A Couple of Recent Meals

Most of the time I cook plain, ordinary food without a thought of writing the recipe down since it's so ordinary that a recipe would hardly be necessary. This first meal fits into that category:



This is Tempeh Bacon, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, and Roasted Asparagus and Mushrooms. The tempeh is simply my Cajun Tempeh Bacon without the Cajun seasonings. (My daughter's guest for dinner that night somehow thought it tasted like chicken, which I didn't get, but at least she liked it.) The potatoes are red potatoes, with skins, boiled and then mashed with soymilk, salt, and pepper (some black and some pink). The gravy is basically seasoned vegetable broth with corn starch added for thickening. I don't use a recipe, just do it by "feel," but usually sage, thyme, garlic, and onion play some part in the gravy. And the asparagus-mushroom dish roughly follows this recipe, but without the sauce. (D. and I enjoyed a few drops of truffle oil on our asparagus and potatoes, though E. thought it tasted like old socks.)



This pizza fits into to the category of "meals without recipes," though I have a hard time calling it simple because of the homemade vegan pepperoni E. and I made for it. The pizza itself is very easy: it uses a bought crust (I can't remember the brand, though it was vegan), seasoned tomato puree as the sauce, and Follow Your Heart vegan mozzarella for the cheese. (E. insisted that we buy vegan cheese for the pizza; I would have been happy to leave it off.) There are also sauteed onions and green peppers and sliced mushrooms under the cheese. It's the first pizza I've made in a long time, and it was really good. (This is the only photo I have of it because we were so eager to eat it that I only took one!)



Now there is a recipe for the vegan pepperoni (or Veggieroni, as I like to call it), but I'm not ready to share it yet. It's cooked the same way as Joanne Stepaniak's Vegan Vittles recipe and the Seitan O'Greatness recipe posted by Lachesis over at the Post Punk Kitchen Forums (and blogged by several vegan bloggers.) In other words, it's seitan baked in aluminum foil, rather than boiled. But I switched up the ingredients a lot, and the seasoning is totally different from either recipe. It came out so well, with a couple of possible tweaks, that I'll be making this a lot from now on, just to throw on salads or sandwiches. Or whenever a stray pizza crust finds its way into the house!

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

Strawberry Whip

Recently, after I posted about the lovely strawberries that I brought back from my weekend trip to Louisiana, several people left comments saying that they couldn't wait to see what I was going to make with them. I was a little embarrassed to admit that my plans were pretty boring: freeze most of them for later and just eat the rest of them out of hand. Taking something so naturally sweet and healthy and making something else just isn't how I cook on a daily basis.

But then I woke up craving one of my favorite breakfasts, soy yogurt with fruit, and I could just imagine how great it would taste with ripe, fresh strawberries. Unfortunately, when I got to the fridge I found that D.--the fiend!--had eaten all the yogurt. (He has this need to take yogurt, blend it with fruit like a smoothie, and pour it over breakfast cereal; it looks disgusting!)

Without yogurt in the house, I was left fumbling for alternatives, so I turned to the miracle food of the vegan diet: silken tofu. (Think about it: what else can be turned into salad dressing, quiche, chocolate mousse, "cheese" sauce, cheesecake, and more?) On its own, silken tofu tastes chalky and weird, but blended or simmered with flavorful ingredients, it can take on a myriad of flavors. I opted for simplicity and simply blended the tofu with some agave nectar to sweeten it and a little lemon juice and vanilla. It was very tasty layered with more sweetened strawberries and topped with Soyatoo whipped "cream":



Strawberry Whip

1/2 cup silken tofu, firm or extra-firm
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tablespoon fresh Meyer lemon juice (use less if using regular lemons)
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped strawberries

Using a blender, food processor, or hand blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate until chilled and serve topped or layered with more strawberries and with soy whipped cream, if desired. Makes 2 servings.

