Scarlet Roasted Vegetables

The first day of September is just a few days away, so I'm starting to feel like summer is ending. I'm looking forward to the fruits and vegetables that will be locally available in the fall - like squash, apples, and more greens. But I definitely have not experienced a dearth of different ways to prepare the familiar lineup of vegetables I've been eating the last two months. This dinner idea began with noticing that the bottom drawer of the refrigerator had a plentiful amount of beets. I turned to my two vegan cookbooks on loan from the library and was happy to find this recipe that uses beets as a main ingredient: Scarlet Roasted Vegetables, from Alicia Silverstone's "The Kind Diet" book.

This book has lots of recipes, categorized into two "intensities" of vegan-ness: Vegan and Superhero. It also has lots of great food pictures to go with the recipes, as well as a number of informative chapters on meat, dairy, processed foods, and nutrition.
A fair amount of recipes involve using ingredients I'd imagine most people are unfamiliar with (mochi, umeboshi vinegar) or aren't able to buy at common grocery stores (hemp seeds, brown rice syrup). Although, I do prefer the challenge of finding new foods in a grocery store over searching for new shoes. In addition, many recipes can be altered or simplified, and a bunch use pretty common ingredients. The "Scarlet Roasted Vegetables" recipe is one that I definitely quirked, found very simple to do, and I'm sure tasted just as great as its by-the-book inspiration.

My dad gave me some help by cutting up carrots and yellow beans...

... as well as boiling the beets (to make the skins fall off and save time with peeling). I cut up some zucchini and yellow squash to add to the party bowl. Then I gathered the different spices and flavors that would amalgamate and awaken all the vegetables into its delicious scarlet beauty.

Lemon zest (grated from the peels of two lemons), the juice of one lemon, soy sauce, a few bay leaves, parsley, sliced almonds, leeks and halved dried apricots.

It's fun to add something hardy and crunchy (almonds) and something sweet and chewy (dried apricots) to the vegetable medley. I tossed all those ingredients in a big bowl with all the vegetables, along with some olive oil, and combined it well. (The beets were peeled, cubed and added after I took this picture.)

Then I spread out the whole lot over two lightly oiled baking pans.

It does take some time to cut up all these vegetables and flavorings, and then another 40 minutes while it bakes in the oven, but the result is unbeatable.

With some fresh lemon juice squeezed on top of each warm helping, every bite was juicy and robust. With tasty meals like this, it's easy to want to skimp on the chewing and quickly feed yourself forkful after forkful. But since I only let the veggies roast to a nice tenderness that's far from mushiness, the process of eating them provides a nice opportunity to chew on your thoughts while your mouth is closed for extended periods of time. Better chewing makes happier digestion!

The beets did indeed bleed enough to create some fun color swapping. A sugary surprise appeared in every few bites from the dried apricots. Careful crunching of almonds intensified the need to chew thoroughly. All the vegetables contributed to flavor variety. And all loved ones were happy and satiated on the dinnertime home front.

Here's the recipe from the book. (I used a larger quantity of vegetables than called for, so I upped the quantity of almonds, leeks, parsley, dried apricots, bay leaves and soy sauce.)

4-6 shallots, peeled and halved lengthwise (I used leeks)
3 large beets, cut into 1" chunks
2 parsnips, quartered lengthwise (I heard these have a sweet taste, which would have gone great with this recipe; but I used the carrots I had on hand instead)
1 large fennel bulb, halved, cored, and thickly sliced (I don't even know what a fennel bulb is, so I left it out)
1-2 cups kabocha squash, cut into big chunks (peel only if not organic) (I used the zucchini, yellow squash and yellow beans I had on hand instead)
3-4 celery stalks, cut in 1" pieces (I didn't have any celery either, so I left it out)
3-4 dried bay leaves
1/2 cup pecan halves (I used some almonds I had in the cupboard instead)
6-8 dried apricots, coarsely chopped
1-2 tsp shoyu (that's the Japanese name for "soy sauce")
Grated zest of two lemons
2-3 Tbs olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbs fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil one or more large baking sheets.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix to coat the vegetables well.
Spread out vegetables evenly on baking sheets.
Cover with aluminum foil and roast for 40 minutes, or until vegetables are soft when pierced.
Remove foil and roast for another 15 minutes to let the vegetables brown a little. (I only did about 5-10 minutes without the foil because we were huuungry!)
Remove from oven, toss with lemon juice, and garnish with parsley. (I mixed the parsley in with the vegetables and had it all cook together instead.)

