Fruit Gel Babies

School started for us in Mississippi about four weeks ago, but I know that in other parts of the country and world, parents are just now preparing to send their kids back to school. For vegan parents, that means we start looking for good foods to put into our children's lunch boxes. And while we want the food to be healthy, we know that it also has to be something that our kids will actually eat. That's where these Fruit Gel Babies come in.

Most kids love "jell-o" and my daughter is no different. We've been happy lately to find Dole Fruit Gels in the supermarket, and the mandarine orange flavor, at least, is vegan. But they're relatively expensive, contribute to landfill waste, and contain added sugar and artificial flavorings. So what I've been doing is making my own gel cups at home, using 100% fruit juice and no added sugar.



The recipe below made about 8 Fruit Gel Babies, but then my daughter and her friend got home from school and ate most of them (well, I helped a little). I used various sizes of plastic cups--I think the ones shown are 4 ounces each--and went very simple and used canned fruit salad packed in juice, but you can use freshly chopped fruit. Just be sure to dip apples and bananas in orange juice to prevent browning, and avoid using fresh pineapple because it will prevent the agar from gelling.

Fruit Gel Babies

1 28-ounce can or 2 14-ounce cans fruit packed in juice
about 1 1/2 cups apple juice
1 tsp. agar powder
small plastic containers

Drain the juice completely from the can of fruit into a 2-cup measure. Add apple juice to equal a total of 2 cups of juice. Pour it into a saucepan, and sprinkle the agar over the surface. Set it aside to soften for a few minutes.

Divide the fruit equally among the plastic containers. (You may use 8-10 tiny containers or fewer larger ones.)

Stir the agar into the fruit juice, and begin heating it. Cook, stirring regularly, until it reaches a boil. When it's boiling and all the agar seems to be dissolved, remove it from the heat. Spoon it equally over the fruit in the plastic cups--you'll want to fill them almost to the top so that the gel won't slosh around in your child's lunchbox. Tap the bottom of each cup gently on the counter to remove any air bubbles.

Let them cool on the counter; then put the tops on the containers and place them in the fridge.

These took a grand total of 10 minutes to make and less than an hour to firm up. Feel free to go all creative and add food coloring and interestingly shaped fruit if you want, though I have to say that the kids in my house didn't need any tricks to get them to eat these Babies.

Kid-Friendly Bonus: E's Top 5 Lunchbox Entrées

E's lunchbox often contains the same boring things: either PB&J sandwiches or SmartDeli "bologna" and olive sandwiches. Other days we get a little more creative and get out the thermos. Here are her favorite things to see when she opens her lunchbox:

1. Hummus with crackers/pita wedges and carrots
2. Spaghetti with marinara sauce or any leftover pasta dish
3. Thai Kitchen rice noodles or ramen noodles (I add broccoli slaw while cooking the noodles to add more nutrients.)
4. Mexican Sushi or burritos with refried beans
5. Split Pea Soup, once the weather cools down

Of course, this can't compare to the variety of lunches on the vegan lunch box blog, which you should check out if you haven't already. There are a whole lot of ideas there, for grown-ups as well as kids!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Eggplant Paprikash

Yes, it's my weekly eggplant recipe! I know you're as excited as I am. After all, you can never have too much eggplant.

As part of my agenda to convert everyone into Eggplant Lovers (aka Aubergine Admirers and Brinjal Buddies), I've transformed the traditional Hungarian chicken paprikash into a vegan dish worthy of an eggplant. Mild Hungarian paprika gives the sauce its vibrant color and rich, distinctive flavor, while tofu "sour cream" adds creaminess and zing.



Eggplant Paprikash

1 large onion, halved and cut into thin wedges
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. red pepper (optional)
1 tsp. salt (optional)
1 1/2 - 2 lbs. eggplant (about 2 medium) cut into 1-inch cubes
2 bell peppers, any color, sliced (I used red and yellow)
1 cup vegetable broth
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes (I used Muir Glen Fire Roasted)
1/8 tsp. Liquid Smoke flavoring
1/2 cup tofu sour cream (see below)

Tofu Sour Cream:

1/2 package (about 6 ounces) lite silken tofu
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tbsp. cashew butter or tahini
1/4 tsp. salt (optional)

Blend all the ingredients for the tofu sour cream until completely smooth, and set aside in the refrigerator until needed.

In a large, non-stick saucepan, sauté the onion in a small amount of water until it begins to brown, about 5-8 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika, and red pepper (optional), and stir for one minute. Add the salt, eggplant, peppers, vegetable broth, and tomatoes. Cover and simmer until the eggplant is tender, about 15-20 minutes.

When the eggplant is done, check the seasonings and add more salt if necessary. Stir in the Liquid Smoke (optional) and the sour cream, and cook for another minute, until warmed through. Serve over pasta (I used Tinkyada Pasta Joy brown rice noodles) or rice. Serves 4.

How many eggplant recipes have I featured here? Even I'm not sure, but here are links to a few of them:

Stuffed Eggplants and Not-So-Dirty Rice
Eggplants and Tofu in Spicy Garlic Sauce
Eggplant Creole
Rigatoni with Zucchini and Eggplant
Farmer's Market Quinoa

I'm sending this over to Sweetnicks for the Antioxidant-Rich Foods Roundup tonight. Check it out--maybe there'll be more eggplant there!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live ARF/5-A-Day

5 Foods to Live For

I've been tagged for a meme. Now, before you worry that I should get my shots updated, let me explain that a meme is simply something that all the cool kids are doing, and being "tagged" for it means that I've been asked to join in. Sort of like, "If all your friends were jumping off a bridge, would you jump, too?" (In a word, Mom, yes.)

