White Bean Pasta with Broccoli and Squash

Pasta with alfredo sauce was always one of my favorites, but lately I am not always huge fan of how large amounts of dairy makes me feel. After remembering the lovely creamy texture I got from my last batch of Pasta y Fagioli, I decided to give white beans a try for a pasta sauce. Now this is not alfredo sauce, but I think it makes a great substitute, and it's jam packed full of protein! Experiment with your favorite pasta shapes and veggies.

There's no picture of this recipe, unfortunately. I've been working two jobs lately and made this sauce to keep in the fridge for quick reheating throughout the week, and simply never had the time or desire to make a plate all pretty-style for picture taking.

The squash I used here came picked straight from the vine into my husband's hand by one of his friends he ran into while coming home from the farmer's market (I haven't been able to go - second job). She was tending to a community garden in the Westside area of Kansas City. He traded a bottle of my homebrew kombucha (ginger/blueberry flavor) for it - the squash was used two days later. Nothing quite like fresh picked produce! Thanks, Julie.

This sauce really comes together quickly and easily and makes for an awesome quick meal. Leftovers reheat nicely in a saucepan, perhaps using a bit more milk. Make this vegan by using vegan butter.

White Bean Pasta with Broccoli and Squash

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
• 3 cups cooked white beans (navy, cannellini, great northern)
• 2 cups plain, unsweetened soy, almond or rice milk (I used almond)
• 2 cups small broccoli florets
• 1 medium sized squash, cut into half-moons
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon crushed red peppers, to taste
• parmesan cheese and/or fresh minced parsley(optional)
• 12 ounces pasta, cooked (I used linguine)

Melt the butter in a large pot and saute the onion over medium heat for about five minutes, until soft and translucent. Meanwhile, in a blender, add in the beans and milk. Blend until it makes a smooth, thick sauce. Add the sauce to the pot with the onions, along with the broccoli, squash, garlic and seasonings. Cover and let simmer over low heat, stirring frequently to ensure the sauce does not stick to the bottom of the pan, until the squash and broccoli are tender to your liking, about ten minutes. Toss with pasta, adjust seasonings, and garnish with parmesan cheese and/or parsley.

BBQ Veggie Pizza

These next two weeks are a bit crazy for me. It's finals time, so that means cooking is being pushed to the side. I did go to the market on Saturday, and I have been cooking and will be cooking... just probably not posting. And now I'm off to the library again! Here's a recipe that I've been holding on to for a couple of weeks. See you soon :)

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When ate this for dinner along with a Citrus-Parsley Cucumber and Tomato Salad, and I even joked at dinner about how it's a 'multi-cultural meal' :: BBQ sauce (American), pizza (Italian), Greek-style salad, Lavosh bread as the crust (Middle Eastern).

Al Habashi Mart is a Middle Eastern grocery and they sell delicious, locally baked breads. For the crust, I used their lavosh bread: it's a large, round flat bread about a foot and a half in diameter. Perfect size for a medium to large pizza crust! If you don't have that, any pizza crust will do. I'm sure a homemade one is best... although I have never attempted to make one myself :)

The deliciousness of this pizza will depend entirely on the sauce you use. I used a Kansas City  hometown legend: Gate's. Kansas City is really known nationally for it's delicious BBQ, and while I don't partake in the meat very often I can still enjoy the sauce. It's made locally and even when you buy it at the store the ingredients list isn't too long or scary (only a preservative to be worried about). Gate's original sauce is tangy from vinegar and slightly spicy. Go your favorite BBQ sauce route - tangy, spicy, sweet, smoky - but just make sure it's a delicious sauce on it's own, because it really is the star of this pizza.

BBQ Veggie Pizza

• 1 medium to large pizza crust or flatbread
• 1/2 cup barbeque sauce
• 1 head of broccoli
• 1 carrot
• 5-6 mushrooms
• 1-1 1/2 cups meltable cheese or cheeze (we used cheddar)

Preheat the oven to 350°, or whatever temperature the oven needs to be to cook your pizza crust. Prepare the pizza crust, if needed.

Cut the head of broccoli into small florets. Halve the carrot and cut into thin rounds. Place in a medium pot along with a couple tablespoons of water. Heat over medium heat and steam just until the broccoli is bright green and the carrots are a little less crunchy. Drain and arrange on a plate in a single layer. Let sit for about ten minutes to let most of the steam come off.

Spread the sauce over the pizza crust out to the edges. Thinly slice the mushrooms and arrange, along with the broccoli and carrots. Top with the cheese. Bake in the oven for anywhere from 10-20 minutes, until your pizza crust is done and the cheese has melted.

