Category: Winter

by Veggie Sutra

Seasonal Vegetarian Recipes – Winter in California

I will be away this weekend on a business trip to Vegas and V is still heads-down at work.  So it doesn’t look like we will be able to post anything new.  The blog is still new and there aren’t that many posts, but I thought I would post a compilation of seasonal winter recipes.

California is facing one of the worst drought in decades, although as I look out the window, I see rain clouds and with it blossoms a slight glimmer of hope in my heart.    I was not able to chat with any of the farmers at our Saturday Farmer’s Market about the rain situation, but I am sure the drought puts a lot of stress on them.  I hope all of us are being conscious of our water usage.  We owe it to this Golden State of ours; beautiful, sunny California.

Below is a compilation of recipes from the winter vegetables I got from the farmer’s market this season, including root vegetables (parsnips, turnips, radishes, and beets), leeks, winter squashes (butternut, kabocha, delicata), and cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, broccoli rapini, collard greens, mustard greens, kale, and oh, bok choy which is the only one I cannot stand).

Sunnyvale Farmer’s Market

Sides:
Broccoli-Potato Salad
Beetroot Dip with Yogurt
Baked Delicata Squash Rings
Warm Kale Salad with Pear
Kale Smoothie

Broccoli Potato Salad

Main dish / Entree:
Chinese Stir Fry with Kale, Cabbage, Brussel Sprouts and Seitan
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Root Vegetable Chili

Szechuan Stir Fry with Seitan and Cruciferous Vegetables

Dessert:
Butternut Squash Halva

Butternut Squash Halva

Do let me know what seasonal recipes you have tried this winter.  And have a great, rainy weekend!   

by Veggie Sutra

A Super Bowl Recipe – Root Vegetable Chili

V is always slightly miffed that I am not that in to Super Bowl as he is (other than the ads and the half time show, of course!)   So this year, I decided to show my passion by cooking up a Super Bowl, a nutrient-rich, hearty, yummy chili with seasonal root vegetables.  Perfect for a late game day lunch!

Super Bowl- A root vegetable chili

I have been eyeing the amazing variety of root vegetables available at our farmer’s market this season and have been wondering how to make use of all the goodness.

Root Vegetables at the Sunnyvale Farmer’s Market

So I filled up my basket with golden beets, regular beets, rutabaga, turnips, watermelon radishes, black spanish radishes and good old carrots.

My basket from the farmer’s market filled with beets, turnips, carrots, radishes and rutabaga

The chili seemed like a great idea, a little bit of spiciness to balance the sweetness of the roots.  I used “harissa” to add the kick to the recipe.  It adds a unique flavor to the chili.  I bought a jar at Whole Foods.  You can also buy it online.  Or better still you can make your own with this wonderful recipe from one of my favorite food blogs: Smitten Kitchen.

Root Vegetable Chili for lunch on Super Bowl day

Here’s the recipe, without further ado.

Recipe for Root Vegetable Chili
[Printable Recipe]

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dried beans, like chick peas and kidney beans
  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 4 cloves
  • 1 piece cinnamon about 1 inch long 
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 medium bell pepper, chopped
  • A medley of 6 or 7 seasonal root vegetables (one each of beet, turnip, carrot, radish, rutabaga, potato, etc.), chopped in to bite-sized pieces to yield about 3 cups
  • 2 Tbsp harissa or chili paste
  • 2-3 sprigs of cilantro, chopped 
  • 2-3 sprigs of spring onion, chopped
  • Full-fat Yogurt for garnish (leave out for vegan option)
Chopped Root Vegetables
Method:
  • Soak the beans for a full day.  Change the water out a couple of times if needed
  • Cook the beans in a pressure cooker or simmer on the stove until the beans are soft and set aside
  • Heat the oil in a pot.  When the oil is hot, add the aromatics: cumin seeds, fennel seeds, dried oregano, cloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaves
  • After a couple of minutes when you can smell the spices, add the garlic, chopped onion and bell pepper and saute for 5-7 minutes
  • Add the root vegetables.   Add 1/4th cup of water.  Switch to low heat, close with a lid and cook for around 15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked
  • Add the cooked beans and harissa and heat through
  • Garnish with chopped cilantro and spring onion
  • Serve with a dollop of yogurt on top

Root Vegetable Chili

Hearty, healthy and absolutely yummy, this stew was our late lunch on Super Bowl day!  What did you have?

by Veggie Sutra

Super Bowl – Root Vegetable Chili

It’s Super Bowl tomorrow!  And I have planned a super bowl chili tomorrow for lunch – filled with the goodness of root vegetables I got from the farmer’s market today.