This particular meme was started by Melissa at The Traveler's Lunchbox, though she designated it a "joint project," rather than a meme. The idea is to "create a list of food bloggers' top picks for things you've eaten and think that everyone should eat at least once before they die." I was tagged by Ilva of Lucullian Delights (whose photos are so beautiful that they make me want to move to Italy and take photography lessons from her). Thanks for thinking of me, Ilva.

I had a hard time choosing only five foods that I think everyone should try. My mind went immediately to the simple: a ripe tomato still warm from the sun, figs and peaches and satsumas right off the tree--in short, the fresh food I grew up picking from my father's garden. (Oh how surprised he'd be to hear that, given the amount of resistance I put up to doing any work in that garden!) But I looked at the other food bloggers' lists and saw that these simple pleasures had mostly been covered, so I decided to go in a different direction and name for you the five dishes that I'm most happy to have discovered.

1. Tapenade: Though I first prepared tapenade for my wedding ten years ago, my attachment to this rich spread made of Kalamata olives and pinenuts isn't sentimental. It's just that good. Others agree with me--after the wedding, people kept requesting that I make and bring tapenade to every party we went to.

2. Ethiopian food: Go to the Adams Morgan district of Washington, D.C., and walk into just about any Ethiopian restaurant you come to. Order the vegetarian meal, and prepare yourself for a symphony of tastes that you'll never forget. Have fun using injera, a spongy flatbread like no other, to pick up bites of food. And don't forget to swing by and pick me up before you go because I will never turn down Ethiopian food.

3. Mussamun curry: When we lived in Columbia, South Carolina, my favorite take-out meal was from a Thai restaurant that made the best Mussamun curry with tofu. It was ridiculously fattening, full of coconut milk and peanuts, but it sent me on a lifelong search to find curry that good again. It can be found, but not in Jackson, Mississippi. At least not until I perfect the recipe.

4. Pesto: Pesto on pasta. Pesto on potatoes. Pesto on the end of a spoon. Peppery, garlicky, basily pesto, I'm so glad I found you!

5. Pralines: My father was the candy maker in my family (and the chief candy eater, too). He used to dedicate a whole Saturday afternoon to making pralines full of cream, butter, and pecans. I can make them, too, and even with vegan ingredients they're rich and decadent and impossible to resist.

Well, that's my list. I've just noticed that nothing on it is fat-free, but these are special occasion foods to try before you die--not to eat until you die. For daily eating, I suggest sticking to those simpler pleasures that I mentioned first. You'll live longer!

Though I hate to pressure anyone into it, I'd love to hear what the following bloggers would add to the list:

Karina at Gluten-Free Goddess
Catherine at Albion Cooks
Bryanna at Notes from the Vegan Feast Kitchen
Isil at Veggie Way
and any of you reading this--share your lists!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food foodbloggers meme

Weekend Dog and Blog Blogging

I wanted to share with you a couple of blogs that I've been reading, but since no blog entry is complete without a photo, I thought I'd break my own "food-only rule" and post a photo of my dog, Jazzy. I managed to get her to stand still long enough to take her photo yesterday--a rare event for this hyper dog. She's looking up at her squeaky ball that I'm holding ransom, waiting for me to throw it.

To get her attention, you have to either offer her treats or play fetch with her. I figure it balances out as long as we play with her enough to burn off the calories of the treats. (Dog lovers can check out more doggie photos at Sweetnick's later this weekend.)

Now, for the real reason for this post: If you look at my links list, you'll notice that I read (or try to read) way too many blogs. I've recently been going through them and trimming off any blogs that aren't posting anymore to keep the list useful to people looking for good blogs. Today it occurred to me that there are a lot of interesting vegan blogs that aren't getting much attention and really deserve it. So every now and then, when I don't have a recipe to post, I'll point out to you a blog you should check out. (Please don't be hurt if I don't mention your blog--it's probably because it's already receiving a lot of comments or links.)

First of all, Dilip Barman of Dinner with Dilip has done something that amazes me: ever since June of 2004, he's cooked a different vegan dinner for his wife and himself. No repeats! He's been blogging these dinners since this past March, and while he doesn't always include recipes, he has photos of the dinner plates and very detailed descriptions of the food. Since Dilip teaches cooking, you'll also get a glimpse at what he's cooking up in his classes. If you can't think of anything to make for dinner, browse through Dilip's archives for some great ideas.

Kaji's Mom...A Transition to Vegan is a brand new blog, just started at the beginning of this month. Kaji's Mom (Kaji's a dog, by the way) provides recipes, many of which are low in fat, and takes gorgeous photos of the food. She's just getting started, and I, for one, want to see her keep on blogging, so drop in and let her know if you like her stuff.

You know, people rarely blog in a vacuum; it's feedback from readers that keeps most bloggers blogging. So please, whenever you visit a blog that speaks to you in some way--with a photo that made you salivate, a comment that made you laugh, or a cooking idea that you never would have thought of--leave the blogger a comment so that he or she will know that someone is listening, that someone appreciates the time and effort that goes in to the blog. I know I need to be better about commenting, too, but with over 100 blogs on my blogroll, it's hard to get around to all of them. But I will try.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food blogging dogs

Poached Pears in Raspberry Sauce

I'm going to share this elegant-looking dessert with you even though I'm the only person in my house who will eat it. My husband, apparently, does not like pears. He's told me that before, but I guess it just didn't register because I can't imagine anyone not liking pears--or any other fruit. (I can't think of a single fruit I don't like.) So he didn't even try this. My daughter, on the other hand, tried one bite of it but didn't want more. She likes pears, I think. Maybe she doesn't like cooked pears? Oh well, more pears for me!

