Simple Daal with Rutabaga Relish

The dreaded rutabaga. I have to confess that I do cringe every time my CSA email proudly announces that yet another rutabaga will be in this week's box. I tried so many different recipes, but I was left with the conclusion that without copious amounts of butter, they just aren't tasty. That brassica bitterness is ridiculously hard to shake and roasting doesn't do it.

Then comes the best Christmas present of 2016, Vivian Howard's Deep Run Roots! If you are a fan of a Chef's Life, you know that Vivian exalts the simple ingredients of her native eastern North Carolina and the traditional recipes that pre-date widespread availability of processed food. She has a whole episode dedicated to the rutabaga as well as an entire chapter in this incredibly entertaining and functional cookbook.

When I got that first rutabaga in my CSA in 2016, I knew its fate! I set out to make her rutabaga relish. I did not process mine, so it will keep for 6 months. She advises it's best after a week in the fridge. I tried mine after 12 days on top of this daal and it was delicious! Truly the first time I have ever genuinely enjoyed eating a rutabaga.

Simple Daal adapted from the nytimes recipe here
1 cup lentils (I used red)
1 large sweet potato, roughly cubed
1 16 oz can tomatoes
1 inch knob ginger, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons chili flakes (or more if you like more heat)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons coconut oil
3 cups water
Salt to taste (2 tablespoons worked for me!)

Heat the coconut oil in a pan and add the onions. After a minute or so, add the sweet potatoes and let them cook until they start to soften (5-7 minutes) then add the fresh ginger and garlic for 2 more minutes. Add remaining spices (including chili!) along with the lentils and stir to thoroughly coat the lentils with oil.
Add the tomatoes, the water, and salt before turning the heat up and covering the pan to bring the mixture to a boil.
Once it boils, turn the heat down and remove the cover and let simmer for 10-15 minutes depending on how soft you like your lentils.

Keep an eye on the liquid level, if it simmers too hot you may need to add more water especially if cooking on the longer side.

Rutabaga Relish
1 large rutabega
2 quarts water for overnight soak
1/2 cup of salt to soak rutabagas
1/4 cup of salt fo peppers and onion
2 cups water for peppers and onion
2 red bell peppers, sliced
1 yellow onion, sliced into thin strips
1+1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 cups apple cider vinegar
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 teaspooons chili flakes
1 tablespoon turmeric

This way of cutting the rutabegas is a pain, but it's worth it! Peel and halve the rutabaga through the stem end. Lay the flat surface half on a cutting board and slice into 1 inch wedges, then slick them into triangles. Add half a cup of salt to the two quarts of water and stir until dissolved. Add the now triangle shaped rutabaga slices and let them soak overnight.

Combine 1/4 salt  and 2 cups of water with peppers and onions and let soak for 1 hour while you prepare the brine. After the hour drain and combine with rutabagas in the jar they will be stored. Make sure this is a heatproof container if you're going to process. I used a mason jar and didn't preserve.

Combine white and brown sugars, vinegar, garlic, and all spices to a boil and let cook for 1 minute Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the vegetables until completely submerged. Store in the fridge for up to six months.

Radishes, radishes, radishes

Daikon radishes two weeks in a row is not something I'm every going to be fully prepared for, but I did find a few creative ways to use them that I didn't know last year. I threw them in this radishes two ways avocado toast I came up with and I've eaten it more times than I can count this month.

When the first bunch arrived, I went with a variation on this pickling recipe from the NYTimes in which I used pretty purple carrots that came in the same week's CSA to get the beautiful dark rich color you see on the radish carrot mixture on the top of the avocado toast above. They are a great addition to any asian style rice bowl that I like to bring for lunch or a little snack all by themselves.

