Broccoli, Wild Rice and Cheese Casserole

Underneath all of that cheesy richness is loads of broccoli and wild rice, nestled in a cheese sauce! Not diet food, for sure, but 100% grade A, comfort food when you are tired of the rain and long for some sunshine!

Here in Northern California, we are not quite underwater - thankfully my house is on a hill - but our winter precipitation level is atmospheric, like the rain we have been receiving. Yup, we no longer are in drought conditions, and hopefully that will help when wildfire season arrives, but for now, let's fight the wet and cold with this delicious dish!

Mushroom Rye Casserole

I won't lie. This is one of those be-inspired-by-a-recipe-but-substitute-what-I-had and those don't usually turn out so well. This is the exception that proves the point!

The basic ingredients of cottage cheese, sour cream and mushrooms were sitting in the frig, but no rice and no parmesan. But there were rye berries and emmentaler, so substitutions were made. And it was amazing!

Personally, the rye berries really made this dish: chewy and nutty, more flavorful than rice. Sold! Also, with tons of cheese sitting in the cheese drawer, some was going in no matter what was in the recipe. The nuttiness of the emmentaler paired nicely with the rye and the mushrooms. Definitely a winner that will be making an appearance again!

Although the photo is less than appetizing (hello winter light!), trust me that the dish must be worth it for me to publish a post on it with such a photo.

Homemade Granola

There are more than 750 posts on this blog and not one is about homemade granola...because I had never made it, until now.

I know. Those of you in the know are slapping your forehead. What took me so long!

Really, there is no excuse.

And now there is none for you either. Because it is dead simple, and you can make it with all of those bits of stuff in your pantry that you have been saving for whenever you a recipe that calls for sunflower seeds and pepitas and chopped nuts and shredded coconut and, well, you get the picture.

Add in some rolled oats, coconut oil, dried fruit of a sort, spice of a sort and bake for 20 minutes.

Yup, 20 minutes and then you have homemade granola. Just like that. To eat with your homemade yogurt, because that is really easy too. But that's for another day.

Happy Samhain! Halloween! Dias de los Muertos!

30 Minute Pizza Crust - Pesto Pizza with Homemade Veggie Italian Sausage

It was one of those nights, when cooking seems like the hardest thing to do - yes, it happens, even to me. And then Vegan Richa's new post popped up and she promised a 30 minute pizza crust. Intriguing and turns out, quite good!

Oddly enough it is a normal crust - flour, water, yeast, oil, salt. There is very little rise period, which makes for a very crispy crust. Take care not to overbake it or it will be too crispy!

Having just made some veggie Italian sausage and being gifted with two huge bunch of fresh basil, it was perfect for a pesto pizza with pan fried sausage on top!

Do note that I made my crust with spelt flour so the water in the recipe is slightly less; check Richa's recipe for the wheat flour version.

Arancini - Rice Balls Stuffed with Mozzarella in Tomato Sauce

Arancini are street food of the gods...or so they tell me. While I have not actually eaten them on the streets of Italy, once discovered about 25 years ago they have made the regular rounds in my cooking repertoire.

Arriving at the table looking like meatballs in sauce, they are actually crunchy morsels of rice wrapped around a cube of mozzarella and doused in your favorite tomato sauce. Such deliciousness!

It was shocking to realize that there was no arancini post on this blog, so naturally I whipped up a batch to remedy the situation. These are stuffed with cheese, but apparently the Italians will stuff them with ragu (meat and tomato sauce), or peas and mozzarella, which all sound tasty but too complicated for me.

For this meal I also made a grilled smoky chard dish that had garlic breadcrumbs so I showered some on the arancini, great move!

Traditional arancini are usually made with white rice but brown rice has always been my choice. I like the nubby nutty texture and taste better than white rice, and it makes for a healthier meal (despite frying them in oil!)

Homemade Spelt Naan

Ahhh naan, it's the reason you go to an Indian restaurant, especially if they have a tandoor oven in which they make this fresh, delicious flat bread. You would think that it could only be made well in such a specialized oven, but fear not dear reader, you too can make delicious naan at home!

It does really help if you have a cast iron flat pan or griddle, but supposedly you can make it on a pizza stone as well (this sounds totally reasonable to me, although I have never tried it.)

When wheat and I parted ways, spelt came to my rescue and this is my version of naan with white spelt flour. As usual, it requires a little less liquid in the dough, but still makes a wonderfully chewy naan that everyone really appreciated!

Prawn Fried Rice

Fried rice was my guilty pleasure of choice in college; greasy, soy sauced deliciousness delivered to my door! It took me years to realize that this was a really simple dish to make at home, as long as you always used at least day old rice - it is a soggy mess if you use freshly cooked!

