepper and cook until just heated through. 

Happy eating!

Black Bean and Corn Soup

This recipe comes to you courtesy of Sue Edy, one of my coworkers. She calls it her "can't go wrong" black bean soup - and she's right!

2 TBSP olive oil

1/2 cup yellow onions, chopped

2 cans black beans
1 med jar of chunky salsa 
1 can of corn
1 cup of broth (chicken or vegetable)
 
Soften onions in oil.  Mash one can of black beans. Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan. Do not drain cans. Heat to desired temperature and enjoy. 

I also add two finely chopped jalapenos because I like the heat.  

Sprinkle grated cheese on top and serve with a few tortilla chips.

You can also add a few cups of cooked chicken or ground turkey or beef. This would make it a lot more like a chili. 

Happy eating!

Curried Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Autumn is my favorite time of year! I love the colors and the smells and how it gets crisp and cold at night. But mostly I love that it's cold enough outside to do some cooking!

In honor of autumn, you will find a week of soup recipes - some of my favorites for dinner on a cold night. The boyfriend and I just picked up a bunch of apples, so I will definitely be making this one soon!

To start, one of my new favorites,  

Curried Butternut Squash and Apple Soup.

You will need:

4 tablespoons butter  

2 cups yellow or white onions, chopped  

1 stick of celery, chopped  

4 teaspoons curry powder   

2 medium butternut squashes, peeled and cubed  

3 Honey Crisp or MacIntosh variety apples, peeled and chopped  

1 cup apple cider  

Salt and pepper, to taste 

In a heavy pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add onions, celery, and curry powder. Cook until vegetables are tender, approximately 5-10 minutes. 

Add squash, apples, and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until squash and apples are tender. Drain, reserving liquid. 

Return one cup of liquid to the pot. Using a hand mixer, puree the apple-squash mixture. 

Add cider and mix by hand. Add additional reserved liquid until you have the consistency soup that you want. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Happy eating!

Fried Goat Cheese Salad

 
As I mentioned in my last blog post, I have given up cheese for Lent. At first it was incredibly difficult to make it through lunch - there is cheese in just about everything you can imagine!

Fridays have been especially difficult as the meatless options tend to revolve around mac n'cheese, quiche, and pizza. Not only are these options full of cheese but none of them are going to help me work on keeping this girlish figure.

Since Lent began I've figured out numerous cheese substitutes and, while most days I think I could potentially give up dairy products completely, there are some instances where I really do crave a little cheese.

This Saturday was one of those days. Some of my very best girlfriends came over for an entire day of cooking, eating and girl talk. By the end of the day we were so stuffed to the gills that we sat staring at each other blankly across the dining room table, too full and tired to speak.

Believe me when I tell you that I ate more than my fair share this weekend, so you really shouldn't feel at all bad for me when I say that there was one dish - my favorite salad - that I was unable to eat and it made me so sad I'd have given up all the rest of the meals just for this one.

Please make this recipe and enjoy it, for me.

Fried Goat Cheese Salad

This quick and easy salad is perfect as an appetizer or as a light lunch. 

To make this salad, I start with a bed of mixed herb salad.

I then prepare the goat cheese.

Note that because goat cheese is so soft and prone to falling apart, I use dental floss to "cut" it into small medallions.

Meanwhile, I preheat a nonstick skillet to medium heat with a few tablespoons of olive oil. You'll know your pan is hot when you can easily swish the oil in the pan and it moves quickly.


Next, I bread the goat cheese medallions. You will need only bread crumbs, no egg or milk, as the goat cheese is moist enough that the bread crumbs will stick without help.

In this case I used panko because I like the texture they add but you could just as easily use regular bread crumbs.


Once all of the medallions are coated, place them into the pan. Do not touch them for at least one minute, lest you mush them. (I hope I don't need to tell you what happens when you fry cheese directly on a hot surface, without a bread crumb barrier.)

After about one minute or when the medallions have become golden and crispy and the goat cheese has begun to melt, flip the goat cheese medallions to cook on the other side.

While those crisp up, slice your tomato, making sure that each slice is the same width as the goat cheese medallions.


Plate your tomato slices on top of your herb salad and follow with the warm, gooey, crispy goat cheese medallions.

I generally serve this salad without dressing but I have tried it with balsamic vinaigrette and it is delicious that way as well.

I recommend you plan serve two or three half-inch medallions to each person.


Happy eating!