The recipe is super-fast and easy because you use a microwave to cook the pears. If you don't like microwaves, you can cook the pears on the stove, but you'll need to simmer them in fruit juice or other liquid, whereas if you cook them in the microwave, you're basically poaching them in their own juices.



Poached Pears in Raspberry Sauce

4 Bosc pears
1 1/2 tsp. maple syrup
cinnamon
2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
1/4 cup apple juice
1 1/2 tsp. orange liqueur
sweetener to taste (I used 3 tbsp. agave nectar)

Peel the pears and trim the bottoms to that they (maybe) stand upright. Put them in a microwave-safe casserole dish, drizzle them with the maple syrup and sprinkle them with cinnamon. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Cook on high power until they are tender, but not mushy, about 8-10 minutes. When they're done, lift them out of the dish and place them on serving plates. Reserve any of their juices to add to the raspberry sauce.

If the raspberries are frozen, heat them in a saucepan until they're thawed. Then put the raspberries and orange juice in a blender, and add any juices from the pears. Puree until completely blended. Set a strainer over the saucepan, and pour the raspberry mixture through it, stirring and pressing on it to force the juices into the pan while removing the seeds. Add the orange liqueur and sweetener to taste. Heat, stirring, until mixture thickens slightly, about 5-10 minutes.

Serve the pear on a dessert plate or bowl surrounded by raspberry sauce. Garnish, if you wish, with extra raspberries.

One pear per serving: 192 Calories (kcal); 1 g Total Fat; (4% calories from fat); 1 g Protein; 48 g Carbohydrate; 0 mg Cholesterol; 1 mg Sodium; 8 g Fiber.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Roasted Okra

My new favorite way to eat okra is so simple and easy that it almost can't be called a recipe. All you have to do is wash the okra, put it in an oiled baking dish, sprinkle it with seasonings, and bake it. The beauty of this is that no cutting is involved, so you never come in contact with the dreaded slime!

The okra come out slightly crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and they're perfect finger food (like green French fries, but don't use ketchup). Even my husband, who says that okra is not his favorite vegetable, loved these. For me they're the perfect side dish or light lunch--super-easy, fat-free, and delicious.

Roasted Okra

about 1/2 pound of small, whole okra per person
salt to taste
pepper to taste
olive oil spray

First, start with the smallest okra you can find. Larger okra tends to be woody, which wouldn't work in this recipe.

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Spray a shallow baking dish with olive oil, add okra, and season to taste. Give the okra one quick (1/2 second) spray with olive oil, and put them into the oven. Bake, stirring every 5 minutes, until okra is browned on all sides, about 15 minutes. Serve hot out of the oven.

You can also jazz these up with spice blends such as garam masala, curry powder, chili powder, Creole seasonings, or jerk seasonings--whatever your taste demands. But simple salt and pepper is amazingly good and allows the fresh flavor of the okra to shine through.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

South Carolina Golden Mustard Barbecue Sauce

When I moved to South Carolina, I was surprised to discover that the barbecue there was yellow instead of red. Tangy and sweet, mustard-based barbecue sauce was very popular, but I don't think I ever got a chance to sample the barbecued pork that the natives raved about because I became vegetarian shortly after moving there. Fortunately, the bottled sauce was available in stores, and once I tried it, I developed an instant love for it.

When we moved to Mississippi six years ago, my husband and I thought far enough ahead to bring several bottles of barbecue sauce with us. After all, we'd been importing Louisiana ingredients into South Carolina for years, and we were now prepared to drag South Carolina staples to Mississippi. Unfortunately, our stockpile of mustard sauce eventually ran out and a decent substitute was not to be found anywhere in Mississippi. What to do? It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out that I should just make my own.

So here's the recipe for the sauce. Be careful as you cook it not to lean over the pot or else you'll get a snootful of vinegar fumes!



South Carolina Golden Mustard Barbecue Sauce
(click for printer-friendly version)

1/2 cup prepared mustard (I use spicy brown mustard)
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tbsp molasses
1-2 tsp turmeric (makes it yellower)
3 tbsp agave nectar or other sweetener
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp celery salt (optional)
1/4 tsp rubbed thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Makes about 1 cup (enough for the tofu recipe below).

To make the Barbecued Tofu and Vegetables pictured above, I combined the sauce with 1 pound of cubed extra-firm tofu, 2 medium zucchini (cubed), 1 medium red onion (cut into wedges), and 1 red bell pepper (cubed). I poured it into a 8 X 11-inch non-metal baking dish (sprayed with non-stick spray) and baked it at 400 F for about 30 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes.

Tofu benefits from a longer cooking time than the vegetables, so another option is to mix half of the sauce with the tofu and bake it alone for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through; then add the vegetables and remaining sauce and cook for 15-20 more minutes. The vegetables will be tender-crisp while the tofu will firm up and absorb more of the sauce.

This family favorite meal is certified as kid-friendly: even the spice-intolerant E. loves this one!

Did you know that mustard and turmeric are good for you? Mustard seeds contain phytonutrients that have been studied for their anti-cancer effects, and turmeric contains a powerful antioxidant that is believed to help people with arthritis, protect against breast, prostate, lung, and colon cancer, and do a whole lot more.

