Mofo 2013 - Day 12 - K is for Kick-Booty Kale Wraps with Kalamata Olives

K is for Kale. Some dub kale the new red meat, which might be a slight exaggeration. But kale is seriously good for you and packs a lot of nutrition in those beautiful emerald leaves. 1 cup of chopped kale contains a whopping 133% of the RDA of Vitamin A and 134% of Vitamin C. Amazingly it also contains 2.9 grams of protein. You get all of this for only 33 calories!!! OK maybe it isn't an exaggeration. This stuff rocks. I love to eat it raw in massaged kale salads. It's awesome to throw in soups. Oh and if you saute it with a little sesame oil, garlic, ginger and tamari, sprinkle with a little bit of raw sesame seeds you have an easy crazy healthy side dish.

Below are two varieties. The bunch on the left is regular green kale (red kale looks about the same with red ends). To the right is Dinosaur or Lacinto kale. I think this kale is the best for "beginners" to try as it has a more pleasing texture raw.

For K day, I decided to make something raw and gluten-free for those of you who are looking for more fun ways to eat that way. These pretty little rolls have lots of omega 3's thanks to the walnuts and lots of fiber and vitamins thanks to all of the fresh, fabulous veggies. Enjoy on their own or with some raw flax crackers.

Kick-Booty Kale Rolls with Kalamata Olive Flecked Walnut Meat

Makes 4 Rolls

1 cup raw walnuts, soaked overnight
8 fresh basil leaves, about 1/4 cup lightly packed
1 tablespoon chopped sun-dried tomato (oil packed)
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon shoyu (if you want all raw) or tamari
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin cold pressed olive oil
6 kalamata olives
1 large carrot, grated
1/2 large red bell pepper, julienned
1 medium sized tomato, sliced thinly
1 handful of your favorite sprouts (I prefer pea or broccoli myself)

4 large kale (I use dinosaur or Lacinto), collard or chard leaves, taking care to remove woody part of stems but leaving large part of leaf intact.

Place walnuts, basil, sun-dried tomato, garlic, shoyu, balsamic vinegar, and lemon juice in bowl of food processor. Pulse together until mixture resembles a corse meal, scraping down the sides as needed. Turn processor to on and drizzle in olive oil, scraping sides between additions as needed. Once mixture is combined, add olives and pulse until olives are chopped coarsely.

If using kale leaves, spray lightly with lemon juice and lightly massage to make leaves more pliable. Place 1/4 cup walnut mixture on large end of leaf about 1 inch from the end. Top with carrots, a few slices of bell pepper, 2 slices tomato and sprouts. Roll fold in sides if leaves are large enough and roll up from large end to small end. Secure with toothpick. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve the next day.

MOFO - Day 4 - More Tofu!

Lets talk more about tofu. Tofu is not tofu is not tofu. Different types of tofu have different uses. Newbie tofu users may find themselves confused of frustrated when they see the different types of tofu in the store. Here is a quickie rule of thumb.


Soft and/or silken tofu is just as it says: soft. It will crumble and fall apart very easily. It is best used for dishes where it can be mixed in uses as a thickener. I use it in the recipe below. It is also excellent for making smoothies, mousse, dressings, sauces...you get the picture. While I have seen silken tofu in the refrigerated section, it is usually found by the Asian section on the shelves of your grocery store. It can be stored in a cool dry place for up to a year. Pictured below is my preferred brand and type. As I mentioned earlier. I always try to buy and use organic, non-GMO tofu.

Also pictured below is my beloved Veganaise. This variety is organic and does have a little soy in it. There is minimal protein in it, but man it tastes like the real deal!

 

Probably the most common style of tofu seen in the stores is called tub tofu. It comes in a little plastic tub and is soaking in water. This is found in the refrigerated section and must be kept refrigerated. I am a big fan of extra firm for most dishes, but the firm also works great in dishes like tofu scramble or making tofu based cheeses. This type of tofu has many other uses. It is great in stir frys, grilled, sauteed, fried, baked, just about any way you might use meat. 

One important thing to remember about tub tofu is that for many recipes it should be drained and pressed. This is something that I learned the hard way. Pressing the tofu takes out extra moisture that can give the tofu an unpleasant, mushy texture in many recipes. There are several methods to pressing tofu. Being the gadget girl that I am, I bought myself a Tofu X-press, but two plates a bag of beans (or some other heavy food item from your pantry) and a clean kitchen towel will do nicely as well. Place the drained tofu on a towel lined plate. Top with the second plate and put your weight on top. Make sure the weight is not too heavy or it will crush your little block of tofu. Let it press for about an hour and you should be good to go. I often put my tofu in the fridge before I go to work and let it press all day for time-sake.