Carrots, Beets, Golden Beets, Turnips, Rutabaga, Black Spanish Radishes, Watermelon Radishes are what will go.   (By the way, beet greens are delicious.  Do not throw them away.  Wash, chop and cook with some cumin in ghee and chopped tomatoes.  Add salt to taste. Yummy!)

My basket filled with root vegetables

Recipe to be posted tomorrow.
by Veggie Sutra

More Squash Love – Stuffed Acorn Squash

I have an ongoing love affair with winter squashes during this season, as they add color to an otherwise dreary time of the year.  For just a dollar a pound at our local farmer’s market, I went crazy last weekend and got a whole variety of them.   Winter squashes will keep for a long time, so stock up on them when they are in season and store them in a cool, dark place in the pantry.

Stuffed Baked Acorn Squash

Winter squashes are very versatile and lend themselves to both sweet dishes and savory ones.  You can make halvah with butternut squash or add kabocha squash to lentil soups or roast delicata squash to make a healthy side dish.

Or you can feature the squash as your main entree.  Today, our entree of choice was stuffed white acorn squash.  The white acorn squashes are actually yellow in color as opposed to the green-golden ones usually found in the markets.   Both varieties are high in nutritional value, providing a good dose of vitamin A and C.

White Acorn Squash

I used brown rice, carrots and sunchokes (also known as Jerusalem artichokes) with some herbs in the stuffing.  If you cannot find sunchokes, use white potatoes instead.

Sunchokes, aka Jerusalem Artichokes
Acorn squashes are very hard on the outside, so you do need a sturdy chef knife to split it in to two.  I use my old, trusted Global Chef Knife for daunting tasks like attacking winter squashes.  I have had this knife for a very long time and love it like a family member.   

Unlike V who wants to buy every kitchen gadget he comes across, I believe in keeping a minimalist kitchen.  I do not see the need for a knife block that adorns every American kitchen counter.  I own an OXO 6-Inch Utility Knife for my everyday vegetable cutting, an 8″ Global Chef Knife which is actually multi-purpose and a Victorinox Serrated Knife for tomatoes.   That’s it. (The backside of my Global Chef Knife is also excellent for smashing garlic!)

Recipe for Stuffed Acorn Squash
[Printable Recipe]

(Makes an entree for 2 people)
Ingredients:

  • 1 medium acorn squash
  • 4 Tbsp butter or ghee (use olive oil for a vegan option)
  • 2 tsp dried thyme 
  • 1 tsp chili flakes
  • 2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 medium size carrot, chopped into small pieces
  • 3-4 medium sunchokes (also known as Jerusalem artichokes), peeled and chopped into small pieces (substitute with potato)
  • 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
  • salt to taste, paprika for garnish

Method:

  • Split the acorn squash in to 2 using a sturdy chef knife and remove the seeds 
  • Place cut side down in a baking dish and add a quarter of an inch of water to the baking dish
  • Bake at 400F for 30 mins.   After 30 mins, check if a knife goes through smoothly.  If not bake for a bit longer.
  • Let cool, then scoop the flesh out of the squash halves with a spoon, and chop roughly.   Place the shells back in the baking dish after emptying any remaining water
  • Heat the ghee (or olive oil) in a pan.  (Note:  If using butter, heat the butter on low heat until it becomes clear and starts to brown a bit.  You have ghee now, and the whole room will start to smell divine.)   Save about a tablespoon of the ghee for topping the final dish.
  • Add the thyme, chili flakes and black pepper and let the flavors release in to the ghee at low heat for 3 mins
  • Add the carrots and sunchokes and close the lid.  Cook for around 5 mins on low heat.  There will be a bit of crunch left in the vegetables
  • Add the cooked rice and squash to the pan
  • Add salt to taste, mix and heat through
  • Scoop the brown rice-vegetable mixture back in to the two squash shells
  • Add a drop of ghee on top and sprinkle with paprika 
  • Broil at high heat for 5 mins just before serving
The sweetness of the acorn squash flesh makes the dish a bit sweet.  If you prefer it more on the spicy side, you can add some more red chili flakes or black pepper.   You can also vary the filling by using onions, celery, or bell pepper.   

