Cauliflower, Kale and Chickpea Saute

Cauliflower, Kale and Chickpea Saute
serves 2-3

We call these Depression Meals in my house: you look at all the leftover, random ingredients in the fridge, toss them into a sauté pan with some good seasonings and call it a bowl full of dinner.  While I wouldn’t serve this at a dinner party, this style of “food in a bowl” cooking is so key to getting me to eat clean daily instead of just when I have time.  Feel free to sub whatever vegetables and beans you have on hand and try my salty-sweet-tangy seasoning to see what magic you can create.

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 2-inch piece of ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red onion, sliced
1 small head cauliflower, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons Tamari
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 bunch lacinato kale, shredded
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
salt and lots of black pepper

1. In your largest skillet, drizzle some grapseed oil and add the chickpeas and some salt.  Shake the pan occasionally and cook until the chickpeas start to crisp and brown about 5-10 minutes.  Remove to a bowl.

2. In the same skillet, add another drizzle of oil and the red onion, ginger and garlic. Saute until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes.  Add the cauliflower and stir.  Mix up your sauce in a bowl: water, tamari, maple and Dijon.  Add this to the pan and let cook until the cauliflower is cooked through, about 5-10 minutes.

3. Wilt in the kale and taste to add more salt/tamari if necessary.  Drizzle with toasted sesame oil and serve.  Add any herbs, nuts or seeds you want as a garnish.

Saag Tofu

Saag Tofu (Vegan Saag Paneer)
serves 2-3

Slow-cooked saag paneer is one of my all time favorite ways to eat greens.  It's my go-to order in Indian restaurants, but I actually prefer the homemade version without all the cream.  Pounds of spinach cook down into a rich, creamy sauce that's comforting and gently spiced.   This dish freezes amazingly too so don't be shy about doubling the recipe.  Serve with brown rice or (better) naan or flatbread.  By blending the greens in the blender/foodprocessor, I create that "creamy" consistency without dairy.  However, this recipe is extra good if you add a touch of ghee or finish by swirling a dollop of plain yogurt, coconut yogurt or coconut milk right before serving.

1 brick of extra firm or firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1 white onion, chopped
3-inch piece of ginger
6 cloves garlic
serrano chile (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 lbs frozen spinach, defrosted and moisture squeezed out
1 lemon
salt to taste

1. Toss tofu cubes with turmeric, grapeseed oil and an extra generous pinch of salt.  Heat a large skillet and saute until they are browned on all sides.  Remove to a bowl.

2. In the same skillet, add a drizzle more oil and saute the onion until it is a warm brown, about 10-15 minutes.  Rough chop the ginger, garlic and chile and add to the food processor or blender until it forms a fine paste (you can add a splash of water if needed).  Add the paste to the onions and continue cooking and stirring until the rawness goes away.  Add the cumin, coriander and garam masala and stir.

3. Add one handful of the greens to the skillet and add the rest to the food processor/blender and blend until pretty smooth.  Add this to the skillet with a pinch of salt and continue cooking until flavors combine, about 5-10 minutes. If mixture looks too dry, add a splash of water.

4. Finish the dish by adding a squeeze of lemon juice and tasting for more salt.  Stir in a spoonful of coconut milk or yogurt for extra creaminess.

Quinoa, Cranberry and Squash Bake

Quinoa, Cranberry and Squash Bake
Serves 6 as an entrée; 10 or more as a side

This vegan, gluten-free and nut-free entrée is your solution to pleasing everyone at the table at a holiday meal.  With bold colors, it makes a solid alternative entrée and isn’t too “weird” for your more traditional guests to enjoy as a side.  I’ve left the seasonings simple in this one so you can customize with your favorites—try replacing the sage with chives or dried cranberries with fresh, or add some spices like cinnamon, herbs de Provence or curry powder. Once the holidays are over, keep this one in your arsenal for a balanced weeknight meal as well!

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for oiling pan
2 red onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 portabella mushrooms, chopped
½ cup of red quinoa
1 cup of white quinoa
1 squash, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
6 sage leaves, finely chopped
½ cup of dried cranberries
2 cups of mushroom stock (or vegetable stock)
½ cup of pepitas
2 tablespoons maple syrup
salt to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 and lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish.

2. In a large skillet heat oil and then sauté onions for 5 minutes until soft.  Add garlic and sauté an additional 30 seconds.  Add portabellas and sauté for 5 more minutes, until they release their water.  Pour out contents of skillet into the baking pan.  Add quinoas, squash, chives and cranberries.

3. Heat mushroom stock in the empty skillet until it’s boiling.  Pour into baking dish and stir to evenly incorporate ingredients.   Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour or until quinoa and squash are fully cooked and liquid is absorbed.

4. Uncover and top with pepitas and drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with salt.  Return to oven uncovered and cook for 10 minutes more.

REHEAT: Can cook completely and reheat at 375, covered, for 30 minutes or until warm.

Kale Salad with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Roasted Chickpeas

Serves 4

Raw kale salads make great go-to lunches because you can dress them and they will stay sturdy and delicious for 1-2 days.  If you love salty, crunchy snacks like me, you’ll love these crispy chickpeas.  You can play around with seasonings to make a different high protein, high fiber movie-watching snack.  Keep the chickpeas out of the refrigerator and store them in an airtight container to keep them crispy longer.  To maximize time, put the chickpeas in while you eat your dinner, then finish up the rest of the salad post-dinner and you’ve got lunch ready to go.

for chickpeas:
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlicsalt and pepper to taste

for salad:
2 bunches leafy kale, stemmed and chopped into bite size pieces
1 lemon
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon maple syrup (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, thinly sliced
1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  On a parchment-lined sheet tray, combine chickpeas, grapeseed oil, granulated garlic, salt and pepper.  Roast until crunchy, about 45-60 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.

