Tag: gluten free

by Veggie Sutra

Punjabi-style Turnip curry

Happy new year 2018, all!  Hope this year brings peace to all beings on earth.  Maybe it is just me, but things seemed a bit frenetic in 2017.   Well, hope we put all that behind us and live more mindfully in 2018.

As always, V and I sat down and wrote our new year goals and habits.  As far as food and health goes, the goal is to minimize sugar and processed foods, which is not very different from previous years.  Our goal this year is to be more mindful, and eat simple, healthy, and fresh meals for dinner every night before 8 pm.   I will try to post the pictures of our dinner as often as I can on Instagram and Facebook.

 

 

This year V and I did not travel far over the holidays but stayed local and visited our state capital, Sacramento.  Sacramento is given a step-sisterly treatment compared to San Francisco, but in reality, it’s an awesome laid back, small city to spend a few fun days.  There are good restaurants, great local theaters and dessert places that stay open till midnight!   What more could one want?

We thoroughly enjoyed it, and even though we have been there several times before, there were new places that we found, such as Preservation&Co in Midtown which sells preserved and fermented foods made on location.  My only complaint is that they changed the slogan of Sacramento from “City of Trees” to “America’s Farm to Fork Capital” last year, which seems very marketing-oriented to me, as opposed to the prior apt descriptor of the city.

 

Iconic Tower Bridge in Sacramento on a cloudy, cold winter day

 

Here are our top tips for visiting Sacramento:

  • Go in spring.  Sacramento is also called the Camelia Capital for good reason.  February and March are great times to visit and walk around the Capitol building and midtown and enjoy the gorgeous camelias and magnolias.  Bonus, there are stunning Victorians scattered all around midtown.
  • Walk everywhere.  Walk around the Capitol and take in the trees.  Walk from the Capitol to Old Sacramento and visit the Railroad Museum there.  From there, walk across the iconic Tower bridge and back and go on to the Crocker Art Museum.  In the evening, walk up and down J street in midtown to check out restaurants and other happening places.
  • Catch a play in a local theater like B street theater, where I have enjoyed innumerable locally written plays.  V and I caught the last play in the old cozy location on B street.  In 2018 this Sacramento jewel is moving to a midtown location for more space.
  • Grab lunch and dinner in midtown.  This is the hip restaurant area and there are a lot of cuisines to choose from.  Maybe grab brunch at Magpie Cafe where the Dalai Lama himself is said to have polished off a few yummy cookies!  If you like to stay at Airbnbs and cook your own meals, then go grocery shopping at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op which carries all the seasonal produce from the farm regions around Sacramento.
  • Sacramento also has great coffee places to rest your feet in the midst of all the walking – Temple Coffee, Insight Coffee Roasters and of course, Chocolate Fish, which we absolutely love.  We first tasted Chocolate Fish a couple of years back at the very same Magpie Cafe (where the Dalai Lama enjoyed the cookies), but this time we went to the Chocolate Fish coffee shop in East Sacramento.  They will be opening one soon in midtown as well, I believe.

Enough about Sacramento.

Here in the Bay Area, V and I try to visit the local Sunnyvale Farmers Market on Saturdays to get our hands on fresh produce.  Right now, the market is full of root vegetables like radishes, turnips, beets and so on.   Did you know that turnips are also from the brassica family?

 

 

Recipe for Punjabi-style Turnip Curry

[Printable Recipe]

Inspired by several online youtube videos by Indian bloggers

Serves around 5 as a side dish with rotis or chapatis

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp canola oil (or other cooking oil)
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 green chilies, chopped fine (optional, skip if you don’t want heat)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped fine
  • 1 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp red chili powder (reduce if you don’t like too much heat)
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 can of tomatoes (I had some stewed tomatoes that I had frozen from our summer crop, but you can use store-bought can in the winter or 2 large fresh juicy tomatoes in the summer)
  • Around 3 medium-sized turnips, washed, peeled and cut in to bite-sized pieces
  • Around 4 medium-sized potatoes, washed, peeled and cut in to bite-sized pieces
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Heat the oil in a saucepan and when the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and reduce heat to low
  • When the cumin seeds start changing color, and becoming fragrant, add the minced garlic and green chilies
  • After a minute or two, add the onions and saute until the onion is cooked (5-10 mins). Increase the heat to medium if needed
  • Add the grated ginger, saute for a minute
  • Then add the spices – turmeric, red chili powder, and garam masala and saute for a few minutes
  • Finally add the tomatoes, stir and cook for around 5 minutes on medium to low heat until the tomatoes are well assimilated
  • Now add the chopped potatoes and turnips, salt to taste and some water if needed, close with a lid and cook on low heat until the potatoes and turnips are soft, checking from time to time
  • Serve hot with rotis, chapatis or naan

 

 

Here wishing every one of you good food, good cooking adventures, great travel and meals with friends and family in 2018!

by Veggie Sutra

Poached Pears in Red Wine with Spices

Every year during the holiday season I get in to the baking-and-giving mood. I bake cookies, cakes, fruit breads and desserts and I share it with neighbors and friends.  V also relaxes his sugar rules and digs in to the desserts and sweets with gusto.   The whole house smells of vanilla and spices and everything is perfectly festive.

