Beet and Rutabaga Borscht

Borscht is a traditional Ukrainian soup with a gorgeous purple-red hue.  It’s a delicious way to use beets and can be served hot or chilled.

Ingredients

• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound (about 3 medium) red beets, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1 medium rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 6 cups vegetable stock (see our recipe)
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Parsley or dill for garnish
• Sour cream for garnish (optional for vegan preparation)

Preparation

1. In a large soup pot, saute onion and carrots in olive oil over medium-high heat until onions become translucent.
2. Add beets and rutabaga, continuing to saute for about 2 minutes more.
3. Add stock, cover, and bring to boil over high heat.  Reduce heat and continue boiling until beets and rutabaga pieces are soft. Season to taste.
4. Using an immersion blender or upright blender, process soup until smooth.
5. Serve warm immediately or chill and serve cool.  Garnish each bowl of soup with fresh parsley or dill and a dollop of sour cream (optional).

It took me a long time to get around to appreciating smoked spices. My reluctance is the same thing that make so many people love them: smoky flavors remind me of meat. But, I am growing up and trying new things and after enough coxing I have learned to appreciate smoked spices. I am even considering making my own using the same grill method described in Culture Magazine to smoke cheese. Look for an update on this experiment on our News page in the weeks to come.

For now I am using trader Joe’s South African Smoke Seasoning Blend, but any smoked seasoning will do. Just remember, a little will go a long way.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of cooked black beans, drained
• 1/4 cup vegetable stock
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked spice
• salt to taste

Preparation

1. Combine ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Season with salt to taste.

Black Bean Taquitos

Taquitos are a Tex-Mex snack in that typically consist of corn tortillas rolled around small portions of ground beef then deep fried. These little flavor bombs will fulfill anyone’s quotient for junk food particularly when dipped in to a sour cream or cheese sauce. These healthier taquitos are baked and also vegan and gluten-free.

Ingredients

• 2 cups refried black beans
• 2 poblano peppers, roasted and sliced
• 2 dozen corn tortillas, softened*
• Vegetable or olive oil cooking spray

Preparation

1. Roll the taquitos by placing a tablespoon of black beans and a slice of pepper in the center of a corn tortilla, fold in half, then roll tightly.
2. Place the rolled taquitos in a large baking dish coated in cooking spray.
3. Once the dish is full with a single layer of taquitos, liberally spray the taquitos with some additional cooking spray.
4. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until crispy, about 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Serve warm with your favorite salsa or aji.

*Corn tortillas are notorious for crumbling. If they are fresh (still warm) this will not be a problem, but it is reasonable to expect that this may not be possible. Here are some instructions for softening corn tortillas to make them more pliable.

These quick radish and cipollini onion pickles can be served with a variety of dishes to add a touch of acidity and sweetness.

Quick Radish and Cipollini Pickles

Ingredients

• 16 cipollini onions, tops and bottoms removed, skinned
• 12 red radishes, stems and tails removed, cut in half
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into large matchsticks
• 2 cups water, salted slightly
• 3/4 cup white vinegar
• 15 black peppercorns, crushed slightly
• 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne

Preparation

1. Bring the salted water to boil. Add the onions, radishes, and carrot, and let boil for 4 minutes. Drain and place vegetables into a shallow non-reactive bowl.
2. In a small non-reactive saucepan, heat the vinegar, peppercorns, sugar, salt, and cayenne over medium heat until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
3. Pour the vinegar mixture over the boiled vegetables.  Let cool, then chill slightly before serving.

Store in a sealed glass container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Mango Avocado Salsa

Ingredients

• 2 small avocados, diced
• 1 medium mango, diced
• 1 large jalapeno, minced
• 1 spring onion, minced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Combine ingredients in a medium bowl.
2. Season with salt to taste and serve.

Almost every Sunday I make a giant crock pot full of beans and throughout the week James and I eat some for lunch, add them to dinner, and otherwise transform and include them in our food. They are cheap, nutritious, and delicious. Most of the time our beans don’t make it to the end of the week because at some point I get a hankering for refried beans. Refriend beans are a Tex-Mex staple and also a flavorful way to get a whole heaping of plant-based protein and plenty of fiber.

Ingredients

• 4 cups cooked black beans, drained
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large soup pot and saute onions until translucent over high heat. Lower heat to medium and add garlic and cumin. Continue to saute for 2 minutes stirring frequently to prevent burning.
2. Add beans and mash thoroughly with a potato masher, pastry cutter, or a sturdy fork.
3. Once the beans are a more or less uniform texture, add the broth, stirring to incorporate.
4. Season with salt to taste and serve or use as directed.

A causa is a Peruvian dish that involves sandwiching some kind of salad (typically tuna and tomato) between two layers of mashed and seasoned yellow potatoes.  Causas are great for bringing to parties or potlucks, as they are like a de/re-constructed potato salad.  In this vegan version of causa, we made the filling from seasonal spring vegetables from our favorite Austin farm, Johnson’s Backyard Garden.

Ingredients

• 4 pounds yellow potatoes, peeled and chunked
• 3 tablespoons ají amarillo paste
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 4 medium sweet radishes, diced
• 2 cups curly kale, stems removed and leaves diced
• 1/2 cup parsley, diced
• 1/4 cup spring onions, diced
• Juice of 3 key limes
• 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Paprika for garnish

Preparation

1. Boil potato chunks until soft throughout.   Mash the cooked potato chunks with the ají amarillo paste until smooth.  Season to taste and set aside to cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine the diced carrots, radishes, kale, vegan mayonnaise, parsley, spring onions, and key lime juice.  Toss the mixture until vegetables are evenly coated with the vegan mayonnaise.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. In a deep (about 3-inch) rectangular dish, make an even layer using 1/2 of the mashed potatoes.
4. Spread the vegetable mixture on top of the bottom layer of mashed potatoes.
5. Use the remaining mashed potatoes to make an even layer on top of the vegetable mixture.  Dust with paprika and chill slightly before serving.  Serve by cutting approximately 3-inch-by-3-inch squares with a flat spatula.