Avocado Toast with Radishes Two Ways
serves 1
1 slice of good quality bread (I used homemade wild culture sourdough)
1/4 of an avocado
8-10 mandolin thin slices of daikon radish
Juice of half a lemon
Sprinkle of fleur de sal to taste
Sprinkle of table salt
8-10 Daikon and carrot pickles

Place slice of bread in the toaster. Thinly slice daikon radish with mandolin or knife and mix with juice of half a lemon. Add a sprinkle of table salt and let sit while preparing the rest of your dish. When the toast is done slice the avocado in half and use a butter or other dull knife to slice the thinnest wedges you can imagine and spread one at a time onto the bread into a even layer. Sprinkle the avocado with fleur de dal. Add the lemon daikon radishes and then the pickled carrots and daikon to the top. Enjoy!

Kimchi Coleslaw

Sometimes you're craving the bite of kimchi but in a more approachable eat on its own kind of way. I think this is a fresh and bright, but still spicy satisfier that you can eat on its own or paired with a heavier entree. 

Kimchi Coleslaw

4 cups shredded cabbage

1 yellow/red/orange pepper julienned

2 watermelon radishes julienned
1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/4 cup red onion julienned

(If available, use a mandolin to slice all of the above vegetables nice and thin)

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

1/2 cup Kimchi

2 tablespoons sriracha

1 tablespoon granulated garlic

1 tablespoon salt

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie with Lentils

What is better on a cold winter day than the warm comfort of mashed potatoes combined with a gravy and a lot of nutritious vegetables? This was my thought upon returning to harsh winter weather after a lovely trip to Belize last week. A tragic amount of vegetarian shepherd's pie dishes on the internet neglect to include the protein packed ingredient of lentils which is a crying shame.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie with Lentils
2 lbs potatoes (I like russets, but use whatever!)
1 cup dried lentils
1 small onion, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
2 large carrots, diced
1 large head of broccoli, chopped
2 tablespoons olive or coconut oil
1/4 cup Worcestershire (vegan Worcestershire to be truly vegetarian)
3 tbs soy sauce
3 cups veggie broth
2 tbs cup flour
2 tbs butter
1/2 cup greek yogurt or sour cream
1 clove of garlic (optional if you like your mashed potatoes garlicky)

Mashed Potatoes
My husband had the brilliant idea of cubing the potatoes before throwing them into a pot of salted boiling water and it made them cook so much faster! Boil them for approximately 25 minutes (until soft enough to push a fork through). While these are boiling is a great time to prep your other ingredients. Strain the potatoes  and set aside to cool. Mash in a large bowl along with the butter, greek yogurt, and garlic, if you are opting for garlicky.

Filling
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Add coconut or olive oil to a large pan or wok on medium heat. Saute the onions, carrots, and celery for 10 minutes until soft and the onions are translucent. Add the broccolli and stir another couple of minutes before tossing in the lentils, vegetable broth, soy sauce, and Worcestershire and let cook until the lentils are tender. This took me about 15 minutes. If there is not a lot of liquid left at this point, add more veggie stock before throwing in the flour to thicken the remaining liquid into more of a gravy and stir stir stir. Once the remaining liquid has thickened, remove from heat and pour into a rectangular 1 quart baking dish. Layer the mashed potatoes on top until covered. Drizzle with a little olive oil if you like a nice crust and place in the oven for 15 minutes. 

Cooked Forever Broccoli from Food 52 Genius Recipes

I am so completely in love with this new cook book, you guys. I got the most incredible wedding gift from my dear friend Christine of 6 of the best cook books I've ever seen and it has become my new favorite past time to flip through them and try whatever I have the ingredients for. The winner of this fine selection of knowledge has so far been the Food 52 Genius Recipes from the editor of Food 52.com. It's an assortment of the most successful recipes from the internet from all different types of cooks and chefs. When I found myself with an abundance of broccoli to use this week, I headed straight for the book and found the Cooked Forever Broccoli Recipe from the great Mark Bittman. I was skeptical of the lengthy cook time, but it was so incredibly delicious and super easy to execute.