Stuffed Baked Acorn Squash

This is a great dish for dinner parties, as it looks elegant but is very simple to make.   Serve it with a simple green salad to complete the meal.
by Veggie Sutra

California Farmers Markets and Warm Kale Salad with Pear

Veggie Sutra is about California as much as it is about vegetarian food.   We are definitely lucky to be in a place where fresh fruits and vegetables are abundant.  (Although the severe drought continues for a fourth year in a row and it is making me sick to the stomach.  What did we do to anger the rain gods this badly?!)

That aside, farmers markets and farm stands are as ubiquitous in California as bees in a garden and I was thrilled to see a post about the Sunnyvale farmer’s market on one of my favorite cooking blogs, the kitchn.   We love this market because it is open year-round, and it happens right on the main downtown street amidst all the cafes and shops.

So what was available yesterday at the farmer’s market during this warm winter?   Root vegetables (parsnips, turnips, beets, radishes), leeks, winter squashes, a number of vegetables from the brassica variety (cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, broccoli, rapini, collard greens, mustard greens and kale), and lots of citrus fruits.   I could not resist buying this beautiful lacinato (dinosaur) kale which the farmer was selling for just a dollar a bunch!

Speaking of California and farmers markets, Alice Waters’ name is the next thing that would pop up in one’s mind.  She pioneered the whole genre of California cuisine using local, seasonal ingredients.  V and I hoard cookbooks like squirrels hoard acorns but they are always all-vegetarian.   However, rules are meant to be broken and Alice Waters’ newest book, “In the Green Kitchen”  is worth breaking the rules for.   This is a wonderful book that contains basic techniques for everything from poaching an egg to peeling a tomato accompanied by delicious, simple recipes.

 

The recipe I adapted from the book is for “Whole-wheat Spaghetti with Kale”, but we were pretty pretty carb-ed out for the day, so I decided to cook the kale as specified in the recipe and substitute the pasta with pear to make this salad.

Recipe for Warm Kale Salad with Pear

Adapted from Alice Waters’ “In the Green Kitchen”

[Printable Recipe]

Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch Lacinato (dinosaur) kale
  • 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 4 dried red chilies or 1 Tbsp red chili flakes
  • 1 medium size yellow onion, chopped fine
  • 5-6 cloves garlic, minced fine
  • Pinch salt and black pepper
  • 2 Bosc pears, peeled and sliced in to bite-sized pieces

Method:

  • Wash the kale carefully on both sides under running water (Or use a large bowl and dunk the kale in cold water 3 or 4 times, changing out the water each time)
  • Cut the kale around the stem to separate the leafy part.  Discard the stem and cut in to thin strips
How to chop kale
  • Heat olive oil in a saute pan and add the red chilies (whole or flakes)
  • After a minute, add the chopped onion, sprinkle a pinch of salt and cook for about 5-7 minutes until the onion is slightly browned
  • Add the minced garlic and saute for another 2-3 minutes
  • Now add the kale a little at a time, tossing the kale to coat it completely with oil, about 5 minutes
  • If the kale is tender, no water is needed.  If it is dry, then sprinkle a bit of water on top.  Then cover with a lid, lower the heat and cook for 2 more minutes
  • Switch off the heat, add the sliced pear on top and close with the lid again and let it sit for around 5 mins
  • Sprinkle with black pepper and adjust salt to taste
  • Serve warm

 


Although I made this salad with pear, apples would also work.  Or if you prefer, you could add roasted root vegetables like carrots or potatoes or parsnips.   Or you could stick with original recipe and just toss the kale with cooked whole-wheat spaghetti! 

by Veggie Sutra

Crisp Baked Delicata Squash Rings

I have a fondness for all kinds of winter squash.  I love them all:  Butternut, Kabocha, Acorn… and there is one more, Delicata, which I tasted first in Seattle on a rainy day (meaning, a normal day in Seattle!) during Thanksgiving break one year.

My friend’s sister grew the squash on the rooftop of her apartment (very ambitious) and whipped up this simple, elegant side dish which I fell in love with instantly.  Rainy days remind me of this wonderful dish, and since it is finally raining here in Northern California, I had to make this!