There are endless variations on this in terms of what veggies to add, but I always keep some frozen peas and corn on hand because they are often my favorite part of the dish, next to the prawns.  But it is also a great dish to clean out your vegetable drawers when things are starting to wane past their prime time. Just make sure to follow the firmness rule; if steaming a vegetable takes 15  plus minutes (broccoli, cauliflower, fennel) than it gets cooked first, and softer ones come later. Toss in the peas and corn with the softest ones (except greens, those always go in at the last second to keep their vibrant color!)

As with all wok meals, cook your proteins first and then make the veggies. This is pure comfort food for me and always brings back pleasant memories of guilty pleasures!

Creamed Chanterelle Mushrooms with Polenta

When it comes to wild mushrooms you cannot get them except in season, end of story. So when chanterelles show their gorgeous orange yellow trumpets on the mushroom aisle, they get scooped up fast! You can also find them at farmers' markets if you have a mushroom forager stall. Grab some and make this dish - you'll be smitten too!

Of course chanterelles are great over pasta as well, but if you're looking for a break from wheat or gluten, polenta is almost as quick and easy to make. Try not to over cook the polenta because then it becomes kind of rubbery, which is not bad if you want to then slice it and place it under the broiler with more butter and cheese. However a more creamy, pour-able version is what you are looking for in this recipe.

This post jumped ahead of lots of others because chanterelle season doesn't last long! Thankfully it is not as short as Morels (3-5 weeks at best!) but they will be gone faster than you think, so go get some now!

Vegetarian Breakfast Sausage - DIY Pantry

Breakfast sausage is one of those faux meat items that I have begrudgingly bought in a package. My boyfriend's kids like it, I like it, he likes it. So hard to break that taste habit! But, being stubborn and an avid DIYer, I decided to break this cycle and make my own.

Wow, can I just say wow! Tooting your own horn is kind of declasse, but these were delicious! And great texture (always the tricky thing with homemade faux meat). We definitely preferred them sliced and fried in rounds or make them as skinny as possible, otherwise the insides don't get as warm nor crispy, the best part!

While I labeled this as "DIY Pantry", trust me when I tell you that they will not last long in the pantry! Yes, you can freeze them but really, everyone will gobble them up, no matter how many times you double and triple the recipe!

Oh, and the kicker? They're gluten free. Yes, really, truly, and delicious! They are actually healthy for you, packed with beans, oatmeal and quinoa. Whoodda thunk it?!

Ricotta White Pizza with Artichokes, Olives and Basil

Pizza is still my favorite comfort food, although a close second to chips and salsa. Since I could eat it every day and not tire of it, I limit myself to my homemade dough so that my addiction stays in check. Here I did a simple white pizza with lots of Mediterranean flair.

White pizzas are fun and can be made with just mozzarella and toppings or you can branch out and make it with a combination of other white cheeses like ricotta or cottage cheese or a mix of the two as I did here since it's what was in the refrigerator that needed to be used up.

Quinoa, Corn, and Jalapeno Salad

Fads of any sort just don't register with me. Maybe it's the cynical attitude my mom raised me on - decoding and demystifying advertizing and commericals - but I just don't buy the hype for anything. So while so many folks are coocoo for quinoa, it's still just another grain (or rather seed) that is fun to cook up. No effusive, gushing from me on this supergrain, just a fun recipe that seems exotic but is just plain tasty.

This is Moroccan in style to the extent that the heat of the jalapeno is tamed with pomegranate molasses, one of my favorite secret ingredients. Mint and cilantro are herbs frequently sprinkled in North African cuisine.

Even if you are just inching your way into Moroccan cuisine, this is a great dish to use to introduce this fascinating cuisine to your family!

Cauliflower Enchiladas with Spicy Cream Sauce

Soooooo who knew that cauliflower would make an incredible enchilada filling? Not me, that's for darn sure. but when Joanne of Eats Well With Others likes it, there is no doubt about its supreme deliciousness. That woman does not mess around!

But when you think about it, what's not to love - roasted cauliflower, cream sauce, and a little heat and spice. Sounds like a perfect match to me.

The original recipe uses butter, queso fresco, and yogurt to make a super creamy sauce; veganizing it with cashews and nutritional yeast was my take on it, and even my omnivore, cream loving roommate thought it was pretty spectacular.

A note on the proportions: the recipe below reflects a doubling of what I originally made since my cauliflower was really small and there could have easily been more sauce. In addition, the original recipe involved roasting poblano chilies and peeling them, and adding them to the cream sauce, which sounds delicious but I only had a single jalapeno so that's what I made. As always, freestyle as you like and with what you've got in your pantry. That's the best way to suit your own tastes! 

Barley Pancakes with Cardamom and Dates

Mark Bittman is a God and if he'd have me, I'd be his first "Bitthead", following him around with that dazed look in my eyes as followers are apt to have, just savoring the bon mots and delicious morsels he produced. Mark, if you're reading this, please don't be shy, just reach out and let me know!