For more antioxidant-rich recipes, check out Sweetnicks weekly event ARF-Tuesdays, which is posted each Tuesday night.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free ARF/5-A-Day

La Peche en Rose (Rosy Peach Cake)

There will be two morals to this story.

Moral #1: You can't judge a cake by its photo.

People seem to enjoy seeing the photos of the dishes on this blog, and I certainly enjoy taking them, so much so that last week, after a lot of research, I bought myself a much better camera as an early birthday present (and Christmas, Valentines, and anniversary present too, if you believe what I promised my husband). I wanted to start using it right away, of course, but the problem is that I was used to my old camera, and it's been a long time since I've operated a fully-manual camera. So my first few photos were not exactly great. The Fresh Lima Bean and Herb Soup took a passable photo, but my Eggplant and Tofu in Spicy Garlic Sauce, one of the best dishes I've had in a long time, looked pretty miserable for something so good.

Neither of those dishes was particularly photogenic, so I set out on Friday to make something worth photographing. My neighbor had brought me several peaches from her vacation, and I needed to use them while they were fresh, so I decided to make a peach cake, infuse it with rose water, and serve it with rose-soaked peaches on top. So far, so good.

Enter the Health Fairy, the little character that sits on my shoulder and whispers in my ear that fat-free and vegan isn't enough--food should be whole grain, too. I listened to the Health Fairy and used whole wheat flour, even though I knew while I was mixing it up that this particular ww flour was very coarse and bran-filled. I really should have listened to the portly little Epicurean Fairy, but he was off vacationing at Hedonism and not interested in offering advice.

So I used the whole grain flour, and the results were less than spectacular. Of the three little girls who sampled the cake, not one of them finished a piece--though they all ate the peaches off the top. My husband, on the other hand, loved it and was flabbergasted that the girls didn't. I enjoyed my cake conditionally, despairing that the texture was so grainy but reveling in the rose-soaked peaches that taste like the essence of romance.

Moral #2: Do as I say, not as I do.

Okay, so that's more of a parental mandate than a moral, but it will have to do. Please, don't make this with regular old whole wheat flour. Whole wheat pastry flour would probably be acceptable, and I've heard of people having good results from the new white whole wheat flour. To be safest, use unbleached white flour and consider it healthier than a trip to Hedonism.

La Pêche en Rose (Rosy Peach Cake)
(click for printer-friendly version)

5 ripe peaches (may use 1 large can of peaches canned in juice)
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp rose water

3/4 cup flour (whole wheat pastry flour or unbleached white flour)
1/4 cup chickpea flour (or soy flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup soy milk
1 tsp rose water

Remove the skin from the peaches. The easiest way to do this is by blanching them in boiling water for one minute and setting them aside to cool. The skins should slip right off.

Place the orange juice, agave nectar, and 1 tsp. rose water into a bowl. Cut the peaches into 1/2-inch-sized pieces (choose one nice-looking peach to cut into slices for the top of the cake, if you want), dropping them into the orange juice mixture and coating well. Set aside as you work on the rest of the cake.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Sift the chickpea flour before measuring it to remove any large, hard pieces that might be in it.

In a medium bowl combine the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and sugar. Stir together well.

Add soy milk and rose water to the dry ingredients, and stir just until blended. Use a slotted spoon to lift 2 cups of the chopped peaches out of the orange juice, making sure to drain any liquid back into the original bowl. Gently stir the well-drained peaches into the batter. Refrigerate the remaining peaches and juice.

Pour the batter into an 8" baking pan coated with nonstick spray (I used a round silicone pan). Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool completely before removing it from the pan. Just before serving, garnish it with the reserved peach slices and powdered sugar, and serve each piece topped with chopped peaches and their juices.

Optional: I added a few chopped cherries to the batter in order to give it a pinkish color. This didn't affect the taste and didn't even affect the color much, but it explains the dark spots you see in the photo. More trouble than it's worth, but you can do it if you want.

Makes 8 servings. Each contains (using whole wheat flour): 149 Calories (kcal); 1 g Total Fat; (4% calories from fat); 3 g Protein; 35 g Carbohydrate; 0 mg Cholesterol; 160 mg Sodium; 3 g Fiber.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

A Hint of Things to Come

I'll post the recipe soon, I promise, but for now I just wanted something a little prettier than that eggplant (delicious though it was) at the top of the page. Call me vain (at least about the blog)!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Eggplant and Tofu in Spicy Garlic Sauce

I know some of you are probably tired of seeing eggplant here. Eggplant recipes appear on this blog so often that I could probably change the name to FatFree Eggplant Recipes. But there's a reason for that: I love eggplant! I think it's one of the most versatile vegetables around. If you've been avoiding it because you're afraid you won't like it, I think it's time you gave it a try. And this is the recipe you should try. It's so good that even eggplant haters (like my daughter) like it.

If you're eggplant-phobic, do as I did and find some smaller, light purple or white eggplants, like the ones in the photo on this page. They are usually denser, less spongy, and less bitter than the larger eggplants. In this recipe, they are peeled, which makes the texture more appealing to eggplant virgins. They get soft rather than chewy, so be prepared for that before you chow down. Take a moment to savor the aroma of garlic, ginger, and sesame and then dig in. You will not fear eggplant anymore!



Eggplant and Tofu in Spicy Garlic Sauce
(click for printer-friendly version)

This Szechuan-style dish gets its heat from the chili sauce. Look for chili sauce or garlic chili sauce that has red chilies as its primary ingredient. Try to find the kind with the seeds intact, not the smoother type. Then adjust the amount to your desired level of spiciness.