2 lbs Broccoli
3 cloves garlic
2 hot chili peppers
3 anchovy filets (I plan on experimenting with kalamata olives for a veg version of this)
1/4 cup olive oil

Begin by carefully chopping your broccoli into a combination of small florets and 1/2 - 1 inch stems. I was really precise this time and I'm glad I took the time because the lengthy time on the pan means everything really needs to be close to the same size. Slice the anchovies into small strips, mince the garlic, and slice the chili peppers in half before setting aside.

Blanche the broccoli for five minutes and set aside to cool. Add the olive oil to a skillet and begin to heat up the garlic and chili in the oil. Once they are simmering, add the anchovies and begin to stir until they are mostly disintegrated. Add the broccoli and begin stirring so that all pieces get a healthy coat of the olive oil mixture. Cover and simmer for 1.5 hours (the recipe calls for 2, but I was really happy with it after an a hour and a half), stirring every 20 minutes or so. Can be served hot or room temperature.

Healthy 5 Layer Dip

This post is probably a little late in the game since outdoor bbq season is largely over, but this dip is really appropriate for any kind of gathering and I've never brought leftovers home with me. It has all of the texture and richness of a traditional 7 layer dip, but with a very light bean dip and greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

Black Bean Dip

1 medium red pepper, diced

1/2 cup onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tsps Chalula sauce

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsps salt

1 can black beans

2 tsp olive oil

Add 1 tsp olive oil to the pan and sautee onions and red peppers with a pinch of salt. When the onions are translucent and soft, add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes, then add the can of beans with Chalula and cayenne pepper. Cook an additional 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool slightly before adding it to blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.

Pico de Gallo

4 ripe tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup onions, diced

1/4 cup cilantro, diced

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp jalapeno, diced (more if you like more heat)

Combine all ingredients.

Guacamole

2 ripe avocadoes, diced

1/4 cup onions, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1.5 tbsps salt

Combine all ingredients and continue to stir until consistency is as smooth as desired. 

Five Layer Dip

2 cups black bean dip

2 cups pico de gallo

1.5 cups guacamole

1 cup greek yogurt

1 cup cheddar cheese

Set aside 1/4 cup of pico de gallo to save for the very top. Begin layering the bottom of the bowl with the black bean dip and don't be shy! Top that with a layer of greek yogurt, followed by cheddar cheese, guacamole, and lastly pico de gallo. Repeat until you run out (this will vary based on the size of the dish). Whatever winds up on top, finish with the reserve pico de gallo for an attractive top layer. Serve with tortilla chips or celery sticks, enjoy!

Panang Curry

Panang Curry is my culinary white whale. I've been working at it since getting back from Thailand and it never turns out quite right. This last version is not 100% perfect, but I got so close I'm excited enough about it to post. For those of you in the DC area, you should know that the goal Panang Curry can be found for sub-$15 at Ruan Thai in Wheaton, Maryland. Run, don't walk if you have not been there yet. 

This recipe is adapted from the Basil Cooking School of Chiang Mai, Thailand's cookbook provided at their cooking class. If you find yourself in Chiang Mai, I highly recommend it! 

The Paste

The paste is the core of the curry. I suggest making a bunch of it and freezing so that you can pull it out on a weeknight and whip up a quick curry dish. The paste is the labor of love and once that's done, it's all downhill. Plan on at least 45 minutes to make the paste.

5 large red chillies, chopped into the tiniest of pieces (dried or fresh, if using dry soak them first)

2 tbsp shallot, chopped

1 tbsp garlic, chopped

1 tsp galangal, chopped (available at most asian markets and no, there is no substitute)

1 tbsp lemongrass, chopped

1/2 tbsp lime skin (kaffir if you can find it)

5 pepper corns

10 coriander seeds

1/2 tsp roasted cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp shrimp paste

In a large mortar, pound cumin, coriander seeds, and pepper corns. Once they are largely mashed, add chillies and salt. The more you've finely chopped the chillies, the easier this step will be. Once the chillies are resembling a paste, add all remaining ingredients except shrimp paste. Continue to pound until it forms a paste.