Why the latest gush? His brilliant Cardamom-Scented Oatmeal Pancakes. I made them early one morning with some leftover cooked barley and fell deeply, truly, madly in love with them. These are an addiction in the making, so don't say I didn't forewarn you!

While this addition included an egg, the recipe could have easily been veganized with either egg replacer or 2 teaspoons of ground flax seed combined with 2 teaspoons of water left to soak for a few minutes. And along the vegan lines, Mark's next cookbook, VB6 (that's Vegan Before 6 for those of you who are less of a devote than me), will be released at the end of April.

Rice Pudding with Cardamom and Coconut Milk

Exasperation, frustration, vexation, you name it, that has been how I've been feeling about my inability to blog about food lately... I know, how hard is it to make a dish, photograph it and write about it? For me for the past few weeks, undoable.

This particular post has automatically posted three times (the amount of times I keep putting it off). I did make Rice Pudding with Cardamom and Coconut Milk about 6 weeks ago. It was so good I ate it before daylight, before I could photograph it. But I just haven't been able to do it again since. Life happens!

So, here it is. The recipe I used, my inspiration, and a picture of screaming oranges (and Kumquats, to be truthful).  Because that's my truth!

Rice Pudding with Cardamom and Coconut Milk (inspired by Sassy Radish)

1/2 cup arborio rice
2 cups almond milk
2 cups full fat coconut milk
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cloves
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients and bring to boil and simmer for 50 minutes until creamy. Serve immediately.

Hugs!

Thai Curry Creamed Cabbage

Oh, the lowly green cabbage. It isn't colorful like red cabbage or crinklely like Napa cabbage or juicy like Chinese cabbage. But when you cook it just right, it's the best comfort food around.

Especially when you pair it with coconut milk and some nice warming spices like a red Thai curry. Stir it into some quinoa and we're talking pantry magic like you haven't seen cabbage make in such a long time!

Red cabbage is often my first choice in raw salads for the color alone. But green cabbage cooks up better because when it is gently sweated or sauteed, its sweeter side opens up, like a beautiful flower embracing your taste buds. Adding the coconut milk just makes this side dish silky and smooth; the kick of the Thai curry simply ensures that you don't fall asleep at the table as you get all comfy and warm!

Kickin' Mock Chicken Pizza

 Ever since discovering the "Buffalo" combination, I have been a life long fan. As a cook at Jaggers' restaurant in Atlanta, GA, I used to fry up the wings and send them out hot and spicy.

Wings are best made in a deep fryer, so I rarely made them at home. But a few years ago I had a hankering for them and figured out a way to make a traditional version using the oven. Recently I veganized them. But my latest version involves pizza! Specifically, it was Dagwood's Kickn' Chickn' Pizza that inspired me; use hot sauce for the red sauce, sliced tempeh on top with cilantro and drizzles of ranch dressing. Fantastic!

This is the second copycat pizza I have made inspired by Dagwoods' Pizza, the first being BBQ Tempeh Chicken. But this was the first vegan pizza I made, using vegan cheese. I used a combination of the Daiya and Lisanatti brands of mozzarella, since I find the taste of the Lisanatti better although the Daiya melts better. I found it to be a good mix, but feel free to work with whatever you prefer.

Kickin' Mock Chicken Pizza

pizza dough for 12" pie
1/2 cup hot sauce (DIY Pantry)
4 oz tempeh
2 bay leaves
1 sprig thyme
4 fresh sage leaves
1 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups vegan mozzarella, shredded
small handful cilantro, chopped
2-3 tablespoons vegan ranch dressing (DIY Pantry)

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Steam tempeh with bay leaves, thyme and sage leaves for 15 minutes. Drain water and discard herbs. Cool tempeh for 10 minutes then slice into six 1/2" pieces and if desired, quickly sear on high heat in olive oil to give them a crunchy edge.

On floured baking sheet, spread pizza dough out to desired size. Smear hot sauce around, leaving 1/2 inch border. If you sauce is really fiery, spread very thinnly; the hot temperature of the pizza will increase the heat of the hot sauce in your mouth! Sprinkle mozzarella over top, top with tempeh and bake for 13-16 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and cheese is bubbling. Remove from oven and sprinkle cilantro over top and drizzle with ranch dressing. Serve immediately.

Hugs!

Recipes currently inspiring me:

Dreamy Creamy Tofu Pickle and Pea Salad at K's Veg Recipes
Apple Cider Donuts at Leaves and Flours
Avocado Coconut Lime Tart at Just the Food

Rejuvelac - DIY Pantry

Timetraveling was one of those magical things that I always wanted to do as a kid (and wrinkling my nose like Tabitha from Bewitched to make things go poof!) Timetraveling would have come in handy so I could meet all of my western frontier heroes, be a pioneer woman like Laura Ingalls Wilder and live with the Indians - I was so born out of my time! Notice a theme here? Making everything from scratch because back then there were no grocery stores with packaged goods, only bulk supplies!