Now get out there and create something colorful to decorate your plates and feed your tummies!

Breakfast For Lunch

(Please pardon the swiped-from-the-internet and low-quality-taken-with-iPod pics until I get a replacement battery for my camera.)
Scrambled eggs and black beans was one of my favorite breakfasts back when I was an omnivore. The first time I encountered this food combination was in 2001, when I spent a summer at an orphanage in Guatemala. At the time, I was a bit of a bean-aphobe. But because black beans were a part of most of the meals I was eating there, I was attempting to develop an appreciation for them. I started off eating two or three beans during each meal (and that's not an exaggeration). I worked up to a spoonful per meal. Then one day I was invited to eat dinner with a family I knew, and black beans and scrambled eggs were what was being served. In addition to being afraid of beans, I also was fairly afraid of offending anyone in my new home culture. I thought, "well, I've been working up to this, and maybe I'll just eat mainly eggs with a few bites of black beans and no one will notice." Not even close.  I watched as the mother placed one heaping spoonful of black beans onto my plate. I started to get nervous. But then before she handed me my plate, she delivered another huge spoonful to my plate. I was slightly petrified.

I watched as the three kids in the house began to eat - each bite was a quickly arranged combination of black and yellow. I tried doing what they were doing, attempting to fool my brain into thinking this was familiar food that I enjoyed. As I chewed, I noticed that there was a certain balance of textures and flavors. It was warm and hardy. A rich salty flavor. Would you believe, I ate the whole entire plate?? Something in my brain changed gears, and I found myself liking those black oval-shaped legumes! Since then, I've told myself that if you try a new or never-liked food 7 times with a good attitude, you will learn to like it.

I can't remember the boy's name but his sisters names' were Sefora and Abigail. Really nice kids, and I had an extra soft spot in my heart for Abigail (pronounced "Ah-bee-ga-eel" in Spanish), a precious 6-year old with the cutest short haircut. She would point to herself and say "Ah-bee-ga-eel," and then point to me and say "Ah-bee-ga-eel." It was almost as if finding another person who shared her name (who would play and talk with her) also affirmed not only her name, but her as a valuable person.

In addition to memories from that summer that haven't faded, my love of black beans has remained strong. At some point I learned how to make my own black beans that rivaled the bowlfuls I ate in Guatemala: sautee onions and garlic in a frying pan, add a can of beans with its liquid, add about 1/4 cup additional water, and let it boil/simmer for about 10 minutes. The beans come out soft and flavorful, and just saucy enough for eating on top of scrambled eggs.

Now that I've traveled and lived in a couple different countries, I find black beans to be a food that I will crave once in awhile, no matter how good the local cuisine is. In South Korea, I used to buy cans of black beans at the foreign food mart in Itaewon, Seoul. In Thailand, I treat myself every once in awhile to a meal at a Mexican restaurant that has a nice-sized helping of black beans. Here in Pennsylvania, I can easily buy a can of black beans, and I'm even getting accustomed to using the very inexpensive dried black beans which require some planning ahead and soaking.

Today I wanted to use up some tofu in the fridge, so I decided to try recreating "scrambled eggs" for the first time - for lunch (breakfast was my staple favorite oatmeal with fruit and nuts). I found this recipe on the Post Punk Kitchen website. It's more elaborate than I would have come up with off the top of my head. It's got garlic and mushrooms in there, along with a nice spice blend of tumeric (which gives the white tofu a nice yellowish-eggy color), thyme, cumin and paprika. The recipe called for 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast, which I had bought recently because I keep hearing about it on vegan blogs. Today I finally looked it up to see if people use it for more reasons than "to add a cheesy texture or flavor sprinkled on top of pasta or soup." The answer is YES! It's a source of protein and vitamins, especially the B Complex. Ah, Vitamin B12 - the one vitamin that's no longer easy to get from non-meat food sources (it comes from the ground and is found on vegetable skins but often gets scrubbed off nowadays). I sprinkled some on my pasta the other day... and wasn't so crazy about it. It doesn't taste like cheese in my opinion. It's kinda bitter and sour, and is really just flaky, not chewy or crunchy or anything like that. So for my scrambled tofu, I just added less than a tablespoon.