A caveat about the Soyatoo: This was the first time I'd tried it, and I'm sorry to say that my first impression was not good. It wasn't as bad as Hip Whip, which I bought and had to throw out, but it wasn't the realistic concoction I was hoping for. (Amazingly, after being vegan for 13 years, I still remember how whipped cream is supposed to taste.) On second taste, it seemed better, so, if you're cynical, you can chalk that up to my taste buds becoming inured to mediocrity, but if you buy it and don't like it at first, you might try giving it another shot. Though at $5.99 for one can, I won't be buying it again. (To be fair, not everyone feels this way.)

Oh, another thing about the Soyatoo: It starts to dissolve immediately and will be deflated to half its original height in about 1 minute. So, if you're trying to serve it to guests (or photograph it) don't squirt it on until it's on the table.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Collard Greens and White Bean Soup

I know someone out there is probably saying, "What, another soup that looks like grass clippings?!" I have to beg your indulgence because yes this soup does, in a way, contain grass clippings or, more precisely, garden clippings. You see, I have a small garden plot that's filled with collard greens that need to be eaten immediately. The plants have started to bolt, growing up tall and thin and sporting flowers that look a little like broccoli. It's the end of the line for them, so I'm harvesting them as fast as possible to make room for my summer garden.

I used about a third of my collards in this recipe, which can easily be made with other greens. I cooked them in a pressure cooker to save time, but use a regular pot if you don't have a PC (see the instructions below). I assure you it's much tastier--and healthier--than grass clippings!



Collard Greens and White Bean Soup

1 to 1 1/2 pounds collards, tough ribs removed and chopped (can substitute kale, chard, or other greens)
1 large onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 carrots, sliced about 1/4-inch thick
4 cups fat-free vegetable broth
1 teaspoon thyme

2 15-ounce cans white beans, drained (I used Great Northern beans)
2-4 cups water or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and freshly ground red pepper, to taste

vegan Parmesan (optional)

Heat a little water (about 2 tbsp.) in a pressure cooker and add onion. Cook until onion is tender, about five minutes. Put the next 5 ingredients into pressure cooker and seal. Bring to high pressure and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and release pressure manually. (If cooking without a pressure cooker, cook covered in a large pot until collards are tender, about 30 minutes.)

Add the beans, 2 cups of water or broth, and the remaining seasonings. Simmer for at least 20 minutes to allow flavors to combine. While cooking, add additional water or broth if the soup seems too dry. Serve topped with vegan parmesan.

Makes 6 servings

Each serving, without parmesan, contains 205 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (4% calories from fat); 13g Protein; 39g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 44mg Sodium; 11g Fiber

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

Weekend Country Photo Blogging

I spent most of the weekend at my parents' house and came home with a few edible goodies in a cooler and a full Compact Flash card in my camera. Here are a few photos from southeast Louisiana, where the trees are bigger than the buildings:

This is my parents house, dwarfed by the giant oak tree whose branches completely cover the roof. After hurricane Katrina, my mother was more worried about the tree than about their house or their car (which was smashed by one of the many trees that fell). A large pine tree fell into the oak but fortunately the damage wasn't fatal.



Here's another old oak tree that's almost on top of the ramshackle barn.



At this time of year, my parents' yard is a wonderland of color. My father breeds dozens of different varieties of azaleas, some with stripes...



...and some with spots. Some of the individual bushes are bigger than a bus!



I don't want to step on KathyF's cow-blogging toes, but this new calf was too cute to resist. He's about 7 weeks old.



Here's a taste of one of the edible goodies I came home with.

I bought a flat (12 pints) of fresh strawberries for $10.99. I'm about to get to work cutting and freezing them before they go bad. I'll be typing with stained fingers tomorrow!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Louisiana

Baba Ganoush Vegetable Plate

I absolutely love baba ganoush. I often say that I could live on it, and believe me, if it were eggplant season right now, I would have it almost every day.

It wasn't always so. In the past I had to ration my beloved baba, saving it up for an occasional treat. My self-denial wasn't caused by anything wrong with the delicious dip itself--on the contrary, the combination of roasted eggplant, garlic, lemon juice, and just enough sesame paste is very healthy. The problem was in conveying it to my mouth. In short, baba ganoush allowed me to pig out on bread--pita bread, crackers, or whatever loaf I could find in the house. For someone with a near-compulsive attraction to refined carbs, "a little bread" is just not possible.



