grains

Thu 15 Sep 2011

Arroz con Seitan

20110913-122958.jpgI recently picked up a new cookbook, Viva Vegan! Though we aren’t vegan we are mostly vegetarian so I thought this book would help me make veggie versions of my favorite Latin dishes. I was right! This is an exceptional cookbook and everything I’ve made in it thus far has been phenomenal. With some weekend prep I was able to put together this version of arroz con pollo in about 40 minutes. This recipes uses sofrito, a mixture of sauteed green peppers, onions & garlic. If you are making the sofrito along with this dish it will take a little longer (20 min or so). You can also prepare the sofrito ahead of time or just buy some. It comes both frozen & in jars. I can never bring myself to buy the jarred version because it contains preservatives. I cannot remember if the frozen variety includes preservatives or not. Don’t like seitan but do like chicken? Just replace the seitan with 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

Arroz con Seitan
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Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
Total time: 50 mins
Serves: 4
A vegan version of the very popular Latin dish Arroz con Pollo. This hearty dish is a weeknight one-pot meal if you have premade sofrito on hand. Otherwise, make your own via the directions below.
Ingredients:
  • 12 oz seitan, cut into strips
  • 1 Tablespoon lime juice
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • Large pinch oregano
  • 1 cup sofrito
  • 2/3 cup crushed tomatoes
  • 1 cup Mexican beer (e.g. Corona)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
  • 1 1/4 cups water or veggie broth
  • 1 cup frozen shelled edamame or peas
  • 1 carrot, diced small
  • 1/3 cup green olives, sliced
  • 1/4 cup capers, drained
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
Directions:
  1. Marinate seitan in lime juice, olive oil & oregano for 10 minutes. Heat a skillet to medium-high heat, lightly oil skillet, and sear seitan strips for 2 minutes per side. Remove to a plate.
  2. Add sofrito to pan to reheat. Add tomatoes, beer, spices and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add rice water (or broth), edamame (or peas) and carrot. Bring to a boil. Push seitan strips into mixture then sprinkle top with green olives & capers.
  3. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, until rice is cooked. Fluff rice and mix in minced cilantro.
Notes:

To make sofrito: Combine 2 Tablespoons olive oil and 5 minced cloves garlic in your skillet over medium heat. Sauté until garlic begins to release its fragrance (approximately 30 seconds). Add 1/2 cup diced yellow onion and 1/2 cup diced green pepper to pan. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very soft and juice, approximately 15 minutes.

Posted by carrie under grains , main dishes , recipes , tofu
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Thu 25 Aug 2011

Fried Rice

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Fried rice is a great dish for weeknights because it uses up leftovers and comes together in about 15 minutes. It is incredibly versatile and can be made with any number of vegetables or proteins. Use this recipe as a guide for the technique and the sauce ingredients then make your own “house special” fried rice. Other vegetables to use include frozen peas, broccoli florets, green beans, sugar snap peas, or asparagus. For protein you can use anything from beans to steak.

Fried rice
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Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 15 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
  • 3 Tablespoons light olive oil or peanut oil or canola oil
  • 10 frozen pearl onions or 1/2 diced yellow onion
  • 1/2 bell pepper, diced
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 2 cups spinach or other greens
  • 8 oz tempeh, crumbled
  • 1 T minced garlic
  • 1 T minced ginger
  • 3 cups cooked rice, cold
  • 2 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup white wine
Directions:
  1. Put 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a wok or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add pearl onions & sauté until browned on all sides. Add carrot and 1/8 cup water. Cover for 1 min or until water has evaporated. Add red pepper. Cook 1-2 minutes until carrots are beginning to brown. Add spinach. Saute 1-2 minutes more just until spinach is wilted. Remove vegetables to a serving bowl.
  2. Add tempeh to skillet along with 1/4 cup water. Cook until all water has evaporated. Remove temeph to serving bowl.
  3. Add remaining 2 Tablespoons olive oil to skillet. Add garlic & ginger. Sauté 15 sec or until fragrant. Add cold rice breaking any clumps up with your fingers. Toss with oil. Make a hole in the center of the rice & add eggs. Scramble eggs with rice and stir until cooked. Add vegetables & tempeh back to the skillet. Add soy sauce, sesame oil & wine. Stir until everything is coated with the sauce. Transfer everything back to the serving bowl.
Posted by carrie under grains , main dishes , recipes
1 Comment 