And what does all of this oversharing of my childhood dreams have to do with the strange looking liquids in the jars above? That is homemade rejuvelac, a very old-fashioned health drink that I discovered in Wild Fermentation. Rejuvelac is a liquid probiotic drink derived from soaking grains, sprouting them and then drinking the liquid flavored by the sprouted grains. Very little effort (but some time investment) to produce a super healthy probiotic drink that keeps your internal system working like clockwork but more importantly is great for fermenting nut cheese!

Traditionally, rejuvelac is made with wheat or rye berries, but just for kicks (and for those of you who are gluten free) I made a batch with white quinoa too (not pictured). I preferred the rye version for its more sour flavor (like good sour dough) since the quinoa had a distinctively sweeter taste. While I have only used it in fermenting cashew cheese, I am curious to experiment with it to see if I can use it in baking or making nut yogurt, ala Tongue Ticklers' post on curdling cashew milk with the stems of fresh green chilies!

If you want to use another grain, it's the same proportions as listed below. And in case you haven't discovered Sandor Katz aka Sandorkraut do check him out. Making fermented food is the chemistry homework you wished you'd gotten in high school!

Rejuvelac
(makes 2 cups)

2 cups rye berries
4 cups water
1 quart mason jar

Place rye berries in jar and add 4 cups water and cover with cheesecloth or clean cloth and secure with a rubber band and allow to soak in dark, cool place like your cupboard for 24 hours. Drain off liquid after 24 hours and rinse well. Drain and recover and secure with rubberband and place back in cool, dark place for 12 hours. Repeat three more times as berries begin to sprout. After rinsing and draining four times and berries have little tails, fill with water and recover and allow to soak for 24 hours. Pour off resulting rejuvelac and refrigerate covered. It will taste slightly sour and fizzy and is a good drink for improving your digestion as well as being a liquid probiotic. Keeps for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Hugs!

Recipes currently inspiring me:

Eggplant Bounty Pie at Stacey Snacks
Asian Pear and Lemon Cucumber Salad with Rosemary Molasses Tempeh at Keeping it Kind
Baked Orzo with Eggplant and Mozzarella at Smitten Kitchen

Fakin' Bacon - DIY Pantry

If you had told me a couple of years ago that I would love eating a faux meat made with buckwheat and adzuki beans I would have laughed you out of the country! Seasoned pork is what made me fall off the vegetarian wagon five years ago in addition to frustration with all of the unpronounceable ingredients in packaged fake meats. Making my own was a disaster, so I succumbed to eating the real thing. 

But the vegan revolution of the past couple of years has altered my life forever.

This is day one of VeganMoFo! Let's all do a happy dance!

Nearly two years ago when The Ordinary Vegetarian posted this vegan bacon recipe I tucked it away in my to do file, but wasn't sure I was going to actually try it while I was still an omnivore. But as a returning vegetarian well on my way to veganism, I wanted to see if it really was easy and delicious as Sarah claimed. Happy to report it is!

Forbidden Rice Bowl

When is an ordinary bowl not so ordinary? When it's chock full of lip-smacking goodness! There are lots of variations on the "bowl," by which I mean a bowl full of grains, layered with vegetables and a protein, smothered in some sort of sauce. Vegetarian and vegan restaurants love to offer these, and places as low brow as Take a Bao to higher consciousness establishments like Cafe Gratitude also provide similar fare. For me, it's just a great lunch, for home or work.

While the version you see above was my need to clean out some of my unused pantry items, do not think that you need something fancy for tummy-rubbing satisfaction. It truly is a simple formula:

- cooked grains in the bottom of the bowl (rice, quinoa, barley)
- topped with chopped veggies - carrots, greens, bell peppers, cabbage, you name it
- crowned with a protein - beans, tofu, mushrooms
- slathered in some sort of sauce (or dressing, depending on your word preference)

Spelt Focaccia with Swiss Chard and Roasted Garlic

A couple of months ago when I was in the throes of my limited diet, I found this focaccia recipe at Cook (Almost) Anything. Not only was it easy to make, but versatile and really tasty. Alas, it turned out spelt was not distant enough of a cousin to wheat and had to be exiled from my diet. Fast forward to now when my ear is healed and my beloved breadstuffs are once again consumable, I made this focaccia again. Just as great as I remembered!

The swiss chard and roasted garlic are my additions, so make whatever pleases you. The original recipe called for dusting the top with fresh rosemary and that was it - simplicity at its best. But being an avowed bread-aholic, adding vegetables to the focaccia assuages my guilty conscience!