An unconventional pizza

Split Pea and Broccoli Curry

Here's another simple, delicious dinner to add to my current obsession with Indian-flavored curries. I've already eaten lentils once this week, and I had a lot of split peas leftover from the last time I made split pea soup, so I decided to use those in this recipe. I used green split peas, but I'm sure yellow split peas or a combination would be delightful.

We ate this over hot basmati rice. I usually only buy whole grains, so brown basmati is a popular choice - but sometimes I really want the texture and flavor of white rice, so I bought some and used it in this meal. I also enjoyed this with a tall glass of vanilla coconut milk, with plain fresh strawberries for dessert

Split Pea and Broccoli Curry

• 1 cup split peas
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 2 heads broccoli, cut into florets
• garnishes: fresh cilantro, peanuts, cashews, shredded coconut
• ghee, olive oil or butter

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil or butter in a large saucepan with a lid over medium heat. Add in the onion and carrots and saute for about five minutes. Add the cumin, garam masala, turmeric, ginger, garlic, jalapeno and split peas, stir to combine, and cook for about two minutes. Add in the vegetable broth and cover. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low.

If you like your broccoli very tender, add the florets in after the split peas have cooked for about twenty minutes. If you like it more firm, wait for twenty-five minutes or so. The split peas should take about 35-40 minutes to become tender - you don't want them mushy like in a split pea soup.

 

Sending this to My Legume Love Affair, event hosted by Desi Soccer Mom

Cruciferous Rice and Quinoa

Cruciferous vegetables.... a large group of tasty plants with lots of wonderful nutrients, beneficial enzymes and other good stuff. Vegetables in this family include:
radishes (including red and daikon), brussels sprouts, cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, bok choy, canola, mustard seeds, arugula, cress (like watercress), rutabaga, wasabi....


Here I've chosen to use three of those - broccoli, kale and cauliflower - with a mix of two grains that I had on hand in the pantry in a one-bowl meal that is filling and refreshing.


In this recipe, I use my own recipe for Broccoli Pesto. You can most certainly use any of your own favorite pesto recipes, or something store bought - if you do this I would add some broccoli florets in place of half of the cauliflower. Feel free to experiment with the grains, too - all quinoa, all rice, or any other combination you have on hand.

Eden Foods Organic Seaweed Gomasio Sesame Salt is a fabulous product that I always keep on hand in my kitchen. I like to use it in place of regular sea salt. It had ground sea vegetables and sesame seeds, packing in extra flavor and a small dose of nutrition. It is available at most health food stores or to order on the internet. You can leave it out if you'd like, but be sure to season with sea salt and plain sesame seeds, if you have them.


Cruciferous Rice and Quinoa

• 1/2 cup red or regular quinoa
• 1 cup vegetable stock or water
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/2 a small head of cauliflower, cut into small florets (about 2 cups)
• half a bunch (3-4 stalks) of kale, stem removed, leaves torn into small pieces
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup prepared Broccoli Pesto (or your favorite pesto sauce)
• 2 tablespoons Eden Foods Organic Seaweed Gomasio Sesame Salt
• fresh ground black pepper 

Bring the vegetable stock or water up to a boil in a small pot. Stir in the quinoa and cover. Let cook until the quinoa is soft and the grains have popped, revealing a light colored white circle - about 15-20 minutes. Set aside.


Heat a couple of tablespoons of water or vegetable stock in a medium sized pot and add in the cauliflower. Cover and let steam over medium-low heat for about five minutes. Add in the kale and the lemon juice, stir and cover until the vegetables are cooked to your desired tenderness - five to fifteen more minutes.


Uncover and add in the quinoa, rice and pesto sauce. Mix thoroughly, and then taste. Season with black pepper and/or lemon juice, if desired. Right before serving, stir in the sesame salt.

Broccoli Pesto

This is the second left-of-center pesto sauce I've made in the last few days.


I've always lamented the loss of so much vegetable whenever I throw out broccoli stems. You can't really use them for stocks and they have a tough, fibrous peel. So I've been brainstorming ideas on how to use them so I don't have to throw away half of the weight of the broccoli, and one of those ideas was this pesto sauce.


I made this specifically to go with Cruciferous Rice and Quinoa, but I imagine it could be used wherever else you might use pesto. It has a much lighter flavor than typical pesto sauces, with bright tones of lemon and raw garlic. I'm imagining it mixed with mayonnaise, sour cream or plain yogurt as a dip for crudites, as a spread on a pita sandwich, or mixed into a hot bowl of plain rice or pasta.


If anyone else has any ideas for how to use broccoli stems, please let me in on your secret!

