Fried Rice

Last night I made some delicious fried rice, and really, I was just winging it. It turned out GREAT! I served it with all-natural vegetarian spring rolls that I got from the freezer section of the grocery store. There's a lot of room to improvise and stylize with fried rice. Here's basically what I did:

3 c. cooked white rice (You need to cook the rice in advance and let it sit in the fridge for a while. For whatever reason, fried rice is not right with just-cooked warm rice.)
1 egg
1 T. plus 3 T. canola oil
1/4 t. crushed red pepper
1 cup frozen or fresh broccoli pieces
1 large carrot, peeled, cut in half length-wise, then sliced into half-moons
1/2 small onion, chopped
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 t. celery seeds
5 or 6 large leaves of kale, washed, large stems removed, cut into ribbons
1 T. sesame seeds
soy sauce, to taste (I'd say at LEAST 1/2 cup. You could also use tamari or shoyu instead.)
salt, to taste

Heat 1 T. canola oil over medium-high heat in a small non-stick skillet. Beat the egg, then pour it into the hot oil. Cook it scrambled, busting it into small pieces while it's cooking. Once it is quite done, remove from the heat and set aside.

Heat 3 T. canola oil and crushed red pepper over medium high heat in a large deep-sided skillet. When it is nice and hot, add the broccoli and carrot, and stir them quickly while they cook. If using frozen broccoli pieces, take care, because the water from the frozen broccoli will cause the hot oil to spit and splatter. After you've cooked them for a couple of minutes at most, add the onion, garlic, celery seeds, and ginger. Stir them in the hot oil until they're cooked the way you want them. Add kale and sesame seeds. Stir-fry until the kale is just wilted. Stir in the cooked egg pieces. Add the rice, ensuring any clumps are busted up to individual grains. (NOTE: You may have to add more oil here, too, if things are sticking. You may have to turn the heat up or down. You be the judge.) Begin adding soy sauce (or tamari or shoyu) as you stir-fry everything. You want at least enough to color all the rice brown, but add more if you like more. When it looks done, taste for salt. Add whatever amount of salt you like, and you're all set! Enjoy! (This served about 3.)

There are lots of other things you could stir-fry into this: celery, scallions, snow peas, baby corn, water chestnuts, tofu, mushrooms...these are just a few ideas that would be great! Omit the egg to make this vegan. Have fun!

Pasta and Potato Vegetable Soup

This is my version of a recipe I believe I got from "Vegetarian Times" several years ago. Perfect for the weather we've been having lately!

1 small onion, diced
1/3 - 1/2 c. chopped celery
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. dry red wine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes with juice
1 T. dried parsley (or 1/3 c. chopped fresh parsley)
1 T. dried basil
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. salt
8 cups vegetable broth, water, or any combination of the two
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
3/4 c. dried pasta (macaroni, penne, or something like that)
1 15-oz. can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a large soup pot, sauté onion, celery, and carrot in olive oil and wine over medium-high heat until onion is transparent. Add garlic, sauté another minute. Add tomatoes, herbs, salt, and water or broth, and bring to a boil. Add beans, pasta, and potatoes, and cook at a low boil until vegetables are soft, potatoes are fork-tender, and pasta is cooked. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Pasta Stew with Beans)

This is a recipe I modified from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant by The Moosewood Collective. It's a really cool cookbook with recipes from various ethnic regions (including the Southeast US!) and countries, and the original recipe that I modified is in the Italy section. Don't let the kale turn you off. It actually MAKES the dish.

3 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced - halve big slices
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch kale, washed, destemmed, and torn into bite-sized pieces
1 28-oz. can chopped tomatoes, with juice (Muir Glen has cans of fire-roasted tomatoes, and these really give the stew a wonderful smoky taste.)
1 can canellini or Great Northern beans (with juice this time!)
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley or 2 T. dried parsley
2 T. chopped fresh basil or 1 T. dried basil
oregano, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 lb. pasta (short, chunky variety, like penne)

Start cooking the pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large soup pot, and sauté the onion and carrot for a few minutes. Add garlic and kale. Stir unti the kale is wilted down but not drying out. Add tomatoes with juice, beans with juice, and herbs. You can add water to make it thinner if that is what you like. Don't add water to keep it stewier.
When the pasta is done cooking, drain, and mix with the bean and tomato sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn out into a serving bowl, and serve hot.