 

 

V and I also cooked a bunch of stews and curries this weekend to store for later in the week.  When amma is visiting, we get freshly cooked food every single day, but when we are alone, we simply do not have the energy.  So we cook big batches and freeze/refrigerate in airtight containers to consume later.  I recently had an argument with my cousin about this.  She simply could not understand how I could consume something that is not fresh off the stove.  To which my answer is, I would rather do this than eat processed foods or take out from restaurants.  She does have a point though.  Freezing and refrigerating foods is considered taboo in many cultures even today.  Pickling is perhaps the only accepted way of preserving foods.

I expect some research student badly wanting a PhD will soon do a study on the effects of eating precooked and refrigerated food pretty soon!   In the meantime, we will continue following our known health rules like being mindful of the Dirty Dozen.  Today’s featured produce on our Dirty Dozen series is pears.  Apples and pears are #4 and #6 respectively on EWG’s Dirty Dozen list.  Terribly unfortunate as both of them are such great fruits to snack on.

When I turned on the oven today for baking my holiday goodies, I also wanted to make a simple dessert for dinner.  What is simpler than a dessert that incorporates the natural sweetness of fruit.   Like the chia seed pudding with blueberry compote dessert, this dessert with pears is also easy to make and can be made a day ahead.

 

 

Recipe for Poached Pears in Red Wine with Spices

[Printable Recipe]

Serves 5 – one each

Ingredients:

  • 5 short squat organic pears like comice pears (you could use any pear you want but pick ones with stem attached)
  • 1 cup of full-bodied red wine
  • 1/2 cup orange juice from 2 large oranges
  • 2 Tbsp sugar + 1 Tbsp
  • 2 sticks cinnamon, broken
  • Around 5 whole cloves
  • 1-2 cardamom pods (optional)
  • 2-3 thick slices of lemon
  • Optional: Ice cream for serving

Method:

  • Preheat oven to 350F
  • Peel the pears with stems intact. Then slice the bottom off a bit so it can stand up
  • In a shallow casserole just large enough to hold 5 pears, place the red wine, orange juice, and 2 Tbsps of sugar and stir a bit to dissolve
  • Place the pears in the dish.  Add the cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom (if using) and lemon slices and cover with aluminum foil
  • Bake for around 45 mins.  If the liquid does not completely cover the pears, open the oven once or twice to turn the pears on their sides to that the liquid evenly seeps through.  I had to do this twice
  • Once the pears are tender, but not falling apart, switch off the oven and remove the pears on to a serving dish and refrigerate
  • Now strain the liquid in to a sauce pan and throw away the spices and lemon slices.  Place it on low heat on the stove, add a tablespoon of sugar and simmer until the liquid has reduced to less than half its volume and takes on a syrupy consistency
  • Refrigerate the syrup separately from the pears
  • While serving, place one pear on each plate.  Spoon some of the red wine syrup on top.  Serve with a side of ice cream optionally.

 

 

This dessert is perfect for the holidays.  First, it is very festive looking and perfect for a small holiday dinner get-together.  Secondly, the process of making it makes the whole house smell of spiced cider and mulled wine which puts everyone in a holiday mood.  And finally, it is a very light, and not overly sugary dessert.  Don’t we get enough sugar during the holiday season anyway?  Of course, if you want more sweetness, like we did today, you could serve it with vanilla ice cream.

 

by Veggie Sutra

Roasted Potato and Brussels Sprouts with Wilted Spinach

Lo and behold, winter is upon us here in Northern California.  And with it, the hectic holiday season.  It is probably not very PC of me to say this, but I am not a big fan of this time of the year just because it gets so crazy.  There is a lot of shopping madness and social calendars get too jam packed to be enjoyable.   Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy some aspects of it….  like lighting up the porch and walking around the neighborhood to gaze at the lovely Christmas lighting.   I love turning on the oven to bake cookies….  in fact, bake anything.  I love the smell of pies and mulled cider and poached pears wafting through the house and all the great food.  Indeed the holiday season is the time of entertaining and I am always on the lookout for easy-to-make crowd-pleasers to serve at dinner parties.