Broccoli Pesto
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

• 2-3 broccoli stems, florets removed
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1 clove of garlic
• about 1 cup of baby spinach leaves
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice 
• 2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Cut off the ends of the broccoli stems and remove all branches until you have just the stem. Using a sharp knife (be careful!), remove the tough, fibrous outside layer of the stem. The inside should be a very light green color, almost white. You can test whether or not you've gotten off all the tough pieces by pricking them stem with a fork - it will pierce the fibrous skin but will poke into the inner layers easier. Repeat this with all large portions of the branches, using a paring knife if you'd like, discarding ones that are too small to safely cut. Dice the stems into smaller pieces.


Heat a quarter of a cup or so of water in a medium pan and add in the broccoli stems. Cover and steam until they are tender but not mushy - about ten minutes. Remove from heat and chill to room temperature.


Add the chilled broccoli stems, cashews, garlic and spinach to a food processor. Give it a few pulses to chop everything, scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary. Once it is chopped, set the processor to on and stream in the balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil through the top. Let mix until a paste forms. If you desire a thinner sauce, add in more lemon juice, olive oil or water or vegetable stock.

Millet and Vegetable Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers are fun to make and fun to eat. They're pretty and always something special, even on a weeknight. They take a little bit of time and effort but are relatively easy and the results and delicious and fun. 

If you've never had millet before, you're in for a treat! This was my first time using millet and I am very satisfied. Toasting the millet before boiling gives it a nutty flavor and helps cook the grains evenly on the inside and outside. Unfortunately, I accidentally left the lid off the pot for a little while, so I don't think I cooked the millet in the correct way, nor do I know exactly how much liquid I used. I started with one cup, but I ended up adding quite a bit more before the millet got tender. Fortunately, it isn't like rice and is very forgiving if you make a mistake - I had the lid on and off, adding more liquid and stirring, quite a bit and the texture was just perfect.

Grind the hazelnuts in a blender or a food processor, or place them in a sturdy plastic bag and give them a few whacks with a hammer or a mallet.

These stuffed peppers are hearty, filling and nutritious but not heavy. You don't have to use the kale, broccoli and corn listed here - experiment with whatever vegetables you have on hand. The nutty flavor from the millet and the hazelnuts is very warm and pleasant. This is a good meal to have if you are serving meat lovers or if you are transitioning to more vegetarian meals - it is hearty, full of flavor, and using a knife and fork to cut the pepper mimics the cutting of meat. Enjoy!


Millet and Vegetable Stuffed Peppers

• 1/2 cup millet
• about 2 cups vegetable stock or water at room temperature (see note above)
• 4 large bell peppers, any color 
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4-5 stalks of curly green kale, chopped in small pieces
• florets from 2 heads of broccoli, chopped into small pieces
• 1/2 cup corn kernels
• 1/2 cup ground hazelnuts
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• sea salt
• olive oil
• Topping ideas (optional): tomato sauce, yogurt raita, warm salsa, fresh herbs

Preheat the oven to 350°. Slice off the tops of the peppers and reserve for another use. Remove the seeds and ribs from the peppers. Heat a few cups of water in a pot large enough to fit all the peppers until simmering. Add in the peppers, lower the heat and cover. Let steam until they are tender but still firm enough to stand up - ten to twenty minutes, depending on your preference. When finished, remove the peppers but reserve some of the cooking liquid.

Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a medium sized pot. Add the millet and toast, stirring, over medium heat until the millet becomes golden and fragrant. Add in the vegetable stock and cook, covered, until the millet becomes tender and the mixture becomes thick, about fifteen to twenty minutes. If there is too much liquid, take off the lid for a few minutes while cooking - if there is not enough, add more and stir. The millet is done when it is soft or slightly crunchy (depending on how you want it).

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. Add in the onion and turmeric and cook until soft, about five minutes. Add in the garlic, ginger, kale, broccoli and about a quarter cup of the boiling water from the peppers. Cover and steam over low heat for about ten minutes. Remove the lid and add in the corn, lemon zest and juice, balsamic vinegar and hazelnuts. Let cook until the kale and broccoli are as tender as you'd like and the corn is thawed and warm, five to fifteen more minutes.

Place the peppers standing upright in a baking sheet or dish. A muffin tin works nicely to ensure they don't tip. Lightly spoon the filling into each pepper and bake in the oven until they are golden brown and the peppers are only beginning to wrinkle around the edges - ten to fifteen minutes.

If you'd like, serve these on their own or with a sauce of your choosing.

I prefer red peppers :)

Potato and Vegetable Green Curry

I have a love/hate relationship with curries. I don't ever order them at restaurants because I often find curry seasonings to be unpleasant. I have found a few brands of powdered seasonings and pastes that I enjoy and prefer to make them at home so that I can be sure I'll enjoy them. However, curry is one of my husband's favorites, so we make it pretty often.

