Bean-Stuffed Acorn Squash, Mexican-Spiced Veg on Beans, Faux Chikken Dinner

BEAN-STUFFED ACORN SQUASH WITH BRAISED KALE

Right now I am enjoying eating the mostly greens and beans way (with some apologies to Dr Joel Fuhrman since I do enjoy my spices and other condiments). I had found a lovely little organic acorn squash at the market, had some home-cooked black beans (unseasoned) in the freezer and a lovely bunch of dinosaur kale in the crisper. This had to make a good meal.

First the squash, which I simply halved and baked, face down and lightly covered, at 350 degrees for around half an hour. While this was happening, I tossed a little onion and garlic into a pan to get the onions to a translucent state (using a little water to sautee, as usual, although I have been known to 'cheat' and use a teaspoon of oil), and added a chopped tomato. In went the black turtle) beans, about 1-1/2 cups, along with a tablespoon of tomato paste from a tube, a tablespoon of organic pure maple syrup, a squirt of Bragg liquid aminos/all-purpose seasoning, a shake or two of thyme and oregano, a sprinkle of red chili flakes and just enough water to let it all simmer while the squash baked. The kale was stripped of its coarse stems, sliced crosswise into ribbons and lightly braised with a little garlic in a very little vegetable stock with a few raisins.

This all came together before I knew it, and with a quick baby spinach and orange salad to start we had a delicious meal. You'll be seeing more of my beans 'n' greens meals in the next little while.

And this one is also about beans, pureed as I like to do sometimes now, with some mixed vegetables. Have a look:



MEXICAN-SPICED BROCCOLI, MUSHROOMS AND RED BELL PEPPERS ON BEANS

As you see, the beans (I used lima beans here, cooked with garlic, onion, bay and a little chili) are well pureed, not too soupy but placed in a shallow old-fashioned-style soup plate for presentation rather than from need. I water-sauteed broccoli florets with some red bell pepper/capsicum, quartered mushrooms and sliced onion. These I seasoned with Mexican Chili Spice Mix with a little extra cumin and cayenne. When the beans were heated through again after being pureed, the vegetables were ready, with any liquid absorbed. I sprinkled some vegan parmesan-style cheese on top.

This next one does not, however, use beans, but there's still something green there :)



FAUX CHICKEN DINNER WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES AND ASPARAGUS

Coming home too close to mealtime meant I reached for a package of PC Meatless Chicken Breasts (the fake meat is made by Gardein, I note). Iit comes in a sealed pouch with sauce included, intended to be microwaved or boiled in the bag, but I pop it into a baking dish in the oven while I do the rest of the meal, although I'll probably reconsider that option if I'm still using it when the weather gets hot. In this case, the baking option worked fine, since I quickly chopped some potatoes and carrots to roast on the same shelf. While this was happening, a salad was in preparation and, while we were consuming that, I put on the water to steam the asparagus you see in the photo. That takes about two or three minutes while the plates are being changed and the glasses recharged.

This fake meat is very tasty, and seems to come in just a couple of flavours (the sauce, remember?). One Tuscan (i.e. tomato and herbs) and the other, which is pictured above, is Dijon (more French and with a mild mustardy sauce). Both are very good. I went for years 'not approving' of faux meats, mainly because I didn't like the taste, I think. Good products have me rethinking me stubbornness, and I do now keep one or two on hand (watching the expiry dates carefully) as a change or for emergency use. This would go well just with a big green salad too.

Chinese Hawker-Style Noodles and More Catching Up

The thing about street food, in places like Singapore and elsewhere, is that it has to be cooked quickly over charcoal (at least originally - goodness knows what they use now, as it's been a over ten years since we have been there) and, therefore, in a modern kitchen is sinfully quick to prepare. Get your veggies chopped early, then heat your stock (I am usually in a hurry and use a powdered stock or cubes) with the spicy ingredients in there to add more flavour, then pop most of the stuff in the bowls as directed. Now this can all wait until you're ready to eat. Then cook the noodles, add them to the bowls, and pour on the scalding stock. Top with whatever you've chosen for garnish and you're done. A simple and easy lunch or supper, any time of the year!

HAWKER-STYLE NOODLES - BO MEIN

This is my basic recipe - one doesn't really need to write it down, but it's nice to have a base from which to work. Variations, two of which I have used recently, work just fine.

For two persons (and halve or double or treble etc. as needed).

3 - 4 cups Vegetarian stock
3 - 4 slices of ginger root or to taste, cut into matchsticks
3 chilies finely chopped (more or less to taste)
2 - 3 green onions, sliced crosswise very finely
1 tsp asian sesame oil
6 mushrooms, sliced (if you have time, soak a couple of dried ones too)
50 gr. (or so) medium tofu, sliced into bite-sized thin strips
NOTE: for the photos pictured above and below I used some vegan hamm.
100 gr. fine noodles (angelhair kind - often in 'nests' in asian groceries)
NOTE: for the photos you see I used japanese-style buckwheat noodes. Ya use what ya got!
2 - 3 handfulls bean sprouts
coriander, chopped, for garnish (optional)
peanuts, for garnish (optional) - I used raw cashews this time
soy sauce as needed

And here are most of the ingredients (I think!) just as I was ready to make the whole thing.