 

 

Potatoes are certainly up there when it comes to being crowd pleasers.   They are very versatile, and ubiquitous throughout the year, served cold as potato salads at summer picnics and served warm as mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving tables.    I may not have met anyone so far who doesn’t like potatoes.  Alas, as discussed before in our Dirty Dozen series, the humble spud is up there when it comes to pesticide residue and is currently at #12 on EWG’s Dirty Dozen list.

In the Dirty Dozen roundup post, I talked about several measures one can take to avoid pesticides in the food we eat everyday.   One of them is to grow the offending produce ourselves.   Surprisingly, potatoes are really easy to grow even in a pot!   I learnt this while volunteering at a local community farm and the farmer taught me that if you cover the top of the soil with hay, the potatoes just appear in the hay and do not even need to be washed.  I haven’t been successful in growing it that way, but I can vouch that nothing is more satisfying than to plunge one’s hand in to the mud and pull out an enormous potato!   So go ahead and give it a try!   If not, try to buy organic or at least wash the potato and peel before cooking it.

 

 

Today’s recipe features a couple of my favorite ingredients to roast – potatoes and brussels sprouts.  As with all vegetables, brussels sprouts lose their bitterness when roasted and take on a super smooth caramelized flavor, as in this other Caramelized Brussels Sprouts recipe.   This super-simple side dish is a great hit on holiday tables.

 

Recipe for Roasted Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts with Wilted Spinach

[Printable Recipe]

Serves 6 as a side dish

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups brussels sprouts, washed and halved or quartered in to bite-sized cubes
  • 2 cups organic baby potatoes (red and white) washed and cut in to bite-sized cubes
  • 4 tablespoons white truffle flavored olive oil
  • A couple of generous pinches of salt
  • A couple of generous pinches of pepper
  • A couple of generous shakes of dried garlic or garlic powder (you can use freshly minced garlic if you wish)
  • 1 cup spinach leaves, washed and chopped
  • A squeeze of lemon juice

Method:

  • Pre-heat oven to 425F
  • You will need 2 cookie sheets, one for the sprouts and one for the potatoes
  • In a large bowl, combine the brussels sprouts with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt, pepper and a dash of garlic.  Spread on a cookie sheet and place it on the top shelf of the oven
  • In the same bowl, combine the potatoes with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt, pepper and a dash of garlic.  Spread on a cookie sheet and place it on the bottom shelf of the oven
  • Set the cook time to 45 mins
  • After 20 mins, check the potatoes by piercing with a knife.  If it pierces easily, remove from the oven and move the brussels sprouts to the bottom shelf.  If not wait another 10 mins and do the same
  • Check if the brussels sprouts have charred slightly and caramelized after 45 mins
  • Remove the potatoes and brussels sprouts to a serving bowl.  Add the spinach while warm so the spinach wilts immediately
  • Adjust salt and pepper, squeeze some lemon juice to taste
  • Serve warm

 

 

The holiday season should be about friends and family and of course good food and not about stress.  Keep your cooking as simple and hands off as possible by serving dishes like this!

by Veggie Sutra

Sun-dried tomato hummus

Last month, I had kicked off the Dirty Dozen series with a recipe for lentils with leafy greens like spinach.  Spinach has consistently stayed around the top of the Dirty Dozen list at least for the past 5 years.  However, tomatoes appeared on the list just this year.  I was dismayed to see staples like tomatoes and potatoes on the list now at #10 and #12 respectively.   What’s a girl supposed to eat if tomatoes and potatoes are now “dirty”?

 

 

In the Dirty Dozen Recipe Roundup, I had listed a few of my strategies for dealing with the dirty list. One of them is to try and grow some of the offending produce in my own backyard to ensure it is totally chemical free.  While this may not be feasible for everyone, if you even have space for potted plants, tomatoes can be grown.   Since we have a very small vegetable patch, we typically plant 1-2 tomato saplings around March.    After a long, patient wait, we start getting ripe tomatoes around July.   In a good year, we get enough for our immediate cooking needs as well as to save for later. During years when we don’t have abundant produce at home, we simply buy organic tomatoes in the farmers market in peak summer when it is super cheap and save for later.

To save tomatoes for those wonderful soups and stews in winter, simply cut them in to small pieces and place in a saucepan at low heat and let it cook with a lid on.  I typically add a bit of turmeric to the tomatoes.  Once it has released all the liquid and cooked well, allow it to cook completely.  Scoop in to small bottles and store them in the freezer. Then during those cold dreary months, you can just pull out one bottle at a time as needed. You could also make sun-dried tomatoes to save for later. Thinly slice the tomatoes and place it in a single layer on large plates or cookie sheets.  Place in direct sun until the liquids have evaporated and the tomato shrivels up.

 

 

The hummus I made today uses sun-dried tomatoes but they came from a huge jar that I bought in Costco.  You can buy sun-dried tomatoes preserved in olive oil in regular stores as well, but look for organic.