This is my first try at a green curry. I don't usually like using things like seasoning pastes, but I have used a prepared curry paste here - Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste to be exact. It says on the bottle to start at 1/2 tablespoon and work your way up, but I ended up putting in close to 4 tablespoons and it was still not spicy. You know your tolerance for spicyness - add it to your liking, or add in extra hot peppers if you'd like it extra spicy.

I have used fish sauce in this recipe, making it not vegetarian. This could simply be vegan without the fish sauce, however it would take away quite a bit of flavor. Creative vegan cooks should know how to get around that :)

I like to serve this with hot brown rice. You could use jasmine or basmati rice, or get creative with noodles - or maybe add in some vegetable or chicken broth to make this a soup? This will make about two or three dinner sized portions.


Potato and Vegetable Green Curry

• 1 onion, sliced thinly
• 3-4 small or medium red or yukon gold potatoes, cut into small chunks
• about 1 or 2 heads of broccoli florets
• 1 small red pepper, sliced thinly
• 1-2 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, thinly sliced (optional)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 2 cups or so of torn baby spinach leaves
• 1-4 tablespoons green curry paste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• optional garnish ideas: chopped fresh cilantro or mint, shredded coconut, crushed peanuts or cashews, fresh lime wedges
• hot rice or noodles for serving

Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the potatoes until almost done, about ten minutes or so. In a separate pan, saute the onions in a little bit of olive oil until they are translucent, about five minutes.

Once the potatoes are done, drain them well and return the pot to the stove. Add in the coconut milk and curry paste and let gently simmer for about five minutes or so. Stir in the potatoes, broccoli, red pepper, garlic, fish sauce and brown sugar. Stir and let gently simmer, covered, for about five minutes. Taste and add in more curry paste, fish sauce and/or brown sugar, if desired.

Let the curry simmer, covered, until the potatoes and broccoli are tender to your liking. During the last minute or so of cooking, stir in the spinach leaves until they are wilted. Serve over the rice or noodles.

Vegetables swimming in a delicious sea of flavor

Little Bit o Everything Salad

I sure do love a good salad! Well, sometimes. I go through phases. Sometimes I'll eat two salads a day for a week, sometimes the thought of a salad will repulse me. Salads are seriously the best way to get your vitamins and nutrients because the vegetables are all raw, but I can definitely sympathize with not always wanting cold, raw, crunchy vegetables. But, for when you do, this salad is one of my favorites!

For the best tasting salad, use organic produce! The chemical sprays and irradiation used on conventional produce greatly effects the taste and nutritional content. The skins of conventional produce are often tough, thick and very tasteless. This is unfortunate because the vast majority of the nutrients are located in or just below the skin. That is why I recommend to not peel the carrot, simply to wash it very well. The only thing you should be washing off your produce is dirt!!

This salad contains a little bit of every nutrient you could possibly need in a meal! To round it out, add a serving of a carbohydrate (half of a pita, a slice of whole grain bread, whole grain croutons) and have a serving of fresh fruit for dessert. The walnuts and chickpeas have a bit of protein but if you want more, add some baked boneless, skinless chicken or broiled shrimp!

Also, play around with the greens. I like to use one crunchy green (such as romaine) and one that's more tender, such as spinach, leaf lettuce or spring greens. If you have some access to frisee, endive or radicchio, throw that in!


Little Bit o Everything Salad

• 3 leaves romaine lettuce
• 1 cup loosely packed baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 1 carrot
• 1 inch section cucumber
• 2-3 florets fresh broccoli
• 1 mushroom
• ¼ red pepper
• 2 heaping tablespoons cooked chickpeas
• 3 heaping tablespoons walnut pieces
• 1 tablespoon raisins, dried cranberries or currants
• 2 tablespoons vinaigrette dressing, such as balsamic

Chop the romaine lettuce and spinach into smaller pieces. If they are not pre-washed, wash in cold water and dry in a salad spinner or with a clean kitchen towel. Place into a bowl and top with the parsley.

Thoroughly wash the carrot (preferably with Veggie Wash). Use a vegetable peeler to peel long strips of carrot on top of the lettuces. Use about 25 strips. Eat the rest of the carrot, serve it on the side, or reserve for another use.

Cut the broccoli florets up into smaller pieces, if desired. Thinly slice the mushroom and dice the red pepper. Thinly slice the cucumber and then halve into half-moon shapes. Add all to the bowl. Top with the chickpeas, raisins and walnut pieces.

Just before serving, drizzle the dressing around the top of the salad. Toss and enjoy!

Colorful - Beautiful - Textures - Nutrients