1 pound extra-firm tofu (not silken)
1 tbsp soy sauce (reduced sodium)
2 tbsp. water
1/2 tsp dark sesame oil
4 small eggplants, about 1-1/2 pounds total, peeled and sliced into strips 2-inches long, 1-inch wide, and 1/4-inch thick (or use one large eggplant)
1/3 cup water
6-8 garlic cloves, minced--about 2 tbsp.
1-inch peeled fresh ginger, grated
3/4 cup vegetable broth or water
1 tbsp vegetarian hoisin sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce (reduced sodium preferred)
3 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 tbsp dark sesame oil
1/2 tbsp sugar or other sweetener
1/2 - 1 tsp hot chili sauce (available in Asian markets)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tomato, coarsely chopped
sprinkling of sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch slices and press them lightly between towels to get some of the moisture out. Combine the 3 tbsp. soy sauce with the 2 tbsp. water and 1/2 tsp. sesame oil. Dip each slice of tofu into the mixture and set on a plate.

Heat an oiled, non-stick skillet until hot. Place the tofu slices in the skillet and cook until browned. Turn over and brown the other sides. When the tofu is completely browned on both sides, remove it from the skillet and place it on a cutting board. Cut each slice into 8-10 cubes. Set aside.

Heat an oiled, non-stick wok and add the eggplant and 1/3 cup water. Cover and cook, stirring often, until eggplant begins to brown. Uncover and add the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 more minutes.

Add all remaining ingredients except the tomato, sesame seeds, and tofu. Simmer uncovered until all the eggplant slices are completely cooked--they will be very soft and start to fall apart. Add the tofu cubes and tomato and cook until heated through. Serve over rice, sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Makes 4 servings. Each serving, without rice, contains 187 Calories (kcal); 8g Total Fat; (34% calories from fat); 12g Protein; 21g Carbohydrate; trace Cholesterol; 716mg Sodium; 6g Fiber.

NOTE: Reduce the sodium by using water instead of broth, regular rice vinegar instead of seasoned, and reduced sodium soy sauce instead of regular soy sauce.

Want to check out the other eggplant recipes on this blog? Try the search engine.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food low-fat

Fresh Lima Bean and Herb Soup

When I was growing up, fresh lima beans (or butter beans, as we called them) were often on our table during the summer. Our neighbor would bring us a "mess" of them from her garden, and my siblings and I would sit at the kitchen table and help our mother shell them. I had completely forgotten about them until a few years ago when one of my current neighbors brought me a bag of freshly shelled limas, from a local produce stand rather from her own garden.

I hadn't had fresh lima beans in so long that I wasn't exactly sure what to do with them. I thought I remembered how my mother had cooked them--simmered slowly with ham or bacon--so I attempted something similar, using Bacos or Liquid Smoke seasoning to replace the bacon. I was amazed at how good they were--so tender and buttery, not at all like the dried lima beans I'd been cooking with for years. I started looking for them myself at the farm stand and farmer's market, and during the winter, when they weren't available, I started buying frozen baby limas, a less than stellar replacement but acceptable to someone with a lima addiction.

Though my standard home-style version of lima beans is tasty, I recently wanted something a little different, a dish that would take advantage of all the fresh herbs in my garden. I chose to make a delicate soup, flavored with a mixture of fresh and dried herbs similar to herbes de Provence. The results were wonderful: light and fresh, the essence of summer!



Fresh Lima Bean and Herb Soup

1 large onion, diced
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 pound fresh lima beans (may use frozen)
6 cups water or lightly flavored vegetable broth
1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme (or 1 tbsp. fresh, minced)
1 tsp. dried savory
1 tbsp. minced fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 tbsp. minced fresh oregano (or 1 tsp. dried)
3 tbsp. fresh basil leaves, sliced chiffonade or chopped
1/2 cup plain soymilk
extra water, as needed
salt to taste (optional)
freshly ground pepper, to taste

In a large, non-stick pot over medium-high heat, sauté the onion until it begins to brown. Add the celery and sauté for 2 more minutes.

Add the lima beans, water, thyme, rosemary, and oregano and simmer, uncovered, until the beans are tender, about 50 minutes for fresh beans. As they're cooking, add more water if they become too dry. Add the basil and soymilk and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Use an immersion blender to blend about half of the soup (you can blend it all if you want a completely smooth soup). This can also be done in a conventional blender--just a little messier. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and heat for about 5 more minutes before serving.

The soup can be reheated the next day or even served cold. It may thicken overnight, so add more water or broth as needed.

Makes 4 servings. Each (without salt) contains: 159 Calories (kcal); 1 g Total Fat; (7% calories from fat); 9 g Protein; 30 g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 49 mg Sodium; 7 g Fiber.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Orange Couscous Curry

It was 9:00 on Sunday morning, and I needed to have a potluck dish ready by 10:30. To complicate matters, I had little desire to cook or even to attend the potluck--I was thoroughly immersed in a mystery novel and could have happily stayed curled up in the recliner with it all day. Nevertheless, I am a mother and a realist, and I knew I'd eventually have to get up and pretend to be a productive member of society. So at a very late hour, I started looking for something to cook.

Potlucks are often not very lucky for vegans and vegetarians. In order to make sure there's something my family can actually eat, I always try to bring a main dish rather than a side dish or dessert, and a main dish that contains several of the major food groups is even better. I decided that I needed a "one-pot meal" sort of dish that contained beans, vegetables, and grain, though with time running out, there just wasn't enough time to cook a grain. So I opted instead for couscous, a tiny pasta that works like a grain in many dishes but cooks many times faster than even the smallest of grains .