But my embargo on baba ganoush ended recently when I found that vegetables are not only capable of delivering baba ganoush to my mouth, but they also taste great doing it. It took me a while to figure this out because I never was a big fan of crudités: I prefer broccoli or cauliflower cooked, and the thought of raw celery makes my teeth hurt. But I can tolerate baby carrots and I love those little grape tomatoes, so all I needed to do was figure out a couple more vegetable dippers that I would like enough not to miss the bread. I immediately thought of asparagus. Since it's asparagus season, I've been buying loads of it and cooking it several times a week, usually roasted. Roasted asparagus tastes great with everything, in my opinion, so of course it would be wonderful with baba ganoush.

Since I was heating up the oven anyway, I also tossed in a couple of other vegetables: broccoli florets and halves of large mushrooms. Contrary to popular opinion, roasting vegetables does not require a lot of oil. I just preheat the oven to around 425, put the vegetables into pyrex baking dishes big enough to hold them in a single layer, and give them a quick spray of olive oil. I mean really quick--each pan gets one fast spray from side to side. Then I put them into the oven and roast, turning them after about 7 minutes, until they're tender (in the case of the mushrooms) or just starting to brown. 15 minutes is usually enough time.



Baba Ganoush
(click for printer-friendly version)

This is my standard baba ganoush recipe. I've experimented with other recipes and have tried fancying this one up with other ingredients, but I keep coming back to this basic formula. When I first started making it, I used 3 tablespoons of tahini, but I've managed to work my way down to using only about a tablespoon. If you're a baba novice--or if you're used to the higher-fat versions served in restaurants--you may want to try using more tahini. Also, the amount of lemon juice and garlic is adjustable to personal taste; start small and add more as you go.

1 large eggplant, about 1 1/2 pounds
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
2 cloves garlic (or to taste)
1/4 cup lemon juice (or to taste)
1 tablespoon tahini (or to taste)
ground cumin

Preheat oven to 425 F (or better yet, do this on your barbecue grill!) With a fork, punch a bunch of holes in the eggplant and place it on a baking dish or sheet. Cook for about 45 minutes, until the eggplant is all sunken in. Remove from the heat and let it cool until you can peel it safely. Peel and put it in a food processor. Add the salt, garlic, lemon juice, and tahini, and process until it's smooth. Serve sprinkled with cumin and surrounded by the vegetables of your choice.

Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 58 Calories (kcal); 2g Total Fat; (30% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 541mg Sodium; 3g Fiber.

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

Vegan Corned Beef and Cabbage, Roasted Potatoes, and Soda Bread

Instead of St. Patrick's Day, this year we celebrated St. Patrick's Weekend. After being out all day Saturday, I didn't feel up to preparing a big meal, so we waited to have our "official" holiday meal on Sunday night, when I had the time and energy to make it special. And this really was special!

My main dish, Vegan Corned Beef and Cabbage, was such a huge hit that I plan to make it regularly from now on. I'm not usually a fan of processed fake meats--they're only slightly more healthy in my opinion than their meaty counterparts--so I tend to use them sparingly. But once in a while a packaged product like Lightlife Steak-Style Smart Strips can come in handy, and they turned out to be very good in this recipe. But then again, any meat substitute would taste great cooked with fresh vegetables and covered in a savory gravy. This is really comfort food of the highest order!



Vegan Corned Beef and Cabbage
(click for printer-friendly version)

This dish is not only delicious, but it's remarkably low in fat and calories. Don't wait for a special occasion to serve it!

2 medium onions, cut into wedges
1/2 head cabbage, finely chopped or shredded (I used red cabbage this time)
4 carrots, cut into 2-inch lengths and quartered
2 ribs celery, thickly sliced
4 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon mild horseradish
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
6-8 ounces vegetarian "beef" or seitan or reconstituted TVP chunks (I used Lightlife Strips)
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon red wine or cooking sherry (really adds great flavor)

Sauté the onion in a large, non-stick pot until it starts to brown. Add the remaining vegetables, the broth, and the seasonings. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Add the "beef," cover, and cook for 15 more minutes, until vegetables are soft.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the vegetables and "beef" to a serving plate and keep warm. Return the broth to the heat. In a small cup, combine the flour, water, and wine. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the simmering broth. Cook and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan, until the broth has thickened, about 10 minutes. Pour the gravy over the "beef" and vegetables to serve.