Panang Curry

2 tbsp panang curry paste
1/2 cup protein of your choice (chicken, tofu, etc)
1 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp fish sauce (you can substitute a tbsp of salt if you don't have fish sauce)

1 tsp sugar (preferably palm sugar)
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 small eggplant, chopped into 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup broccoli
1 tbsp coconut oil (use olive oil or vegetable oil if you prefer)
1 tsp salt

Sautee the vegetables in coconut oil with tsp of salt until cooked to desired texture, remove from pan.
Add 1/2 cup (that's only 1/2 of the coconut milk!) to a wok on high heat and bring to a boil. Add panang curry paste and stir until red oil droplets start to appear on the surface of the coconut milk (about 3 minutes) Add protein and cook about 6 minutes until meat or tofu is all the way cooked, add the remaining coconut milk and the cooked vegetables and keep stirring. After 5 minutes of cooking everything together, add the fish sauce (or salt) and sugar. Serve immediately over rice of your choice.

This is where I will confess that I ate it all before I could take a picture! I will update the post with a picture the next time I make it, but wanted to post the major milestone in my pursuit of the elusive panang curry ASAP. Enjoy!

Breakfast Quinoa

It's that time of year when all that I want when I get out of bed in the morning is something warm to fill my belly. The only problem is that oatmeal gets old. That processed instant crap that is full of sugar is just no good for you and sometimes there's no level of flavor change up that gets me passed the boredom with that steel cut oat texture day after day. Luckily I attended a fantastic nutrition workshop at Yoga District Tea Lodge this past spring that had a fantastic idea for changing it up, breakfast quinoa! It's hearty and comforting the same way that oatmeal is, but can be a nice switch up to the texture routine. You can add a lot of different flavor combinations to it, but below is my favorite maple almond blueberry combo. If you're generally weirded out at the idea of a sweet flavored quinoa, just try it once and I have a feeling you will be sold.

Almond Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa
(serves 2)
1 cup quinoa
1.75 cups water
15 dried blueberries
1 tablespoon maple syrup (make sure it's really maple syrup and not corn syrup in disguise!)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Boil water and then add quinoa and dried blueberries to the pot. Note that the sweetness of blueberry is going to permeate all of the grains, so if you are choosing a tarter berry you might want to hold off on adding it until the quinoa is cooked. Let it simmer until quinoa is soft (about 12 minutes). The quinoa doesn't need a lot of attention, so feel free to spend this time making your lunch or other morning routine activities. After the quinoa is cooked, scoop it into a bowl and drizzle with a teaspoon of maple syrup and quarter cup of almonds in each bowl. Enjoy!

Garbanzo Bean "tuna" Salad

I'm back to my whatever I can smear on a cracker phase. For years I was a huge tuna salad eater. It was one of the first things my mom taught me to make and it was a quick and easy meal on my shoe string college budget. Then I learned about mercury poisoning, over fishing, dolphins in nets, you know the list and sought to drastically reduce my seafood consumption (or at least save it for really special sushi restaurant occasions, see Sushi Taro). While learning more about vegan and vegetarian alternatives, I stumbled across the approach of using macerated garbanzo beans (or chick peas as I've learned to call them on the East Coast) in lieu of tuna for a great "tuna" salad. The inspiration for this particular recipe came from Sticky Fingers former menu item the "tuna" melt. I don't know that I've fully recreated their amazing dish, but it's pretty close. As you can see above I usually pile the salad on a cracker along with some sliced up cherry tomatoes for a really delicious and filling lunch.