I had in mind to make some kind of curried couscous salad, and just for fun I decided to check and see if the always-inventive cooks at Naughty Curry had done anything with couscous. And of course they had! Their Pineapple-Paradise Couscous Curry looked to-drool-for, and I promise you, I would have made it just as it was written except for one big problem: I didn't have any pineapple. But I did have a can of mandarin oranges, so I made a few changes in the recipe but left the spicing pretty much as the Naughty cooks had made it. And it was wonderful--lightly sweet, richly spiced, and delicious hot or cold. Thanks, Trobee and Courtney, for the inspiration.



Orange Couscous Curry
(click for printer-friendly version)

1 tsp. canola oil (necessary to temper the spices)
1 1/4 tsp. black mustard seeds
4 dried chilies, deseeded and cut into irregular strips (leave a few seeds in for added spiciness)
2-inch cinnamon stick
2 tbsp. minced onions
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp. ginger paste
1 ½ cups (12 oz.) orange juice
1 cup baby carrots, halved lengthwise
1 medium-large zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed somewhat
1 15-ounce can mandarin oranges, drained (use the kind that's packed in juice)
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 tsp. salt (optional)
1 1/2 cup uncooked couscous
1 1/4 cup hot water

Masala:

seeds of two green cardamom pods
1 ½ tbsp. coriander seeds
2 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
5 whole cloves
½ tsp. paprika
3/4 tsp turmeric

Grind the masala ingredients to a powder. (I use a coffee grinder for this, but a good blender will work, too.)

In large, non-stick wok or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it sizzles when you drop in a mustard seed. Add the black mustard seeds, chilies, and cinnamon stick. Cover the skillet and wait until you hear the mustard seeds begin to pop. Add onions, garlic, ginger paste, and masala. Sauté until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes, but be careful not to burn it.

Add the orange juice and bring to a boil. Add the zucchini and carrots, cover, and cook for 4 minutes. Add the green peas and chickpeas, and cook until heated through, about 3 or 4 minutes.

Add the salt, couscous, mandarin oranges, and hot water. Stir well, cover, and remove from heat. Allow it to sit for at least five minutes before stirring. Serve hot or at room temperature or chill for a fantastic salad.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food low-fat

Grillin' in the Rain (Orange-Ginger Tofu)

Grilled Orange-Ginger Tofu with Mango Chutney, Shirataki Noodles, and Grilled Chayote

Last night I barbecued in the rain. I had this grand idea to marinate tofu in orange-ginger sauce and cook it along with chayotes on the grill. I was so busy planning what I was going to cook that it never occurred to me to look out the window and notice the dark storm clouds filling the sky like a swarm of angry bees. By the time I noticed the weather, I was too committed to the idea of cooking outside to give up. Besides, once the storm got going, there was a good chance we'd lose power--and the ability to cook indoors. Or at least that's how I rationalized it.

The storm broke just as I was putting the food on the grill. When the rain began, I pulled the grill from the patio to just inside the screened porch, which quickly became a smokehouse. The wind kept blowing the smoke into my eyes as I blindly tried to turn the pieces of tofu and chayote. Finally, I couldn't take any more. When the tofu was done, I gave up and brought the chayote inside to finish up in the oven.

I wound up eating dinner with red and stinging eyes and hair and clothes that reeked of smoke. I'd like to say it was worth it, but I'd be lying, big-time. The tofu was good, but perhaps only a bit better than it would have been if I'd baked it in the oven. The chayotes were a problem: I'd originally cut them too big to cook all the way through. When I took the quartered chayotes off the grill, I re-cut each quarter in half and put the slices into a baking dish in the oven for about a half hour. Once they were done, they were delicious, but we had to eat them as dessert, basically, since we'd already eaten the rest of the meal. (Those you see in the photo were underdone and went right back into the oven after their 15 minutes of fame in front of my camera.)

If you'd like to recreate this fiasco meal at home, here's how you do it, though I strongly advise a visit to weather.com before you begin:

First slice the tofu and marinate it in the Orange-Ginger Sauce (recipe below). Let it soak as long as you can, minimum one hour. Cook it on the barbecue grill and keep it warm until the rest of your meal is ready. (Alternately, bake it for 30 minutes on an oiled baking sheet at 375 F, turning after 15 minutes.) Reserve the marinade.

For the chayotes, slice each one in half and remove the seed from the middle. To halve a chayote, cut straight up through the "crack" at the bottom, like this:



Cut each half into 4 pieces, and sprinkle them with lime juice, freshly ground pepper, and salt, if you like. Grill them until tender, or place them in an oiled baking dish and roast until they're done (about 30-40 minutes at 375 F).

At some point, take time to put the reserved marinade into a saucepan and cook it until it's reduced by about half. When the tofu is done, brush each slice with a little of the thickened marinade, but save some marinade to mix with your noodles.

I served this to my family over buckwheat soba noodles that I'd tossed with a little sesame oil, ponzu (orange flavored soy sauce), and the thickened marinade. (My husband and I topped ours with Mango Chutney, but our daughter doesn't care for chutney.) Since I'm avoiding refined grains, I ate mine on those shirataki noodles that I've mentioned before. I used a whole 7-ounce package, which contained less than 10 calories and which was not very filling. This meal was definitely on the light side.