Recipe for Sun-dried Tomato Hummus

[Printable Recipe]

Makes a little more than 1 cup

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup dried chickpeas (If you are using canned chickpeas, use one 15 oz can)
  • 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes with a little of the preserve oil
  • 2 Tbsp tahini paste (I buy organic Kevala tahini paste from Whole Foods)
  • 1-2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic (optional)
  • A handful of basil leaves, washed and roughly chopped
  • Pinch cumin powder
  • Pinch paprika
  • salt to taste

Method:

  • Cook the chickpeas (skip this step if you are using canned chickpeas):
    • Rinse the chickpeas and soak in tepid water at least overnight, for up to 2 days occasionally changing the water.   The longer you soak it, the easier it is to cook.  Also if they start to sprout, that’s a good thing as sprouted chickpeas are super healthy
    • Throw away the soaking water before cooking
    • Cook the chickpeas in a pressure cooker or slow cooker with enough water to submerge the soaked chickpeas.   Allow 4-5 whistles in the pressure cooker and wait a while before opening.  If cooking in a saucepan, use more water and cover and cook on low heat until the chickpeas become mushy
    • Reserve some of the cooking liquid
  • Blend the hummus:
    • Throw in the drained chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes with oil, tahini paste, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, basil leaves, and spices in a high-speed blender or food processor
    • Blend until super smooth using as much of the cooking liquid as and when you need it
    • The consistency should be that of peanut butter or maybe just a tad more liquidy but not much
  • Scoop in to an airtight container and refrigerate if you are not using it right away

 

 

This hummus will be a great hit as an appetizer at parties.  Serve it with vegetables like celery, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli, or with dinner crackers.

However at our place, we use hummus for breakfast.    The very first post on Veggie Sutra featured a Cilantro Hummus recipe, and as mentioned in that post, hummus is a staple in our household for breakfast.  I love to dress up the hummus with whatever herbs I have on hand or in the garden.  This time, I used basil from the garden in addition to the sun-dried tomatoes.   A healthy, wholesome spread on top of crackers or rice cakes or bread makes for a very satisfying breakfast in the morning!

Other breakfast spread variations from our kitchen:

 

by Veggie Sutra

Leafy Greens with Lentils

This is the first of the Dirty Dozen series focusing on produce that have the most pesticide traces.  Greens like spinach are notoriously on the top of the list always.  Luckily, some greens just grow like weeds even in containers.

Our visit to the Farmers Market in Sunnyvale yesterday was rather interesting.  It has been a warm summer (apparently the warmest on record) and the market still has an abundance of summer vegetables like peppers, beans, eggplant and tomatoes.  We were a bit late yesterday and the greens at our favorite farmer had been picked clean.

But I noticed just one type of greens still piled high.  It seemed like it hadn’t moved at all.  The long vines had beautiful maple-shaped leaves and yellow flowers and delicate tendrils grew on the stems.   Upon a bit of querying it turned out they were bitter melon leaves.  For those of you who have not eaten a bitter melon or even seen one, it looks a squash with ridges and tastes… bitter!   It is used widely in China and India and is somewhat of an acquired taste.  Fortunately both V and I love the taste of it!   But, I did not know that the leaves can be cooked.  The farmer said that her Chinese grand parents make a soup with it.  Although, we do have a bitter melon vine growing in our garden now, I haven’t dared to cook with it… yet!

 

Leafy greens are an essential nutritional component of many old world cuisines.  I remember learning about cooking with borage leaves from a Greek friend when I was volunteering at an urban farm in San Jose.  Dandelion greens are another example of a weed consumed widely. However, there was not much fanfare to these greens.  They were certainly not called “super foods” and they were not sold triple-washed in plastic clamshell boxes.   Most often they were just weeds foraged from the wild or from the swamp at the edge of the backyard or picked off the vine growing on the neighbor’s fence.

 

 

The greens that amma made today, called “sessile joyweed“, is one such weed that grows profusely in swamps in Southern India, spreading low to the ground.  It is called “ponnangani keerai” in Tamil.  In our garden, we have it growing in a couple of pots and as it is a perennial plant, we do not bother bringing it in during the winters.

 

 

This recipe would be considered a rather quotidian one in a South Indian household, and the version I am posting below comes courtesy of amma.  At least once a week, if not more often than that, some type of leafy greens are prepared, perhaps in this simple fashion with or without the lentils.  You can substitute almost any type of edible leafy greens, like spinach or amaranth leaves or swiss chard, in lieu of sessile joyweed.