Makes 4 servings. Each serving, using the Lightlife strips, contains 117 Calories (kcal); trace Total Fat; (3% calories from fat); 10g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 336mg Sodium; 7g Fiber.

I served this with Roasted Red Potatoes with Dill (instructions below) and Horseradish Sauce. To make horseradish sauce, simply mix prepared horseradish with your favorite vegan mayo to taste until you reach the right spiciness level. (Vegan horseradish can be hard to find; always read ingredients to make sure there are no eggs or dairy products. Better still, prepare your own.)



Roasted Red Potatoes with Dill

Preheat oven to 400 F. Cut small red potatoes in half, larger red potatoes into quarters (all should be about the same size). Allow about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of potatoes for 4 servings. Place in a non-metal baking dish and spray lightly with canola oil (optional). Bake until potatoes are lightly browned and tender, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with salt and dill weed, to taste.



I also wanted to show you the Irish Soda Bread I made and which E. decided to shape like a shamrock. I was all set to put it in the oven as a very rustic sort of circle, but E. jumped in and made it much cuter. It's a very basic bread, not much to write about, but I include the recipe here in case you ever need a simple, vegan quick bread. We made it the traditional way, without any enhancements, but you can add herbs or raisins or any other flavorings to make it fancier.

Vegan Irish Soda Bread
(adapted from this recipe)

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain soy yogurt

Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the yogurt and use your hands to mix it in well. (Add more flour if the dough is sticky, more yogurt if it's too dry.) Shape into a ball and put on cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

St. Patrick's Day Zucchini Muffins

St. Patrick's Day is a pretty big deal here in Jackson. There's a big parade, featuring a phenomenon called Sweet Potato Queens, which I won't even try to explain, especially because being a newcomer I don't really understand it myself. Suffice it to say that there are a lot of big-haired, gaudily-clad women with artificially enhanced chests parading through the streets. I mean bigger hair and more gaudy and enhanced than usual! Here's a shot of a few ladies who weren't even part of the parade:



Since we were planning on being at the parade during lunchtime, I knew I needed to get a hearty breakfast into my two girls (E. plus a spare), and since one of the two isn't a vegetarian (her favorite breakfast is bacon) I figured I'd probably better stick to sweeter breakfast foods. So, to honor the day, I made muffins with a "secret St. Patrick's Day fruit." Yes, they figured out that zucchini is really a fruit, but by that time they were happily chowing down on these lemony muffins with cinnamon crumb toppings.



Zucchini Muffins with Cinnamon-Crumb Topping
(click for printer-friendly version)

There's just a little bit of margarine in the crumb topping which, divided over 12 muffins, doesn't even affect the fat count. But leave the topping off if you want--or double it, if you're feeling decadent.

Dry ingredients:
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Wet ingredients:
1 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer
2 tablespoons water
1 1/4 cup shredded zucchini, packed
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener)
1 1/4 cups fat-free soymilk or other non-dairy milk

Optional Cinnamon Crumb Topping:
1 teaspoon margarine
1/2 tablespoon demerara sugar
1/2 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
(Use a fork to combine until crumbly.)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a muffin pan with paper or silicone liners or spray well with non-stick spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk the Ener-G egg replacer powder with the water until foamy. Add the remaining wet ingredients and stir to combine.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir just until combined. Do not over-stir. Batter will be very heavy. Spoon into muffin cups, dividing batter equally among the cups. Sprinkle the center of each muffin with a little Cinnamon Crumb Topping, if desired, and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

As a special tribute to St. Patrick's Day (and to get my daughter and her friend to try the muffins) I sprinkled some of them with green sugar. It worked!



Makes 12 muffins. Each muffin without optional ingredients contains 126 Calories (kcal); trace Total Fat; (2% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 29g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 241mg Sodium; 3g Fiber.

With walnuts but without topping, each contains 142 Calories (kcal); 2g Total Fat; (11% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 30g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 241mg Sodium; 3g Fiber.