Baked Delicata Squash Rings

Recipe for Crisp Baked Delicata Squash Rings

Ingredients:
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • Pinch salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • One medium size Delicata Squash

Slice the delicata squash in to thin rings


Method:
  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
  • Wash the delicata squash and pat it dry.  Then slice it in to thin rings and remove the seeds in the middle
  • Toss the squash with olive oil, salt and pepper


    Delicata squash tossed with olive oil, salt & pepper


    • Line a cookie tray with Al Foil.  Place the squash rings on the tray in a single layer
    • Bake for 30 – 40 minutes until the skin is lightly browned and flip the rings over half way through
    • Serve warm

    Baked Delicata Squash Rings

    A very satisfying, delicious side for any meal.
    by Veggie Sutra

    Fall Colors (Butternut Squash Halva Recipe)

    It’s that season again!   No, I am not talking about the frantic holiday season, but the colorful arrival of fall with its orange halloween pumpkins and colorful winter squashes and gorgeous red sunsets.  Things get a little gloomy this season with the shorter days and longer chillier nights, and to me, the brightly-hued winter squashes spread a bit of cheer to dispel the gloom.

    Butternut Squash Halvah

    We seem to be hurtling towards yet another dry winter in California!  (Another reason we need these colorful little guys to cheer us up.)   I don’t think I can take these dry winters any longer.  Who’s up for a rain dance?  On the bright side, I guess everyone in California now is a firm believer in climate change.

    Coming back to the winter squashes, the markets are starting to burst with them of late!

    Winter Squashes, Sweet Potatoes, and Apples in the market

    If I had to pick a favorite among these little guys, it would definitely be kabocha squash, as I love it’s hearty flavor and texture.

    Winter squashes will store for at least a couple of months (or more) in a cool dark area in the pantry, so stock up on them when they are cheap!    This time I opted for a nice plump butternut squash as I was planning to make halvah a la carrot halwa.

    Butternut Squash, peeled and cut

    The skin on the butternut squash (and even kabocha) can be left on if you are going to make a baked dish or curry, but since I was planning on making halvah, I peeled it.  Then I cut the squash with my trusted Global chef knife and grated it using a box grater.

    Peel, cut and grate the butternut squash

    The rest of the procedure is similar to making carrot (gaajar) halwa, although there are several variations of that as well.   Amma prefers to pressure cook the grated carrot in milk to shorten the process. Purists would insist on cooking it on a low flame with milk and sugar until the milk evaporates.   Yet others use “mava” or “khoya” (milk solids) to make the halvah creamy.

    I created my own method using ideas gleaned from my favorite cooking blogs (such as Veggie Belly’s Pumpkin Halwa and The Kitchn’s Carrot Halwa Recipe).  My favorite inspiration came from Saveur which has a recipe for a middle eastern pumpkin halvah that I have to definitely try sometime soon!

    Butternut Squash Halvah

    Even though I was apprehensive, the halvah turned out pretty well.  V, who does not care for any type of halva loved it, although with each spoonful he intently fished for every single cashew I had put in!

    Cashew nut halves in ghee

    Here’s the recipe.
    [Printable Recipe]

    Ingredients:

    1 medium sized butternut squash 
    2 cups whole milk
    2 cups sugar
    6 Tbsp butter
    1/4 cup cashew nuts, split
    2-3 cardamom pods, crushed 
    A few strands of saffron
    1. Peel the butternut squash.  Then cut the bottom bulb and take out the seeds.  Then cut it in to 4 large pieces.  Cut the top part also in to 2 large pieces.  
    2. Using a box grater, grate the butternut squash.   If loosely packed it yields around 8-10 cups.
    3. Boil the milk, then lower the heat and allow it to reduce to half the quantity or less
    4. Meanwhile, heat 4 Tbsps of butter in a heavy-bottomed vessel on low heat until it is browned and fragrant (i.e., the butter becomes ghee)
    5. Add the butternut squash to the ghee and allow to cook over low flame for about 20 mins
    6. Add the sugar and reduced milk to the squash
    7. Cook until it reaches jam-like consistency
    8. Add the crushed cardamom and mix
    9. Heat the remaining 2 Tbsps of butter in a small pan until it becomes ghee.   Throw the cashews in and fry until golden brown
    10. Garnish the halva with cashews and saffron.  Serve warm or chilled.
      Butternut Squash Halvah