I cooked the black beans in a separate frying pan in the manner I described above, and each had about 10 minutes to cook and absorb their flavors. Then I served them up like so, complete with a glass of "morning" orange juice.

Like the star pattern? That just happened by chance, but I'll give myself a gold star for presentation and taste anyway. ;) If you're expecting typical egg flavor, you'll get more than you bargained for. Those spices I added were really nice. Not over the top at all. It was a nice warm homey flavor that had me shoveling in half-black-half-yellow spoonful after spoonful, just like those kids in Guatemala who first inspired me to eat and enjoy my black beans.

Sweet & Salty - Take 3

One day I made some black bean hummus in the morning using a one-pound package of dried black beans. I couldn't believe how much soaking and boiling it took to soften up those babies. So when I decided to make a last-minute pot of chili for an event later in the day (which I didn't end up going to!), I had no time for soaking. I ran to the grocery store and bought 3 cans of beans and a can of diced tomatoes. (I know I posted about chili the other day, but wait for it, the chili is just half of the pair....)

Leeks and a whole head (there were a lot of beans!) of garlic to start with, simmering in olive oil.

Then I added the can of tomatoes, which took awhile to break down. Next time I make chili, I'll use crushed tomatoes, or just finely chop up some fresh ones.

While that was steaming away, I picked out some spices to add. No measuring here, I basically just guess, and so far, I haven't had a chili turn out not delicious. My method of estimation is to picture how much of each I would add if it were just one can of beans, and then multiply by however many cans I'm using. This may go against conventional cooking wisdom, but I usually err on the side of adding too much flavor!

Black pepper, smoked paprika, basil, cumin, celery seeds, chili powder, parsley.  Fortunately the spice shelf is racked here - no time to harvest from the herbs on the deck today! After the tomatoes looked pretty well cooked down, I added all the beans and let it cook for over an hour.

After smelling the chili cook on the stove all that time, my appetite for savory/salty/spicy was pretty much full! So I gave the chili to the fam and pressed onward over the stove for something else I was craving...  I'll give you a hint: it went perfectly with this jar of natural sweetness:

Here's what it looked like while cooking:

No, not a mouth-less pimpled doll face. Banana Walnut Vegan Pancakes!

I honestly can't remember the last time I had pancakes... and they probably weren't vegan.  So this dairy-free egg-free batch was my dinner that night. I ate two big slightly-fluffy pancakes laden with melting bananas and chunks of walnuts, dressed with 100% sweet Pennsylvania maple syrup!

Needless to say, I didn't need any dessert after this dinner.  But, an hour later, while watching some Dog Whisperer on TV, I heated up some corn tortillas...

.. and sprinkled them with lime and salt!

Whether it's salty followed by sweet, or sweet followed by salty, this duo delivers on satisfaction.

For the pancakes, I used an incredibly easy recipe from this website. Only six ingredients; no need to have eggs on hand!

5-Minute Vegan Pancakes

1 cup flour

1 Tbsp sugar (I actually used 3/4 Tbsp agave instead*)

2 Tbsp baking powder (you can use less if you want)

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup soy milk *

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Mix up the dry ingredients. Add agave (in my case), vegetable oil and soy milk; mix.

Drop spoonfuls of the batter onto an oiled griddle or frying pan. Add your choice of fruit, nuts, or other fillings. Flip over when you see bubbles forming in the middle of the pancake, or when the edges start to get stiffened.

*The general rule when substituting agave for sugar is to use 2/3 to 3/4 of the amount called for in sugar, and to reduce the liquid in the recipe by 1/4 to 1/3. So I started with 3/4 cup of soy milk in the batter, but it was too thick, so I ended up adding almost 1/4 of soy milk, just about bringing it back to amount called for.  I guess ctually didn't reduce the amount of soy milk I used in the recipe. 3/4 Tbsp of agave is really not a significant amount of liquid to add to pancake batter.

Of course, you can add any special flavors to your pancakes that you want: cinnamon and apple pieces, blueberries or other fruits, chocolate chips, shredded coconut, pecans.... The batter is your canvas!