With walnuts and topping: 148 Calories (kcal); 2g Total Fat; (12% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 30g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 245mg Sodium; 3g Fiber.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Home Again

Every Spring break, my parents, my sister's family, and my family gather at a state park either in north Louisiana or in south Arkansas. My sister and brother-in-law and their three kids drive in from Austin, Texas, while our parents come up from southeastern Louisiana. We try to pick a location equidistant from all of us, but invariably my sister winds up with the longest drive and D., E., and I wind up with the shortest. This year, we chose a spot only 3 hours from Jackson, beautiful Lake D'Arbonne:


Sunrise over Lake D'Arbonne

If the park hadn't been so nice (excellent tennis courts as well as a lovely lake) and the lodge we rented so large and well-appointed, my sister (M.A.) probably would have never let me live down my the fact that I drove 3 hours to her 8 hours. But I think we found a new favorite meeting spot. Everyone enjoyed playing tennis and canoeing, and M.A. and I found lots of opportunities for antiquing in the nearby towns.

As far as cooking goes, I didn't even try to come up with any new recipes, though we did have a few dishes that I've written about before. It's come to be a tradition that on the first night my mom brings lasagna for the whole group. She makes two versions, a cheese lasagna for the non-vegans and a tofu-ricotta version based on my favorite lasagna recipe. For dessert that night, I prepared a Pineapple Coffee Cake and, just to see how it tasted, added some coconut to the batter and sprinkled on top (it was good). The second night we roasted hot dogs (SmartDogs for us vegans) over the fire, but for the third night, I got out the pressure cooker I had brought with me and made Curried Split Pea Soup with Cauliflower.

The only other food of note was a veggie muffaletta that D. and I shared in Monjuni's restaurant in Ruston, La. It contained fried (sorry!) eggplant and artichokes as well as olive salad, and the bread was really good. I'm sure the fat and calorie count was through the roof, but hey--I was on vacation! I'm home now, so I'll try to get back to cooking up some good fat-free food to share with y'all soon.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Chocolate-Peppermint Pudding

Spring is springing and school is breaking here in the Deep South, so I'm going to be taking some time off from blogging for a few days. But I thought before I go I'd leave you with an old favorite recipe for easy, microwave chocolate pudding, all gussied up with soft peppermint sticks.



Chocolate-Peppermint Pudding

This a very forgiving recipe. You can see some of the options at the end, but the possibilities for flavoring are endless; just make sure you keep about the same liquid to starch ratio.

1 soft peppermint stick (or 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract, added after cooking)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons cocoa
1/4 cup sugar (or use half sugar and the sweetening equivalent of 2 tbsp. stevia or other sweetener)
1 1/2 cups fat-free soymilk or other non-dairy milk
soft peppermint sticks for garnish

Grind the peppermint sticks with a mortar and pestle. Put the peppermint powder into a 4-cup microwavable dish and add the cornstarch, cocoa, and sugar. Slowly add the milk, stirring well. (Some cocoa may not seem to blend in, but it will once you start cooking.)

Microwave on high power for 1 minute. Stir well. Return to the microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat until mixture comes to a boil. Watch it carefully to make sure it does not boil over the sides. Once it reaches a boil, give it 30 more seconds, stopping microwave if it threatens to boil over. Stir well, and pour into 2 serving dishes. Garnish with peppermint sticks.

Other options:

• Cook this on the stovetop at medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Allow it to cook for a full minute after it reaches a boil.
• Make this into a delicious chocolate pudding by eliminating the peppermint sticks, adding a pinch of cinnamon with the dry ingredients, and adding 1/2 tsp. of vanilla after removing from microwave.
• Experiment with other flavors: peanut butter, orange extract or liqueur, almond extract or amaretto. Add extracts and liqueurs amicrowave.
• Double the recipe to serve 4 people.

Serves 2. Each serving, using fat-free soymilk, provides 242 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (5% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 52g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 67mg Sodium; 4g Fiber

Each serving using half sugar/half no-calorie sweetener provides 193 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (6% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 40g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 67mg Sodium; 4g Fiber

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Chickpea Soup with Moghrabieh (Lebanese Couscous)

Thanks to everyone who participated in the challenge! Congratulations to lucky winner TheONLYTania, whose name was drawn from the 16 people who answered "Israeli couscous" or "couscous." (Tania, please send me your address, and I'll mail you a package.) And while that isn't exactly correct, it's close enough.