Carrot Mashed Potatoes

Here is one of my own making. I'm so proud, b/c it is not only yummy, but it looks beautiful on the table, and it's healthy to boot. Pale orange mashed potatoes! Now...I'm really relying on you to be experimental and adventurous (isn't that what this blog is about?) and have a sort of sense of what mashed potatoes are supposed to be like. Here goes...

* potatoes - You pick the variety and quantity. Peel them, and chop them into equal-ish sized pieces.
* carrots - about 1 carrot to every 1 medium-large potato, carrots peeled and chopped smaller than potato pieces
*garlic cloves - (optional) peeled - about 1 per every 2 potatoes used
*rice milk or reserved potato cooking water - Yes, you can use cow's milk or goat's milk or whatever you like. I use rice milk or reserved potato cooking water.
*vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance - no trans fats and no hydrogenated oils!) - Yes, you can use real butter, if you prefer.
*salt and freshly ground black pepper


Put the potatoes, carrots, and garlic (if using) in a pot that will hold them plus water to cover them plus another couple of inches to handle boiling over possibilities. [COOK'S TIP: If you are using butter, open a stick and, with the paper still on the half you're holding, run it around the rim of the pot. This will prevent it from boiling over onto your stove if you are not paying attn. I have not tried this with margarine, but I bet it would work.] Boil everything until they are soft enough to be easily pierced with a fork (check a potato and a carrot). Once they are "done," take them off the heat, and drain out either (1) all of the water if you want to just use rice milk or another type of milk to obtain mashed potato consistency or (2) most of the water, leaving just enough [or slightly under enough, and you can use rice milk to add later, if necessary] to obtain the propr mashed potato consistency. Either way, it takes practice to know how much liquid you need in there to get the consistency right (for you). Leaving too little is better, b/c you can add later, but you can't take it back once you're mashing.

Using a hand mixer, add enough rice milk to get things going (if you did not leave potato water in there) along with margarine to taste. Use the mixer to get out all lumps. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep mixing. Taste it. Add more margarine if necessary. Add more rice milk if the potatoes are too thick. Add rice milk and mix and keep repeating until you have the right consistency.

Serve your beautiful (and don't forget HEALTHY) pale orange potatoes while still hot. Enjoy!

Renee's Vegetarian Cornmeal-Carrot Skillet Cakes

Cornmeal-Carrot Skillet Cakes (vegetarian recipe that I tweaked from "Vegetarian Times". You can go two ways with this savory pancake-like entree. I like to go soul-food with it and serve it with beans and sauteed kale, but Scott likes it when we go Latino with it and serve it with beans, topped with salsa and avocado. It has cornmeal, onions, and cheese, so it makes sense both ways. Your pick!)

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

2 T. yellow cornmeal

1/2 t. dry mustard powder

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. baking powder

2 carrots, grated (about 1 cup...Dear god, use a food processor for the grating if you have one. It's exhausting doing it by hand.)

4 small green onions, thinly sliced

1 c. grated sharp Cheddar cheese, about 3 oz. (I admit, I never use this much cheese, but you might try it if you like the sound of it. I made it last night with goat cheese...kinder to the sinuses...instead of Cheddar, and it turned out fine.)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 c. milk (cow, goat, soy, rice, whatever)

Combine flour, cornmeal, mustard, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add carrots, green onions, cheese, egg, and milk, and mix well.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Set a baking sheet lined with paper towels inside. This is where you'll keep the done skillet cakes warm while you're cooking the others.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Be sure the skillet is hot before you put batter in, b/c I tried doing otherwise, and the cakes got gummy and stuck to the nonstick skillet! Scoop about 1 - 2 T. of batter into the pan, and spread it flat with the back of your spoon to about 3 inches in diameter. Cook cakes 2.5 - 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Transfer to prepared pan in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaing batter.