Garbanzo Bean "tuna" Salad
1 can garbanzo beans
1 carrot, sliced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 tablespoons onion, diced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of pepper
2 tablespoons mayonaise or veganaise

Combine garbanzo beans and carrots into a food processor and mash on high until it's a nice thoroughly mashed substance. Scoop mixture into a bowl and add diced celery and onion, mayo/vego, garlic powder, paprika, celery seed, salt and pepper. Mix with a fork until all the mayo/vego chunks have been thoroughly spread out. Serve with crackers, tortilla, chips, or make into a sandwich. Essentially do anything you'd do with tuna salad, enjoy!

Delicious Green Juice

I try not to be too over the top with the weirdo healthy stuff on this blog (and believe me that I have had many failures that I never subjected you to), but when done the right way, green juice can be so delicious! This is the prime time of farmers market abundance in the DC area to make really tremendous green juice and I wanted to share my tried and true formula for a sweet and pleasant tasting juice that is loaded with all of the healthy nutrients from lots of green veggies.

Delicious Green Juice
1/4 organic water melon, cut into slices with rind (If you are not able to find an organic watermelon, cut the rind off)
1 bunch kale with stems still on
5 stalks of celery cut into 1 inch pieces
1 apple, sliced
Juice of 1 lime
If watermelon is unavailable, simply add 3 additional apples for sweetness. The core of this ratio is one part sweet, one part green, one part celery, and one part citrus (can be lemon or lime).

My best piece of advice for juicing is to prepare everything before you turn the juicer on. Have everything handy and available and make sure the pieces are small enough to prevent overloading your juicer. Mine is particularly finicky around the stringy celery stalks, so I cut those extra small. Once you're ready, start feeding all ingredients through the juicer with the exception of the lime. Once all ingredients are juiced, squeeze the juice of one lime and enjoy.

Summer Salad with Potatoes and Avocado Dill Dressing

Adapted from Marie Simmons Fresh & Fast Vegetarian

Going with the creamy, but not-too-rich theme of the month, I want to share my new most favorite salad dressing in the world. Behold the wonder of Marie Simmons Avocado Dill dressing. It's in the same vein as tatziki, in that it's not overly heavy and would be a great dip for vegetables or a side sauce or drizzled on any protein. I discovered it as the dressing in her recipe for this beautiful summer salad that has enough potatoes to be a full meal by itself. It's not a quick throw together at the last minute type of deal, but look at how pretty it is! It's just as elegant an experience to eat it and peel through the layers with that amazing creamy dill dressing in every bite.

Summer Salad with Potatoes and Avocado Dill Dressing
Dressing:
1/2 avocado
3 tablespoons cup greek yogurt
1.5 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 cup dill, chopped
1/4 cup cucumbers, roughly chopped, seeds removed
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salad:
The rest of that cucumber, sliced
2 tomatoes sliced
1/2 pound potatoes (I used a combination of gold and purple yukons, which added some nice color)
1/4 cup onions sliced thin with a mandolin if available
1/4 cup radishes, sliced thin with a mandolin, again, if available
1/2 pound greens of your choice

Boil a pot of water and toss the potatoes in there to start cooking and then start making the dressing. Toss avocado, greek yogurt, mayonnaise, dill, and 1/4 cup of rough chopped cucumbers, and salt into food processor and blend until very creamy. Scoop it into a bowl and cover before setting in the fridge to chill. After the potatoes have softened (probably about 20 minutes of boiling depending on size), set them aside to cool as you prepare additional vegetables. Slice tomatoes and cucumbers into 1/2 slices and sprinkle with a hit of salt. Mandolin the onions and radishes, but make sure to leave the onions separate. The pretty presentation depends on the onions resting daintily on top.

After potatoes have cooled, slice them into 1/4 inch slices and set aside. Grab plates and you can start layering. Start spooning the dressing onto the plate and swirl in circles until it's about a inch away from the edges. Place the potatoes down directly in the dressing arranged in a circle before layering the tomatoes, cucumbers, and radishes on top. Drizzle with a little more dressing before topping with the greens and thinly sliced onions and yet another drizzle of dressing. Serve immediately.