What you see in the photo is actually moghrabieh, also known as Lebanese couscous, mughrabia, maghrebiyya (and various spellings), pearl couscous, and berkukis. It's similar to Israeli couscous--in fact, it's the original upon which the more recently marketed Israeli Couscous is based--but it's a little larger than Israeli couscous and its "pearls" are more irregularly sized. Here's what Madhur Jaffrey says about the two kinds of larger couscous in her book World Vegetarian:

Israeli Couscous: This is relatively new on the market and consists of small balls about the size of peppercorns. It is sold by Middle Eastern grocers where is is sometimes labeled Israeli Toasted Pasta, as the balls are very lightly toasted. I like to cook this couscous like most pastas, in lots of boiling, salted water. It cooks in 8-10 minutes....

Lebanese couscous: This also consists of small balls that have been toasted, but they are slightly larger in size than Israeli couscous.... It cooks slowly (taking about 25 minutes) and unevenly and is therefore, in my opinion, best for soups or stews where it turns into pea-sized dumplings....I mention it because you should not confuse it with Israeli couscous.

A few weeks ago, I bought a bag of this mystery ingredient at the local Middle Eastern restaurant/grocery not knowing what it was or how to use it. I suspected at the time that it might be Israeli couscous, which has become popular lately on blogs and in restaurants (well, not the restaurants I go to, but those in more happening places than Jackson, Mississippi!) but as I started researching I found that it was slightly different from Israeli couscous. I'd planned to use it in a salad until I read what Madhur Jaffrey had to say. I still have salad plans for it, but just to find out what it tasted and cooked like, I decided to throw it into this aromatic, Moroccan-inspired soup.

What it tastes like is basically what it is: dense, starchy pasta. The first time I made this soup I erred and put way too much moghrabiah into it (1 cup). It was like chewing your way through soup! My husband said that the texture reminded him of "those things in that bubble tea stuff," so those of you who guessed tapioca pearls were, in a way, not so far off. It's less gelatinous than tapioca, however, and much more starchy. I decided that in a soup it should be used more sparingly, to provide a surprise chewy texture every now and then, not starch overload, so the next time I made this soup, I cut the amount down to 1/4 cup, which seems about right. You could go as high as 1/3 cup, but I wouldn't risk more than that.



If you look closely at the photo above, you'll see that the moghrabieh swells as it cooks to almost the size of the chickpeas; the larger pearls were actually hard to tell from the chickpeas. It takes about 25 minutes for them to get to the right softness, but they pick up some of the flavor from the broth as they cook. Fortunately, they don't seem to break down after the soup is removed from the heat, so leftovers were still tasty, not mushy, the next day.

The soup is very fragrant and highly spiced, redolent of cumin and saffron. I know that saffron is expensive, but it really makes a big difference here: I accidentally left it out the second time I made the soup and noticed that it wasn't as good as the first batch; when I remembered to add the saffron, all the seasonings fell into perfect harmony.



Chickpea Soup with Moghrabieh (Lebanese Couscous)
(click for printer-friendly version)

This is a delicious soup, even without the moghrabieh. If you can't find it, you can substitute pearled barley or Israeli couscous or leave it out completely.

1 large onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8-1/4 teaspoon chilli powder or cayenne
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
generous pinch saffron, lightly crushed
2 bay leaves
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
3 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed)
8-10 cups vegetable broth (or water plus bouillon)
1/4 cup moghrabieh or substitute (see above)
salt to taste
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Spray a large saucepan with olive oil spray and heat it. Add the onion, celery, and carrot and cook over medium-high heat until the onion begins to brown (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the spices, including bay leaves and cinnamon stick, and cook, stirring, for another minute. Add the chickpeas and stir to coat them with the spices. Pour in the 8 cups of vegetable stock, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to a simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Add the moghrabieh and cover and cook until it is tender, about 25 minutes. Check frequently to see if it is becoming dry and add broth as needed. Just before serving, stir in the parsley and lemon juice.