 

 

Recipe for Leafy Greens with Lentils

[Printable Recipe]

Serves 3-4 as a side dish

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup split yellow -mung daal (yellow lentils) (you can find it in an ethnic Indian grocery store called moong daal)
  • 3 cups leafy greens, thoroughly washed and chopped  (I used “sessile joyweed”/Ponnangani keerai but spinach or chard or amaranth leaves would work wonderfully as well)
  • 1/4th tsp turmeric powder
  • To grind with very little water:
    • 2 Tbsp grated coconut (you can find frozen grated coconut in ethnic Indian grocery stores)
    • 2 dried red chilies
    • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • To temper in hot oil:
    • About 2 tsp oil (you can use coconut oil or just regular vegetable oil)
    • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
    • 1/2 tsp split black lentils (you can find it an ethnic Indian grocery store called urad daal
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Rinse the lentils in running water.  In a saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add the lentils.  Once the water comes to a boil again, switch to lowest heat setting and let the lentils simmer.  Keep an eye on it to make sure the water does not dry out and add some hot water if needed.  Moong dal tends to cook faster than other types of lentils, so after about 30 mins, check if it mashes easily which means it is done
  • Once the lentils are cooked add the chopped greens, and turmeric and cook covered on low for 5-10 mins
  • While the greens are cooking, grind the grated coconut, dried red chilies and cumin seeds in to a smooth paste in a mini food processor
  • After the greens have wilted, add in the grated coconut mixture to the saucepan and mix.  Add salt to taste
  • Cook on low heat for another 5 mins and switch off
  • Heat oil in a small pan.  When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds.  When the mustard seeds sputter, lower the heat and add the lentils and fry until golden brown.
  • Add the tempering to the saucepan, mix and serve

 

 

This is comfort food at its best when served over steamed white rice with a dollop of ghee!  What a simple, wholesome way to have your greens and enjoy it too!   You can also add more water and serve it as a hearty soup with a side of crusty bread.

 

by Veggie Sutra

Cold asparagus soup with pan-fried asparagus heads

I read about Bea Johnson’s Zero Waste Home a while back in the New York Times and I am ashamed to admit that while I was super inspired by her waste free living, I did not follow through with it for more than a week or two perhaps.  It is hard when our lives and schedules are dictated by packaged conveniences in every walk.  This week, the Sunnyvale City invited Bea over for a talk and seeing her in person inspired me once again to try to follow her principles of waste-free living.  Bea brought the entirely of her family’s trash in a small flip-top bottle and I was blown away!

V and I are pretty good about not wasting food.  But then if that food comes in any kind of packaging it is still pretty wasteful.  We buy our staples like rice and lentils in plastic packaging, as well as other stuff like crackers, snacks, nuts and so on.  We buy some drinks like club soda in plastic bottles.  Sometimes we buy washed salad greens in clamshell plastic boxes or plastic bags.  It is really amazing to just note how much plastic we throw away each week apart from what we obsessively recycle.  We definitely will make a conscious effort to reduce our footprint and buy stuff in bulk.   And for those interested in tips and ways to live a zero waste living, do follow Bea on zerowastehome.com.

Speaking of using packaged stuff, we had a 2.2lb bag of asparagus that we got from Costco a week or so back.  Well, no point throwing it away just because we got it in plastic packaging.  Usually my go-to recipe for asparagus is to simply roast it in the oven with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.  But the last couple of days in the Bay Area were a true anomaly with temps reaching in the high 100s.   And it did not cool off even in the evening as it typically does.  Uff!!  With climate change, I wonder if this is the new normal we need to get adjusted to.   I was loathe to turn on the oven, so I quickly prepared a cold soup early in the day and put it in the refrigerator.

 

 

Recipe for Cold Asparagus Soup with Pan-fried Asparagus Tips

[Printable Recipe]

Serves 6 for dinner with a side

Ingredients:

  • Approx. 1 kg / 2.2 lbs of asparagus spears
  • 2-3 medium potatoes
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2-3 cloves garlic
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 4-5 basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • salt and pepper as needed
  • 4 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
  • water as needed

Method:

  • Wash the asparagus.  Trim the tough ends of the asparagus and discard.  Save the heads from about half the asparagus and cut the rest in to bite-sized pieces
  • Wash and cube the potatoes
  • Bring water to a boil in a large pot (enough the submerge the potatoes and asparagus).  Add some salt.
  • Put the potatoes in first for about 8 mins until the potatoes can be pierced with a knife
  • Then throw in the asparagus pieces except the saved heads for about 8 mins until asparagus is soft.  Switch off the heat.  Drain the asparagus and potatoes and cool
  • While the potatoes and asparagus are cooking, peel and chop the onion roughly.  Smash the garlic, peel and chop.
  • Add about 2 tbsp of olive oil in a pan and when it is hot, add the saved asparagus heads and fry until slightly browned.  Remove with a slotted spoon and save
  • Add the onion to the same pan and saute until golden brown.  Let it cool.
  • In a powerful blender, blend together the cooked potatoes and asparagus, sauted onions, raw garlic and basil leaves with milk.  Add water if needed and add salt and pepper to taste
  • Pour the soup in to serving bowl and mix in the shredded Parmesan cheese and refrigerate
  • After it has cooled, serve in bowls topped with a few of the reserved asparagus heads