Mon 20 Jun 2011

Corn Tortillas

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Fresh corn tortillas are nothing like the store bought variety. If you don’t like corn tortillas it is possible you’ve never had them fresh. The best corn tortilla I ever tasted came from this kitchen:

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They were handmade by a Mayan lady in the Yucatan. In the picture you see the extent of her counter space and cooking utensils. Behind this area was the “oven” aka fire. The traditional way to make corn tortillas involves drying corn, soaking it in lime, pounding it and then forming it into a dough. Since this is cook simple and there are no tortilla factories nearby I take the easier route of using dried masa harina. I like corn tortillas much more than flour tortillas so I always have some masa harina in the pantry. And while I am typically against unitaskers in the kitchen I am happy to keep a tortilla press around.

Corn Tortillas
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Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 20 mins
Serves: 4
Fresh corn tortillas can’t be beat! Luckily they’re easy and quick to make.
Ingredients:
  • 16 tortillas
  • 2 cups masa harina
  • 1 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 8 tortillas
  • 1 cup masa harina
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1/8 Teaspoon salt
  • 4 tortillas
  • 1/2 cup masa harina
  • 1/3 cup water
  • pinch of salt
Directions:
  1. Mix together masa, salt and water in a bowl. Let dough sit for 5 minutes. If dough seems too dry add a bit more water, 1 Tablespoon at a time.
  2. Divide dough into 16ths, 8ths or 4ths, depending on how much dough you decided to make.


  3. Place a ziploc bag that has the sides cut off onto your tortilla press. Place one ball of dough in the middle then use the press to squeeze the dough flat. Turn the tortilla in a circle pressing on each side so the dough is evenly distributed. The tortilla should be about 5-6″ in diameter.20110615-161938.jpg20110615-161946.jpg

    4.  

  4. Cook in a medium hot cast iron skillet for about 50 seconds per side. Place on a plate and cover with a towel, stacking tortillas until all have been made.

 

Posted by carrie under breads , grains , recipes , techniques
1 Comment 

Mon 13 Jun 2011

Everyday Granola

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This is the way we make granola. I like this recipe as it doesn’t include any oil and is really low in added sugar. However, making granola this way also means that you don’t get many “clusters” of granola and instead end up with oats, nuts, and dried fruit separate. I typically vary the nuts & fruits so each batch turns out different. We eat this almost every day for breakfast with some almond milk. Fresh fruit is a nice addition, too.

Everyday Granola
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Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 20 mins
Serves: 8
A basic granola recipe that is infinitely variable.
Ingredients:
  • 6 cups rolled oats
  • 1-2 cups nuts (slivered almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chopped pecans, or chopped walnuts – a combo is nice, too)
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup, agave nectar, or honey
  • 1 cup dried fruit (cherries, cranberries, apricots, or raisins)
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Place oats, nuts, cinnamon & ginger on a baking sheet. Stir to mix. Drizzle maple syrup over oat mixture. Stir to distribute evenly.
  3. Bake for 15 minutes, until oats & nuts are toasted. Stir once while baking.
  4. Take out of the oven & stir in dried fruit. Let cool on baking sheet then transfer to a air tight container.

 

Posted by carrie under grains , recipes
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Wed 25 Jun 2008

Barley and Cucumber Salad

I always buy barley thinking I’ll use it… then I find it in my pantry several months later just waiting for me. Problem is I don’t like barley in its traditional guise of a starch in soup! So, I end up throwing it out and vowing never to buy barley again. I was thrilled to run into this recipe in Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian” where barley is used in a cold salad. Since I live in sweltering heat for 4+ months of the year I am always looking for new cold salads. And of course I just happened to have some barley in the pantry.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup barley
  • 2 small kirby cucumbers, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 3 scallions, sliced
  • 1 handful grape tomatoes, sliced in half
  • 1 cup yogurt
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Place barley in a saucepan and cover with 2″ of water. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes, until tender. Drain and cool on a plate or under cool water.

Combine barley, cucumbers, scallions and tomatoes in a large bowl. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Mix together yogurt, olive oil and lemon juice in a small bowl. Add yogurt mixture to barley mixture and mix thoroughly. Taste and add more salt and/or pepper, as needed.

Posted by carrie under grains , recipes , salads
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