Makes about 6-8 servings.

Based on 6 servings: 185 Calories (kcal); 3g Total Fat; (11% calories from fat); 8g Protein; 36g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 31mg Sodium; 6g Fiber

More info about Lebanese and Israeli couscous:

All About Couscous
Buy Various Types of Couscous Online
A History of Couscous
Israeli Couscous with Roasted Butternut Squash and Preserved Lemon
A non-vegetarian recipe for Moghrabieh Custard with Kaffir Lime Leaf Syrup

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

What is It?

I'm not talking about that thing in front, which is a grain of long-grain brown rice that I put there for size comparison. What are the things behind the rice? Be as specific as possible. Hint: There's a similar food that's popular right now, but this isn't it. Hint #2: The two "balls" are not exactly the same size.

You guys always embarrass me with how quickly you get the correct answers to my little challenges, so I'm going to make this one a little more interesting: I'll toss all the correct answers into a hat and pick a winner who will get a free package of this mystery food. If no one answers correctly, I'll put all the incorrect answers in a hat and pick one. So be sure to leave your name in your comment!

Tomorrow morning I'll post a recipe using "it," so the contest is open up until then.

Update: Congratulations to lucky winner TheONLYTania, whose name was drawn from the 16 people who answered (nearly) correctly. (Tania, please send me your address, and I'll mail you a package.)

Take a look at the answer!

Cumin Rice with Eggplant and Peas

Well, it may not be the most beautiful dish in the world, but my whole family liked this cumin-filled rice, adapted from a recipe by Deborah Madison. It even had E. eating eggplant without even realizing it!

It's based on the recipe "Cumin Rice with Eggplant and Peppers" in The Savory Way. Since it's not a vegan book, Madison suggests adding cheese, but I opted to use peas instead. (Hey, at least it rhymes!) The seasonings are mostly the same, but I removed the oil and butter, omitted a red or yellow pepper that I did not have, and used an undrained can of diced tomatoes instead of fresh. The results were delicious. My only regret is that I did not wait until it came out of the oven to add the peas--after 50 minutes of baking, they're not very green anymore. Oh well. They were still tender and tasty, but I'm instructing you to add them at the end. The heat from the rice will cook them enough and they'll retain more of their spring-like taste and color.



Cumin Rice with Eggplant and Peas
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1 1/2 cups brown rice
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 medium onion, diced
1 green, yellow, or red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes (fired roasted would be nice)
4 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne or red chilli pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) green peas

Preheat oven to 375 F. Put the rice in a bowl and cover it with water. Set it aside to soak while you cook the vegetables.

Lightly spray a large non-stick skillet with oil or cooking spray. Add the eggplant and onion, salt them lightly, and cook, covered, over medium-high heat, stirring often. When the eggplant is soft but not mushy (about 5 minutes) add the peppers, tomatoes, seasonings, parsley, and more salt to taste. Combine well. Drain the water from the rice and add the rice to the pan along with 3 cups water. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil.

When it reaches a boil, transfer it into a large baking dish. (Madison suggests a large earthenware gratin dish, but I used a deep lasagna dish.) Place a piece of parchment paper over the rice and then cover tightly with foil. Bake until the rice is tender, about 50-55 minutes. Stir in the peas and allow the dish to set for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 4-6 servings. 1/6th of the recipe provides: 254 Calories (kcal); 2g Total Fat; (7% calories from fat); 8g Protein; 53g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 59mg Sodium; 6g Fiber

Suggested accompaniment: Asparagus is back in season, so I served this with a whole lot of simple roasted asparagus. Preheat the oven to 400F. Place trimmed asparagus in a large, oiled baking dish and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Roast, stirring every 5 minutes, for 10-15 minutes, until asparagus are just starting to brown. Heaven!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Kid-Friendly

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For those of you who were disappointed when the price went up on the KitchenAid Hand Blender I recommend, a reader just wrote to tell me it's down to $24.99, after a $5.00 rebate. The price tends to go up and down often, so act now to be sure you get it at this price! They probably have only