Megamega Hummus with carrots and Dr. Krackers

The Anti-Inflammatory Diet is likely to gain popularity in the near future. The diet, which emphasizes consuming whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats to reduce chronic inflammation and promote health, is, for the most part, easily adapted to a vegetarian diet. However, the diet recommends a high-level of Omega-3 fatty acid consumption including 2-6 servings of fish and seafood a week. For most vegetarians this is untenable as is the recommendation to take a 2-3 gram fish oil supplement. The reason that fish and fish oil are preferred to plant-based Omega-3 sources is that the fish contains two important Omega-3s, EPA and DHA, while plant-based Omega-3 sources only contain ALA fatty acids. The human body can, rather inefficiently, convert ALA to the necessary EPA and DHA. So, in order to consume all of the necessary ALA for this conversion a vegetarian requires about 5 times the Omega-3 consumption that someone else will obtain from fish or fish oil – at least 6 grams of ALA a day.

Even with all of this information I still can not bring myself to eat a fish oil capsule knowing as I do that the undesirable fishy taste will be in my mouth for at least three hours. The only remaining solution is to eat all the plant-based sources of ALA Omega-3 fatty acids I can get my hands on. This includes most nuts, seeds, and the remarkable herb purslane (more on that later this spring).

While we have not had this recipe tested for nutritional content, based on the ingredients we estimate that one 1/2 cup serving of this hummus has 246 calories, 4.30 grams of protein, 6.18 g Omega-6 fatty acids, and 3.35 g Omega-3 fatty acids. With that nutritional profile you may want to put this one in your regular snack rotation like we do.

Ingredients

Procedure

Tamales are popular from the tip of Chile up to the American Southwest. Peru is part of this tamale zone and has several varieties of these steamed savory corn treats. We have created a delicious traditional tamale recipe for The Authentic Peruvian Vegetarian Cookbook but last night we decided to have a bit of fun. While in Lima we stumbled across a small natural food restaurant serving large steamed corn tamales that included quinoa and coca powder in the masa (corn based dough). We wanted to recreate these healthful and colorful tamales, but as coca flour is unattainable in the United States we used a fortified broth to add some fun color to the dish.

If this is your first time to make tamales you might find the process a bit time consuming and tedious. However, once you have the techniques down and understand the process it can be fun and the results are rewarding. We have some steps and photos that might be helpful on our Tips and Techniques page. There are also many helpful videos online that you may want to study before starting.

Magic Purple Quinoa Tamales

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 small head of purple cabbage, shredded
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 2 cups masa harina 
• 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon of garlic salt
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 cup  kalamata or Peruvian olives
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Place 20-25 corn husks in a large bowl and cover with warm water to soften while you prepare the masa and filling.
2. Prepare the quinoa according to directions.
3. In a small pot combine  cabbage, vegetable bouillon, and water. Bring to a boil and cook for 20-30 minutes. Retaining the water, drain the cabbage and discard. Set aside.
4. To prepare the filling, Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet, Add the onions and cook on low heat until thoroughly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the parsley and olive and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes on low heat. Set aside.
5. To prepare the masa, combine cooked quinoa, reserved cabbage fortified broth, masa harina, vegetable oil, and garlic salt. Work the ingredients with your hands to create a thick  spreadable dough. If it is sticky add more masa harina until the desired consistency is achieved.
6. Now you are ready to roll the tamales. Pat dry a softened corn husk and evenly spread about 1/4 cup of prepared masa evenly spread it over an area of the corn husk in an area roughly 3 x5 inches. Place 1 tablespoon of filling along the center of the tamale leaving a 1 inch margin on each end. Roll the tamale making sure that the masa has completely encased the filling.
7. In a single layer, steam the tamales in the bottom of a large steamer. It may take up to 20 minutes to thoroughly steam a batch of tamales and you may have to add water a few times to make sure that the pot does not go dry. *TIP: I like to place a penny in the bottom of the pot- as the water gets lower you can hear the rattling increase.*
8. Serve the tamales with your favorite aji.

Note: I recommend making a very large batch of tamales and freezing the leftovers in airtight plastic bags. A minute in the microwave will reconstitute a frozen tamale – they survive this process better than any other single type of food I know of.

Dandelion greens are from the chicory family and while delicious, can be a bit too bitter for some people.  The use of tomatoes in this dish helps cut the bitterness.  If you don’t have any cultivated dandelion greens (don’t use the ones growing in your yard!), you can substitute other greens like chard or spinach.

For this meal, you’ll need either an oven-proof skillet or a separate dish you can bake in.

Baked Eggs with Dandelion Greens

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 4 cups fresh dandelion greens, coarsely chopped
• 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and diced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 5 eggs
• paprika for sprinkling

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large skillet, saute onion, garlic, and mushrooms in the olive oil until onions are translucent.
3. Add dandelion greens, tomatoes, thyme, and basil, continuing to saute until the greens are well wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. If using a separate baking dish, transfer sauteed components to that dish.
5. Make small wells in the the sauteed vegetables and crack an egg into each one.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, until egg whites have set.
7. Sprinkle tops of eggs with paprika and serve!