Posts Tagged ‘vegan’
Apple Cider Steel Cut Oatmeal
Posted on: January 31, 2010
- In: Food | Recipes
- 2 Comments
With the recent plunge in temperature, I find myself really craving warm breakfasts, especially something hearty like steel cut oatmeal. After hunting around for the perfect steel cut oatmeal recipe, I’ve come up with the one below. There are a number of modifications one can make:
- If you like a sweeter version, you could use 4 cups of cider instead of 2 cups cider & 2 cups water
- The oats can be sweetened to taste with a variety of sweeteners (I prefer maple syrup or brown sugar, but you could use jam or a sugar substitute)
- Pears could be swapped for the apples
- A mix of spices (nutmeg, allspice, etc.) could be used in combination or in place of the cinnamon
- The dried fruit & nuts can be swapped out for your favorites.
- The recipe can also be made vegan by replacing the butter in the topping with a dairy free substitute or omitting the topping altogether.
One of my favorite things about this oatmeal is that you can make it on the weekend & it keeps in the refrigerator for the entire week! To reheat it, I place a square of it in a small bowl, cover the bowl with saran wrap & microwave for 3 minutes. Quick & delicious!
Apple Cider Steel Cut Oatmeal
2 cups apple cider
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup steel cut oatmeal
1 large apple, chopped
1/2 cup chopped whole almonds, toasted
1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries
1-2 Tablespoon cinnamon (to taste)
maple syrup &/or brown sugar to taste
Strueselly Topping
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 Tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup chopped whole almonds (raw)
- Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Bring the cider, water & salt to a boil in a large pot.
- While mix is coming up to a boil, dice apples & chop almonds.
- When mix comes to a boil, add oats & stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken, then lower the heat & simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While mix is simmering, make topping by mixing all topping ingredients by hand until crumbly.
- After 20 minutes, turn off heat on oats (they should still be runny) & stir in the toasted almonds, apples, dried fruit, spices & sweetener (brown sugar or maple syrup).
- Put oatmeal in a greased baking dish (or if you made the oats in an ovenproof pot, like a le crueset, you can leave them in the pot), and place topping evenly over the top.
- Bake oatmeal for 20-25 minutes until top is golden brown.
Mostly Vegetarian for 2010
Posted on: January 6, 2010
- In: Miscellaneous | Recipes
- 2 Comments
After watching Food Inc. & reading a few of Michael Pollan’s books last year, I decided I couldn’t support the meat industry in this country, and have opted to go mostly vegetarian for 2010. If you aren’t familiar with the movie or Michael Pollan, I highly recommend that you familiarize yourself with both, if you are at all concerned about what you & your family are eating. And if somehow you are still eating fast food, please, please read Fast Food Nation. I’ve never walked into a Golden Arches since I read that book. As a little more scary fodder, check out this link.
So far, I am happy to say that it hasn’t been that difficult for me to eat vegetarian, since I ate that way 70% of the time anyways. However, with one of my best friend’s birthday celebrations coming up, and a bundle of restaurant dinners planned, I realized that it may not be completely possible to eat vegetarian all the time (especially since I can’t eat tofu, since I have a soy allergy). Oh yeah, and there’s also the fact that my husband is a phenom with BBQ … and if I turn down birthday brisket, let’s just say it won’t be pretty. Soooo, with that said, here’s my plan for 2010.
1. Eat mostly vegetarian (upping that 70% to 90%+).
2. If vegetarian eating at restaurants leaves only sides or no options (so sad nowadays, but it does happen), I will chose a sustainable seafood.
3. For rare occasions when I will do eat meat, I will make sure that it comes from an organic, local farm & has been processed by a small (preferably organic), family owned processor. In addition, I prefer that my beef be 100% grass-fed beef (no corn & misc. filler for the cows please!), since that’s what cows are meant to eat.
4. Steer clear of packaged foods with more than 4 ingredients in them.
5. Cook more.
6. Eat local whenever possible.
Ok, so with that game plan in mind, I thought I’d offer up two recipes that I love & have already made this year. One is vegan, the other vegetarian – hope you enjoy em!
Vegan Coconut Red Lentil Curry (adapted from epicurious.com)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon finely chopped peeled ginger (or 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered ginger)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons tumeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 jalapeno/serrano chile, minced including seeds (if you like it spicy – add as many as you like!)
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups dried red lentils (10 oz)
14 oz can unsweetened coconut milk
2 medium zucchinis (~1 lb)
1 medium yellow squash (~1/2 lb)
4 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
1 cup frozen green peas
-Cook onion in oil in a 4 qt pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until edges are golden, about 6 minutes.
-Add ginger & garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
-Add cumin, coriander, tumeric, salt, and chile and cook, stirring, 1 minute.-Stir in water, lentils, and coconut milk, then simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.
-Stir in zucchini, squash & potatoes and simmer, covered, until all are tender, about 15 minutes.
-Stir in frozen green peas & heat through, about 1 minute.
-Season with salt and serve over rice or with naan bread.
*FYI – this recipe creates wonderful leftovers. I think all curries are best on day 2 or 3 anyways, so if you want a make ahead recipe – this is a keeper!
Fettuccine with Mushroom Cream Sauce (adapted from finecooking.com)
1 lb dried fettuccini
kosher salt
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
2 large shallots, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press
1 lb cremini mushrooms, cleaned, and sliced 1/4 thick
freshly ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons tawny port (plus more for the chef 
)
1/2 cup heavy cream (hey, didn’t say this was a diet recipe)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup reserved pasta water (don’t forget this!)
chopped fresh parsley (optional)
grated parmigiano-reggiano or pecorino romano (optional), for serving
-Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions until al dente.
-While pasta is cooking, heat oil & butter in 12″ skillet over medium-high heat & cook shallots 1-2 minutes until just starting to brown.
-Add garlic to shallots and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
-Add mushrooms, 3/4 teaspoon salt and fresh ground pepper (to taste) to garlic & shallot mixture and stir constantly until mushrooms begin to release their liquid, about 3 minutes. Lower the heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft & lightly browned, about 5 more minutes.
-Add port to skillet to deglaze the pan.
-Add cream & sour cream to pan and bring to simmer over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid reduces to a saucy consistency, about 2 minutes.
-When the pasta is al dente, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta. Add the pasta and reserved water to the sauce.
-Season to taste with salt & pepper.
-Serve topped with parsley &/or cheese at the table.
*FYI – this pasta reheats best on the stove, over low heat mixed with tongs (and add a little additional heavy cream if needed to rehydrate). We’ve found that if you microwave it, the pasta dries out too much and the sauce tends to separate.