 

 

On a warm day, this cold soup can be served with a side of oven-toasted crusty bread or a nice bruschetta.  Yesterday, as the mercury refused to budge even in the evening, I just prepared a simple raw radish salad with pesto dressing to supplement the soup.  As we sat outside in the backyard trying to cool off on this unusually warm Bay Area evening, climate change and resource waste definitely came up in the dinner table conversation topics.  Perhaps if we all lived a zero-waste life, we would not be feeling climate change to this extent in our life time.

by Veggie Sutra

Braised radishes

As we are wading through the dog days of summer, lethargy has set and I have not posted in a while.  Veggie Sutra’s passion for brassicas has however continued unabated, and I even baked some savory broccoli muffins to take along with us for our July 4th road trip to Truckee and North Lake Tahoe.  I clicked pictures but forgot to write down the recipe.  Well, next time!

 

 

Speaking of Tahoe, aren’t we lucky to live in California where one really does not have to go very far to get away?  Due to the enormous amount of snow we were blessed with last winter, the Sierras were absolutely gorgeous.  Year after year during the drought, my heart would sink when I saw dead brown trees all over the mountain-scape.  Within one winter of good rains, the whole place has transformed in to a beautiful lush, green forest.  As we drove past the breathtaking scenery, we saw black specks teeming on the white slopes – people skiing in 80 degree weather presumably in their shorts!

 

 

Coming back to the blog, last week I finished reading “Culinary Intelligence – The Art of Eating Healthy and Really Well” by Peter Kaminsky.  And that is what kicked me out of my lethargy / writer’s block / whatever.  The book is a tantalizing ode to all cooks everywhere, and plea to everyone to develop basic cooking skills for the sake of one’s health.

Peter Kaminsky assures us that we do not have to eat bland, unappetizing foods to stay healthy, rather with a little culinary skill and an understanding of flavors, one can eat well and live well.   I do highly recommend reading the book. Though a lot of Peter Kaminsky’s observations seem obvious (like avoiding processed foods), he peppers it with fun stories from his career as a food writer which makes those obvious facts memorable.  Once he establishes what an important role cooking plays in staying healthy, he moves on to the topic of breaking down cooking in to a very simple process, starting with getting the best ingredients.

To summarize, Culinary Common sense is listed as follows in “Culinary Intelligence”:

  1. Don’t eat processed foods.
  2. Buy the best, most full-flavored ingredients you can afford.
  3. Make those ingredients even better by cooking

Speaking of ingredients, a bunch of beautiful round radishes always makes my heart sing.  Radishes are part of the brassica family and there are a few dozen varieties of radishes, all with a distinctive characteristic and flavor, some biting, and some mellow.

 

 

Daikon radish, the most commonly found radish in the markets in California, also available pretty much year round in the farmers markets, was featured in an earlier post in an Asian-flavor inspired Daikon radish salad.  This week, I chose round red radishes because their small size lends well to braising whole or halved.  V was upset that I did not serve these beauties raw, in a salad, as I sometimes do, and instead subjected them to heat and flame.  But in the end, life is about variety and these braised radishes make a rather beautiful side dish.

 

 

Recipe for Braised Round Red Radishes

[Printable recipe]

Serves 4 as a side dish

Ingredients:

  • 3 bunches of round red radishes with the greens
  • 3 Tbsp butter
  • 2 small onions / shallots, minced fine
  • water
  • Salt and white/black pepper to taste

Method:

  • Separate the greens from the radishes leaving a bit of stem on the radishes.   Wash the green thoroughly by dunking in a few changes of cold water.  Chop the greens roughly and set aside.  Snip just the tail of the radishes and scrub them.
  • If the radishes are small, you can leave them whole.  If not, half or quarter them.
  • Heat the butter in a wide saute pan.   Add the minced onion and saute for 5-10 minutes until slightly browned
  • Add the radishes to the pan and toss to coat.
  • Add about half a cup of water and bring to a simmer.   Add salt and pepper.  Then lower the heat all the way down, cover and cook for around 10-15 minutes until a knife goes through the radish easily but it is not falling apart.
  • Add the greens and cook with lid on for 3-5 mins until the greens have wilted.
  • Remove with a slotted spoon as much of the radishes, onions and greens as possible in to a serving dish, just leaving the liquid in the pan
  • Increase the heat and simmer for a few minutes until the liquid reduces to about half the quantity
  • Add a splash of apple cider vinegar optionally and pour over the radishes
  • You can serve the radishes over grains like brown rice or quinoa as well to make a complete meal

 

 

 

by Veggie Sutra

Daikon radish salad with lemongrass tofu

 

Who knew radishes were part of the brassica family?!   I certainly did not, until I read about it in the Brassicas book that V bought.  It falls in the category of root brassicas along with turnips, rutabagas and horseradish.   Out of all of them, radishes are my favorite.   There comes a season in the farmer’s market when radishes of all varieties show up – rainbow radishes, black radishes, table radishes and other colorful ones. Daikon radishes, however, seem to be available pretty much year round in Northern California.   These long white radishes with a mild flavor are used prolifically in Asian and Indian cooking.