Once the chayote was done, I sprinkled it with a little more lime juice and a Cajun seasoning blend. It has a great, buttery taste that isn't like anything else. You should definitely pick up some of these wrinkled-bottomed beauties if you see them in your local store.

Orange-Ginger Sauce and Marinade

1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon agave nectar (or other sweetener)
2 tablespoons light soy sauce or ponzu
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Mix all ingredients well. Use uncooked as a marinade, or heat and reduce slightly to use as a dipping sauce.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live

Black-eyed Pea Gumbo

Yesterday was the first day of school, and I don't know who was more excited, my daughter or I. She's in a new school and riding the bus for the first time, and, best of all, her best friend is in her class. She was so eager to start that yesterday she woke up at 4:30, got dressed, made her own lunch, and ate breakfast all before waking us up at 5:15. If this level of enthusiasm persists, I might be able to start sleeping until 6:00!

Since we were all involved in back-to-school preparations this weekend, I cooked only fast food--bean burritos, mac and "cheese"--for the past few nights . Last night I got back into the kitchen for some "real" cooking and used some lovely okra that I bought in Louisiana to make this combination of gumbo and Hoppin' John: I pressure cooked 1 cup of black-eyed peas in 3 cups of water and added them to this scrumptious stew of okra and tomatoes. The okra as well as the onions give this spicy dish a slight sweetness that you wouldn't expect, but I found it quite delicious.

Black-eyed Pea Gumbo

2 medium onions, diced
1 bell pepper (any color), chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tbsp. minced garlic
4 cups vegetable broth, water, or a combination
2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 pound okra, tops removed and sliced
1 1/2 tsp. thyme
3 bay leaves
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. oregano
1-2 tsp. chopped chipotle peppers (canned in adobo)
1/4 tsp. Liquid Smoke (optional)
2 1/2 cups cooked black-eyed peas, plus cooking liquid (1 cup dried black-eyed peas cooked in 3 cups water)*
salt to taste (optional)

*You can use canned black-eyed peas--use 2 16-ounce cans, rinse them first and add some extra water or broth to the gumbo.

Heat a large, non-stick stock pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions and cook, stirring regularly, until they begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the bell pepper and celery, and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the tomato paste and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat until okra is done and mixture has thickened, about 45-55 minutes. Add more water as needed--this will be thicker than a soup but still have a good amount of broth. Serve over freshly cooked brown rice and add hot sauce at the table.

Makes 6-8 servings. For 6 servings, each serving contains: 153 Calories (kcal); 1 g Total Fat; (4% calories from fat); 9 g Protein; 30 g Carbohydrate; trace Cholesterol; 53 mg Sodium; 9 g Fiber; 111 mg Calcium

I'm submitting this healthy dish to this week's round-up of Antioxidant-Rich Recipes at Sweetnicks. Eat your okra; it's good for you! It's low in calories and high in calcium and folate. If you're trying to lower your cholesterol, adding some okra to your diet could help: The "sticky" type of soluble fiber in okra helps bind the cholesterol in your digestive tract and sweep it out of your body.

And truly, once it's cooked, okra is NOT slimy!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live Louisiana recipes ARF/5-A-Day

Pasta with Roasted Vegetables and White Bean Pesto

I was out of town for a few days this week, visiting my family in steamy southeastern Louisiana, and when I got home, I had a bunch of vegetables I'd bought before I left that were in danger of going bad if not cooked quickly. (My husband, apparently, did not cook one vegetable while I was gone!) I decided that the fastest way to use them all would be to roast them together. I like roasted vegetables, and they're usually a regular part of our diet, but we rarely have them in the summer, when I hate to turn on the oven unless I absolutely have to. I decided to make an exception for this produce emergency.

My standard roasting vegetables are eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, squash, and potatoes, but I left the potatoes out this time because I'd be serving it over pasta. Since I was adding fresh fennel, I didn't use rosemary or any of the other herbs I'd normally include because I didn't want too many competing flavors. The roasted vegetables themselves turned out to be very mildly flavored, the fennel mellowed to just a touch of anise-like flavor. The real punch in this dish comes from the pesto; be warned, if you use two cloves of garlic, you'll be tasting garlic for a while afterward.

Thanks to a reader's suggestion, I made this with Tinkyada Brown Rice Spirals, a whole-grain, gluten-free alternative to whole wheat pasta. It was terrific! My husband said that if he hadn't seen the package, he wouldn't have known that it wasn't regular pasta. I heartily recommend it.

Pasta with Roasted Vegetables and White Bean Pesto

3 medium summer squash (yellow or zucchini), halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
8 ounces baby portabella mushrooms, larger ones halved
2 fennel bulbs, halved and sliced
1/2 large yellow or red bell pepper, sliced
1/2 large green bell pepper, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
freshly ground pepper
olive oil spray
1 1/2 cups tomatoes, diced
salt (optional)

16 ounces uncooked whole grain pasta

Pesto:
1 1/2 cups (1 can) great northern beans, rinsed well and drained
1 cup fresh basil
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. nutritional yeast
1 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
salt to taste (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray a large rectangular baking dish with olive oil and add all the vegetables except the tomatoes to it. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper, and stir in the garlic. Give it a very quick spray with the olive oil (1/2 second) and put it in the oven. Set the timer for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, stir the vegetables and add the tomatoes. Return to the oven for 15-20 minutes, until all vegetables are done.

While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the pasta according to package directions and make the White Bean Pesto:

With the food processor running, drop in the garlic and process until minced. Add the basil and chop coarsely. Add the remaining pesto ingredients and process until smooth. Add salt to taste, if desired.