You may also find brick style tofu. This is similar to tub style, but is not swimming in liquid. It tends to be much more firm and is best in dishes with sauces as it doesn't absorb flavors as readily as the tub style.

Ok, now that you are an expert at the different type of tofu, I'm going to share with you a very tasty and fun way to use silken tofu (and Veganaise). It's not low fat, but it is a tasty and awesome party dish.

Special Spinach Artichoke Dip

Makes 3 1/2 cups

1 - 12.3 oz. package aseptic packaged silken firm tofu (like Nori-mu)
1/4 cup Vegannaise
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon capers, dained
2 large cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated onion
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

8 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed excess water squeezed out
1 - 8.5 oz can artichoke hearts, drained, corsely chopped
1 - jarred roasted red pepper, diced (approx 1/3 - 1/2 cup)
3 tablespoon chopped Kalamata olives
2 tablespoons chopped chives

In a food processor blend tofu through black pepper until smooth, scraping sides occasionally. Transfer to a large bowl. Add spinach and mix until well combined. Add remaining ingredients and gently stir until ingredients are evenly distributed. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. For best flavor, let sit in fridge for at least one hour for flavors to meld. Serve with pita chips, crusty bread and or fresh veggies.

Pastarama - A Pantry Searching Creation

Tonight was a "I don't have any urge to eat dinner" kind of night. However, Fred worked his tail off getting the 3 garden beds ready for fall planting. He was out there for hours. The boy needed some fuel. What to make? It needed to be substantial, fairly healthy and not too tough to make. The pantry had some promising items. I found a couple of partially used packages of fusilli pasta. There was that yummy pesto from the other day. I had one Fieldroast Italian sausage left and some jarred goodies. I thought, "I can come up with something pretty tasty with this stuff."

Here is what transpired:

Silli Fusilli

Makes 2 really big servings OINK!!

8 oz fusilli pasta
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 link Field Roast Italian sausage (or you favorite vegan Italian sausage link), sliced about 1/4" thick
1 small white onion, slivered
1 large roasted red bell pepper, cut in half and sliced into strips
4 oil packed sun dried tomatoes, sliced into thin strips
10 or so pitted Kalamata olives, sliced in half lengthwise
1/2 cup vegan basil pesto
2 tablespoon parsley leaves, roughly chopped

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain in a colander and run under cold water to stop cooking. Set aside.

While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in large iron skillet or saute pan over medium high heat. Add sliced sausage in a single layer. Saute until golden brown and slightly crispy, approximately 3-4 minutes. Turn slices, move to one side of the pan (on the cooler side of the pan) and brown the other side.

After turning the sausages, add sliced onions. Reduce heat to medium. Saute until the onions are nicely browned, about 5-7 minutes. If sausage is getting too browned, you can remove them from the pan and set aside on a small plate. Add the roasted red peppers, sun dried tomatoes and olives. Saute until they are heated through, about 3-5 minutes.

Add cooked pasta and stir until combined and heated through. Add pesto and toss until pasta is well coated. Saute for another 2 minutes or so until the pesto is warm.

Serve immediately. Garnish with chopped parsley. Yummy with a nice simple salad and garlic bread.

Mediterranean Mix Salad

We have been getting some good stuff from the garden. The first bed is producing some great greens. Today Fred put in the 2nd bed. We can hardly wait to see how this one does. My brother send us some great heirloom tomato seeds. We are starting those inside to transplant in a couple of weeks when it gets a little bit warmer. We are learning how and when to plant things in the desert. We're total amateurs. So far, we are having pretty good results. Here are the greens we planted at the end of October in Bed #1.

 

Bed #2 going in.

We had a dinner party to go to tonight and I volunteered to make salad. I must admit, I wanted to show off some of the goodies from the garden. I picked green leaf lettuce, arugula, and baby purple kale. Man, I just love veggies fresh out of the garden! Nothing tastes better! I used the greens as a base for this very flavorful and colorful salad. This one is definitely one to serve to a crowd and it should get a thumbs up!

Mediterranean Mix Salad

8-10 servings

14.5 ounce can of quartered artichoke hearts
14.5 ounce can of hearts of palm (sliced into medallions)
5 ounces of pitted Kalamata olives
16 oz jar roasted red peppers (or 5 fresh red peppers roasted and peeled) sliced into strips
1/2 red onion halved and thinly sliced
1 large cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
3 medium tomatoes sliced into thin wedges
1 cup arugula
5 cups mixed greens
1 recipe pesto-oregano vinaigrette

Pesto-Oregano Vinaigrette

makes 3/4 cup

1/2 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons vegan pesto
1 teaspoon coarsely chopped fresh oregano (or 3/4 teaspoon dried)

Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor until well combined. 