 

 

Daikon radishes in Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese cooking are a favorite for pickling.  In fact, the inspiration for the recipe in this post came from a Banh Mi salad we had last weekend at Veggie Grill, a local vegan restaurant.  (I know Banh mi sans the bread doesn’t make any sense as Banh Mi means bread, but I guess some poetic license was used in the naming!)

In India, the Daikon radishes are more pungent and a lot smaller than the ones we get here in Northern California.  Some sources call these small pungent ones “White Icicles” instead of “Daikon”.  In any case, these long white radishes, known as mooli in Hindi and mullangi in Tamil are prepared in different ways.   They are boiled in lentil soups and stews, stuffed in to bread to make filling mooli parathas (stuffed flatbreads) and are sometimes eaten raw with a squeeze of lemon and a dash of salt and pepper.   Oh the satisfying bite of eating them raw!   The leaves of Daikon radish are equally flavorful and are added to lentil soups.

 

 

 

Yes, the world is going to hell in a hand basket due to human related activities of over polluting, over-harvesting of natural resources and utter disregard for science (I am referring to our grand gesture of withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord), but I am glad we have radishes in our hand basket.   And that’s all I will say on that topic!

This salad is inspired by Vietnamese flavors, and includes pickled radishes and carrots (called do chua) and baked lemongrass tofu.  It needs a bit of prep work for both these ingredients, but is otherwise quite simple to assemble.   I got the pickling recipe from White on Rice couple, whose recipes are always fail-proof.   The lemongrass tofu is my own concoction.

I could not resist using all the spring herbs in our garden, but one could go a little lighter on herbs, I guess.  Or not.  I always go a little crazy with herbs in springtime when copious amounts of basil and mint are ready to be harvested in the garden.  The lemongrass also is from a pot in the garden.   Lemongrass is pretty easy to grow, and unless you have a huge space, it is better to plant it in a pot as it will take over the garden like mint.

 

 

Recipe for Daikon Radish Salad with Lemongrass Tofu

[Printable recipe]

Makes 4 large lunch-sized servings

 Ingredients:

For the pickled radishes and carrots (Make at least 3 days ahead):

  • 2 cups water (slightly warm to dissolve the salt and sugar)
  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar
  • 1.5 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp salt
  • 1 medium sized daikon radish (about 0.5 pounds), scrubbed, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
  • 2 small carrots (about 0.5 pounds), scrubbed, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
For Baked Lemongrass tofu (marinate overnight or at least a few hours before baking):
  • 1 tub of tofu (14 oz)
  • 2 stalks of lemongrass, tough outer layers and top stem removed and tender inside green part near the root minced
  • 6 Tbsp avocado oil or some mild vegetable/nut oil
  • 6 Tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp red chili flakes
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
For the salad:
  • Spring green mix, about 4 large handfuls, washed and dried
  • 1 long English cucumber, peeled and sliced into rounds
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, washed, de-seeded and minced (omit if you don’t want the heat)
  • 1 avocado, cubed
  • few sprigs of cilantro, washed well and chopped fine
  • 1/4 cup mint leaves, washed and julienned
  • 1/4 cup basil leaves, washed and julienned
  • few sprigs of spring onion, chopped in to small rings (optional)
  • 1/4 cup toasted almond slivers for garnish (optional)
Method:

 

  • Prepare the pickled radishes and carrots:
    • Mix the water, vinegar, salt and sugar well
    • Pour over the sliced radishes and carrots
    • Close tightly with a lid and refrigerate for at least 3 days
    • When ready to use, strain the liquid and throw it away

 

 