2. In a large bowl, combine the kale with lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper.  Massage with your hands for about 5 minutes, until kale looks moist and softer and it has reduced in volume.  Taste and see if you need to add more salt, lemon or olive oil.  If it’s too bitter, add a little maple syrup.

3. Toss in sun-dried tomatoes and sunflower seeds.  Pack the salad and chickpeas separately to keep the chickpeas crunchy.  Toss chickpeas on top right before serving.

Gingery Peapod Stirfry with Black Rice

Serves 2-3

Stirfries are a great way to incorporate more vegetables into your diet. Ginger is a powerful antiinflammatory and can soothe the intestinal tract.  Black rice is an easy to digest grain packed with more anthocyanins (the antioxidant in purple foods like blueberries) than any other food. Sub brown rice or quinoa if you can’t find it.

3/4 cup black rice
drizzle of grapeseed oil
1 package shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 scallions, white and green parts sliced, separated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece ginger, minced
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 cups snow peas, trimmed
1/2 cup toasted cashews
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon tamari
2 tablespoons mirin (Japanese cooking wine--sub rice vinegar + maple syrup if you can't find it)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1. In a medium pot, combine rice with 1 1/4 cups of water, cover and bring to a simmer until cooked, about 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat a drizzle of grapeseed oil. Saute mushrooms until they release moisture and start to brown. Then add scallion whites, garlic, and ginger.  Add trimmed peapods and cashews and sauté for 2 minutes, until peapods start to turn bright green.  Add tamari, mirin and sesame oil and stir to combine.

3. Serve rice alongside stirfry and garnish with scallion greens.

Spinach Walnut Pasta Salad

Serves 4

In our hangover daze from ‘90’s nutritional messages, we sometimes forget that whole-wheat is actually a fantastic protein source. Most people feel full and satisfied after eating pasta, plus it’s inexpensive, easy to cook and very affordable. Feel free to sub an alternative grain pasta (like quinoa or corn), and remember in order to keep pasta healthy, we bulk up on the vegetables! 

This pasta salad is half green salad/half pasta salad is totally customizable and makes a great takealong to the office. Make the whole recipe, but just stack the spinach on top of the dressed pasta in your tupperware. Then stir it in right before eating.

1/2 lb whole-wheat fusili pasta
1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced in half
1 zucchini, finely chopped
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
1/2 clove of garlic, pressed
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 5-ounce bag of baby spinach

1. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until al dente. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water. 

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine pasta, zucchini, kalamatas and walnuts.  In a mason jar, mix up dressing by combining vinegar, garlic, Dijon, olive oil and salt and pepper and shaking.

3. Toss pasta with enough dressing (you’ll have some left over).  Roughly chop the baby spinach and toss that in too and stir.  If you are taking this along for lunch, just rest the spinach on top and toss right before you eat it.  Taste and season with salt, pepper and extra vinegar.

Mushroom Lentil Tacos with Pistachio Crema

Serves 3-4

Lentils are most frequently found in soups, but here I combine them with earthy mushrooms to get a savory taco filling with bite.  If you are just beginning to work with legumes, these French green lentils are a good place to start.  They are available in a can or you can cook them from the bulk section. The tacos are really all about this great pistachio crema though—slightly tangy from the lemon and creamy and pale green from the pistachios, it’s a great  way to get flavor into every bite of this very vegetal meal.

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1 8-10 ounce package shiitake mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed and chopped
1 8-10 ounce package cremini mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 15-ounce can brown or green lentils
1 teaspoon tamari
1 cup pistachios, soaked in water (for 10 minutes-3 hours)
2 scallions, green parts chopped
juice from 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
12 corn tortillas
1 5-ounce bag arugula
Store-bought kimchi

1. In a large skillet, heat oil.  Add chopped mushrooms and pinch of salt and let cook down until the moisture has evaporated and they turn golden.  Add the minced garlic, cumin and red pepper flake and stir.

2. Meanwhile, in a high-speed blender, combined drained pistachios, lemon juice, salt, chopped green scallions and enough fresh water to combine.  Blend until it’s smooth and thick like crema. Taste and season for salt and lemon juice.

3. Then add the lentils to the skillet with the mushrooms, stir and add tamari and cook until lentils are warmed up.

4. Assemble tacos: lay down three tortillas per person and add mushroom-lentil mix, a dollop of pistachio crema, a fistful of arugula and top with kimchi.  Devour.

Black Rice and Lentil Mujadara

Serves 2

Mujadara is a Middle Eastern staple of long white rice and brown lentils tossed in a skillet with mountains of caramelized onions. I usually have a couple of onions in my kitchen so when I have leftover grains and lentils or beans, this is my go-to dish.  Here I used leftover black rice and French green lentils but sub whatever you have on hand. The secret to this simple dish is to let the onions caramelize as long as possible and to season generously with salt. 

2 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil
3 onions, thinly sliced into half-moons
1 1/2 cup cooked French green lentils
1 cup cooked black rice
salt to taste
1 scallion, chopped

1. In a very large skillet, heat ghee or oil and saute onions until very caramelized and browned, 45-60 minutes. This recipe is so simple, it's worth the wait to let the onions really brown and develop their flavor.  If the skillet starts to dry out, just add a tablespoon of water. You may have to do this a couple of times.

2. When onions are irresistible, toss in cooked lentils and rice and stir until just warmed through.  Season generously with salt. Garnish with the scallion.