Toss all salad ingredients together. Gently toss with dressing. Serve immediately.

Pizza Night

I had a hankering for pizza. It would not go away, so not being one to deny myself, we had a pizza night last night. Now when I go out for pizza, I am often shocked at how much places charge for extra ingredients. This is the beauty of DIY pizza at home. You can add to your heart's content. For this pizza night we opted to make two smaller pizza's instead of one biggie. This way we could make two very different varieties.

Before I left for work, I mixed up the dough from Joanna Vaught's Potluck Mania Issue #1. We gave it two risings; one slow in the fridge and one faster in the slightly warm oven. I was hungry and not so patient. When I got home from work, Fred already had the dough rising in the oven. I'm pretty sure I didn't let it get a good second rising.

Next I selected my ingredients and got them all prepped. For the first pizza I decided to do a vegan version of on of my all time fav pregan versions: Mushroom, Sausage, and Onion. I sauteed the mushrooms in a touch of olive oil with just a little salt. Be careful not to overcook them, just saute until they are barely starting to get soft. The onions were carmelized by sauteeing slowly in olive oil with just a touch of sugar and salt until they were golden brown. I used browned Gimme Lean sausage because I had some left in the fridge. I toyed with the idea of using Julie Hasson's Italian sausages from the freezer, but was too hungry to wait to thaw them out. I used Joanna's no cook pizza sauce from the same 'zine as the dough. We love garlic, so of course we had to add extra minced garlic. So it went like this: dough rolled out as round as Fred could manage (this is no easy task we found), sauce, veggies and sausage evenly distributed. Top with Daiya cheese and sprinkle with oregano. Bake for 20 minutes at 450.

Our next little lovely was a Pesto Pizza. We started with Julie Hasson's Basil and Spinach Spread (pesto) which will be in her upcoming Vegan Diner cookbook. On top of that we layered lightly sauteed zucchini, beautiful campari tomatoes, roasted red peppers, Daiya Italian blend cheeze, then we sprinkled the top with kalmata olives. This was also baked for 20 minutes in a 450 degree oven. I honestly thought I would like the first pizza the best, but this one stole my heart. It was really tasty! One ingredient I meant to use on this one was arugula from our garden. Oops. Well, I have some leftover dough in the freezer. I see arugula/ricotta calzones in our future!!!

Fred was very happy to report that Heineken is indeed vegan!

As soon as I get the dough perfected, I think we should have a make your own pizza party!!! We'll let you know!

Mediterannean Quinoa Stuffed Portobellos

I've been meaning to post this since February. Sorry for the delay for those of you who asked for the recipe. I was beyond busy with the 3rd Annual Joanne Wood March Madness for Mammaries Hike that I put on each year to benefit the Breast Cancer Fund and the Wellness Community - Arizona. The hike was a great success, raising over $27,000 for the two charities. Woot!!

On to to the food. For Valentine's Day I created a tasty delicious side dish that ended up being more like a main dish really. It is very tasty and packs a pretty good protein punch from the quinoa.

Mediterannean Quinoa Stuffed Portobellos

4 servings

4 medium sized portobello mushrooms

Marinade

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon tamari
2 cloves garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste

Filling

1 Cup Quinoa
2 Cups Vegetable Broth
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large red onion or 1 small, diced small
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes in olive oil choppped

1/2 cup coarsley chopped kalamata olives
2 teaspoons capers

Mix marinade ingredients in shallow baking pan. Add mushrooms and marinade for at least an hour turning once.

Preheat oven to 350.

Bake or grill portobellos for about 5 minutes until they just barely start giving up their liquid. Remove from oven or grill.

Prepare filling. In medium saucepan add quinoa to cold veggie broth. Bring to a boil cover and cook for 15 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let sit 10 minutes. Remove cover and fluff. While quinoa is cooking heat oil in iron skillet or saute pan. Add onions and garlic and saute until onions are transluscent. Add oregano, red pepper flakes and salt. Saute for 3 minutes. Add sun dried tomatoes, olives, and capers and saute for another 3 minutes. In mixing bowl toss this mixture with quinoa. Salt and pepper to taste. Stuff each portobello cap with approximately 1/2 cup of mixture. Bake mushrooms in covered pyrex dish for 20 minutes.

As you can see, I garnished mine with a roasted pepper cut in a heart shape. You can also garnish with chopped fresh italian parsley.