  • Prepare the baked lemongrass tofu:
    • Drain the water and place the tofu on a deep plate or bowl.  Place another plate over the tofu and weigh it down for at least an hour until the water is squeezed out of the tofu.  Then cut the tofu in to slabs.
    • Place the tofu slabs if possible in 1 or 2 layers in a shallow container with a lid
    • Whisk together the oil, vinegar, chili flakes, garlic, lemongrass, salt and sugar thoroughly
    • Pour over the tofu
    • Close tightly and refrigerate overnight
    • To bake the tofu:  Preheat the oven to 400F
    • Remove the tofu from the container and save the marinade.  You will use the marinade as a dressing
    • Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil and place the tofu in a single layer on the foil
    • Bake for 10 – 15 minutes, flipping the tofu once mid way, until slightly golden on both sides
    • Cool and cut the baked tofu in to bite-sized pieces
  • Save the marinade for dressing:
    • Strain the minced lemon grass, garlic and chili flakes from the tofu marinade. (Press with the back of a spoon to release all flavors)
    • Add more oil and vinegar if needed
    • Taste and adjust salt and add a pinch of black pepper and whisk
  • Assemble the salad:
    • Toss together the spring green mix, pickled radishes and carrots, baked lemon grass tofu, sliced cucumber, jalapeno peppers, avocado and chopped herbs with the dressing
    • Garnish with toasted almond slivers while serving

As we sat outdoors on this beautiful spring day to enjoy our lunch salad, hummingbirds and bees buzzed around, presumably enjoying their own lunch.  This has indeed been a lovely spring with tons of flowers due to the generous winter rains.    After lunch, I sat outside here dreaming up more radish recipes to make in the days to come.

P.S.  I am submitting this recipe to Meat-free Mondays on Tinned Tomatoes!   As mentioned in the previous post, I totally believe in a “reducetarian” diet, where everyone attempts to reduce their intake of meat for our own health and the health of our planet.

by Veggie Sutra

Broccoli Frittata

“The mountains are calling and I must go.” – John Muir

It has been a pretty sunshiny week and weekend after a long time!   And since Friday was V’s birthday, which he shares with John Muir (patron saint of the majestic Sierra mountains of California) it only felt appropriate to play hooky from work and hit the local hills.

 

Long Ridge Open Space Preserve, La Honda, CA

 

The rains here in Northern California have been torrential through the first part of April.  The good news is that the tiresome drought was finally declared to be over.   The other good news is that the parched trees and dry hillsides of California have been revived, and it did my eyes and soul good to see the lush greenery.  And since good news comes in threes, the third piece of good news is that my leg is progressively getting better and I am able to do short hikes which are not too strenuous.

On the food front, we are continuing to incorporate brassicas in our diet in different ways.   For V’s birthday lunch, I made a simple arugula salad to go with a vegetable sandwich stuffed with red and green bell pepper and onions and grilled with truffle oil.   And yes, arugula is indeed a brassica.

 

 

Continuing on with Veggie Sutra’s series on brassicas, the brassica of choice is the much reviled broccoli, used to make a frittata.  The recipe is adapted from the book V got me called Brassicas – Cooking the World’s Healthiest Vegetables by Laura B. Russell.  The book has very basic recipes that are easy to make even for a weeknight dinner.

 

 

I used my trusted 12″ Lodge Cast Iron pan which I could directly pop in to the oven.   I strongly recommend getting one, even though it is a quite a workout to lift the pan in and out of the oven.   If not, you may cook the broccoli in a regular saute pan and then transfer to a approximately 13″ casserole or baking dish.

 

 

Recipe for Broccoli Frittata  (*not vegan)

Adapted from Brassicas – Cooking the World’s Healthiest Vegetables by Laura B. Russell.

[Printable Recipe]

Makes 8 slices (8 servings)

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 5-6 cloves garlic, minced fine
  • 4 packed cups broccoli florets chopped in to bite sized pieces (save the stems to make a hearty soup)
  • 1 cup grated pepper jack cheese
  • Red chili flakes (optional) for heat
  • 4 Tbsp ground flax seeds
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 Tbsp whole milk
  • 1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Pre-heat the oven to 400F
  • Heat the oil in the cast iron pan, add the garlic and lower the heat
  • When the garlic is fragrant, add the broccoli and saute for a few minutes
  • Sprinkle some water on the broccoli, close with a lid and let the broccoli soften for around 5 mins
  • While the broccoli is cooking, whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt, black pepper and a tablespoon of milk
  • Open the lid, sprinkle some salt, flax seed powder and red chili (if using) on the broccoli and mix
  • At this stage if you are not using an oven proof pan, transfer to a casserole or baking dish.  Lightly pat the broccoli to make an even layer at the bottom of the pan or baking dish.
  • Sprinkle the cheese on top of the broccoli
  • Pour the eggs on top and cook for around 2 minutes until the eggs start to set around the edges
  • Transfer the cast iron pan to the oven and cook for around 10 minutes, until a knife inserted in to the frittata comes out clean
  • Remove from oven, and wait for it to cool a bit
  • Slice and serve with some hot sauce

 

 

The broccoli frittata made for a very convenient, filling and healthy breakfast dish, which was super easy to  make ahead for the week.   You could also serve it as the featured dish at lunch with a green salad on the side.