When the vegetables are done, add salt to taste. Serve the vegetables on top of the pasta, topped with a spoonful of pesto.

Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 405 Calories (kcal); 2 g Total Fat; (4% calories from fat); 19 g Protein; 86 g Carbohydrate; 0 mg Cholesterol; 58 mg Sodium (without salt); 17 g Fiber.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Eat to Live gluten-free

Stuffed Eggplants and Not-So-Dirty Rice

I bought some baby eggplants last week and spent several days agonizing over what to do with them. I wanted to keep them whole because to me it totally defeats the point of having little eggplants if you chop them up into pieces that could be any old eggplant.

If you're not familiar with baby eggplants, this is the size I'm talking about, using my medium-sized hand as a reference:



See what I mean? Isn't that cute?

I also didn't want to cut them in half and stuff them or hollow them out from the side or top. I was getting picky about how I wanted to prepare them, but time was running out, and they wouldn't be good forever.

So I decided on a recipe, Nupur's wonderful-looking Vaangi Bhaat. I liked how the eggplants were cut partially into quarters and stuffed and cooked on top of rice. Though I didn't have the fresh coconut the recipe called for, I figured I'd make do with dried. So I printed out the recipe, brought it into the kitchen, put it into my nifty refrigerator door cookbook holder, and . . . stared at it. I got out the rice and eggplants and stared at the recipe some more. I don't know why, but some devilish impulse was telling me to steal borrow Nupur's cooking technique and go my own way with it. Something was telling me that these baby eggplants wanted to be cooked Louisiana-style. So this what I did:


Stuffed Eggplants and Not-So-Dirty Rice
(click for printer-friendly version)

Dirty rice is a Louisiana dish that's called "dirty" because it has all manner of gizzards, innards, and nasty animal parts in it. Since this rice doesn't use those critters, I'm calling it Not-So-Dirty. It may not be dirty, but it is roll-on-the floor-in-ecstasy good.

Dirty Rice:
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 tsp. garlic, minced
1 cup long-grain brown rice
2 1/2 cups broth (I used No-Chicken broth by Imagine Foods)
1 tsp. rubbed thyme
1/4 tsp. rubbed sage
1/4 tsp. cayenne or chipotle chili powder
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 tbsp. dried parsley (or 4 tbsp. chopped, fresh)
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. salt (optional)
1/4 tsp. Liquid Smoke seasoning (optional)

Stuffing:
1 med. onion, minced
1/2 green, red, or yellow bell pepper, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 pkg. Gimme Lean hamburger style*
1/4 tsp. fennel seed
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. Tabasco or other hot sauce

salt (optional)
10 small eggplants

*I don't usually use fake meat, but I thought it was right for this dish. Gimme Lean is a soy-based faux meat product available in the U.S. If you can't get it (or don't want to) you can use 3/4 cup of TVP (textured vegetable protein) rehydrated in hot water or 1 cup of cooked brown lentils.

Rice:

Spray a large, non-stick Dutch oven with a tiny bit of olive oil. Set it on medium-high heat, and when the pot is hot, add the onions. Cook, stirring, until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the peppers and celery and cook until the onions are becoming uniformly brown, about 5 more minutes. Add the rice and garlic, and cook for 2 more minutes.

Add the rest of the dirty rice ingredients, bring to a boil, and reduce the heat. Cover tightly and cook on low for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove from the heat and wait until you're ready to add the stuffed eggplants.

Stuffing:

While the rice is cooking, heat a non-stick skillet and sauté the onion, pepper, and garlic for the stuffing for about 3 minutes. Add the Gimme Lean and mash it as it cooks (I use a plastic potato masher in my non-stick skillet). Add the remaining ingredients and cook until the Gimme Lean is brown. (If you're using lentils or TVP, cook until it's hot throughout.) Remove from heat and allow to cool as you cut the eggplants.

Take each eggplant and cut off the stem end. Stand it on its uncut end, and make two cuts in a X-pattern down through the eggplant, stopping about 1/4-inch from the bottom. Be careful not to cut all the way through. If you like, you may lightly salt the inside of each eggplant.

When the eggplants are cut, use a spoon to stuff the Gimme Lean mixture into each one. When stuffed, they should look like this:



(Yes, I did pause in the middle of cooking to take my stuffed eggplant outside for a photo op!)

Carefully set each stuffed eggplant on a plate until they're all stuffed. Then remove the lid from the rice, scrape any leftover stuffing into the rice pot, and lightly place the eggplants on top (do this quickly and by all means don't do anything silly like stop to take a photo!) Here's how they look in the pot:



Pour 1/2 cup of water carefully around the edges of the rice, and replace the lid. Return to the heat, raising it to medium-low, and cook until the rice is done and the eggplants are tender (about 40 more minutes). Check halfway through cooking to make sure there is some water left in pan; if not, add 1/4 cup more.

Serve the eggplants on top of the rice and enjoy! Believe me, they're delicious. I heard my husband utter the word "sublime" between bites. The eggplant gets soft and creamy and the rice is well-seasoned without being spicy hot. If you don't have the time to make the whole dish, just make the rice (maybe add your Gimme Lean or cooked lentils directly to it). Add some baked or pan-fried tofu and a vegetable or two, and you've got yourself a meal!

Thanks, Nupur, for giving me the idea. I'm still looking forward to making the Vaangi Bhaat, just as soon as I get some more little eggplants and some coconut.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free