Heat your vegetarian stock together with the ginger root, the mushrooms and the chilies. (If you do use some dried mushrooms, add the soaking liquid to the stock.) Slice onions and divide between two large soup bowls together with the sesame oil and the tofu slices.

When stock comes to the boil, break the noodle nests in half and throw into the stock, separating the strands as soon as you can with a couple of forks or a spaghetti server. Noodles should soften very very quickly. Don't let them overcook. Remove from stock with spaghetti server, dividing between the two bowls. Toss the beansprouts into the stock, swirl around for a few seconds then divide between the two soup bowls.

Finally, divide the stock and any mushrooms, etc., that remain in the noodle pot between the two bowls.

Give each bowl a stir to bring up the flavours and ingredients from the bottom and disperse them through the noodles. Garnish and serve.

NOTE: The ingredients are barely cooked - the tofu heats from the hot soup, the beansprouts likewise. The mushrooms are still crisp. You can do variations on this, as I've noted above, but this is how we've eaten it for years. I have also made it using vegan chikken pieces instead of the tofu. Works fine too :)



AND for the rest of this 'catch-up' round?

Well, have a quick look at some photos I have on file.

Here are a few things we've been eating lately:



Above is STIR-FRIED TEMPEH WITH VEGETABLES (well, again, steamed). This is always a good and quick dish, with or without the rice. I like to make sure I always add some ginger root, garlic, onion, chilies and a little celery to give a good flavour to whatever else I'm using. And I generally marinate the tempeh in soy sauce and a little minced garlic and giner before adding to the rest.



And oh yes, above is my SPLIT PEA SOUP that I keep making again and again, enhanced this time with extra spices (mostly mexican style) plus some chopped vegan hamm and coriander and some dear little baby corns cut into coins AND cilantro. Very nice. You can do almost anything with split pea soup as a base. Actually, you can also do it more quickly with red lentils, but that's not what I used here :)



GINGERED CARROT-SQUASH SOUP (above) is exactly that - some onion (not too much) with carrot and squash and flavoured with fresh ginger root and varied herbs etc. Excellent. You can play with the ingredients and flavourings to your heart's content here and not go wrong!



An just above is of course a simple side SALAD. Gotta get your fresh raw veggies as often as possible, especially if you're having a touch week or month or year!

And here comes a favourite standby:



Variations on my STUFFED AVOCADO recipe abound. It doesn't really matter what you use in the way of stuffing as long as it tastes good to you and doesn't fight with the avocado. I usually base mine on carrot, celery and onion, then add all sorts of things like lime or lemon zest, lime or lemon juice, dark or light miso, a little Braggs, plus some seeds (generally pumpkin or sunflower) to give it texture after I've pureed the rest. Any stuffing left over makes a great spread for anything you've got a mind to put it on.

Take care now!

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Well, this site seems to have let me upload one photo, and has now dug in its little heels and said Nevermore. Hmmm! Well, here's the first offering!



Here we have STUFFED ACORN SQUASH - with steamed baby bok choy. I stuffed the squash (having steamed it up in the oven first) with a sort of unfried rice mixture: leftover brown rice and various chopped vegetables (the usual suspects) spiced up a bit with (inevitably with me) chilies, ginger, garlic, etc. I think I sprinkled a sort of crumb topping on the whole thing before putting it back in the oven to brown a bit, thus utterly confounding any attempt to identify the dish according to any one or two ethnicities! Another time I used Indian spices and a sprinkle of raisins in the rice mixture (quinoa or barley works well too - or a combination of wild and brown rice) but skipped the crumbs. These things tend to be a bit different every time with me - always an adventure to come to our dinner table. This served two of us for lunch (our main meal), preceded by a leafy green salad.

Need I say, all this was as usual done with no or minimal salt and no added oil or other fat.

Stand by, if you will, for my experiments with faux/fake vegan chikken and beeef. I say experiments, because I've never taken these products seriously and always claimed to dislike them :)

Potato Stew Stuffed In Acorn Squash

POTATO STEW STUFFED IN ACORN SQUASH

I have to share this one with you, although the recipe is not mine to give :( It is another from my marvellous co-host on my Vegan World Cuisine group, posted just yesterday. You can find it HERE

I had two 'baby' golden acorn squashes, so I cut the tops of those so that I could save the dear little caps, scooped them out and baked them until they were done. Meanwhile I made Linda's beautiful potato stew, using 'baby' red potatoes and subbing jalapeno for the dried chili she has in her recipe. The rest, as you can see from the pic below, is onion (I used half a medium red onion), red bell pepper, sweet corn, and of course garlic. Cooking the potatoes, etc., in soymilk gives a nice creamy texture and some powdered ginger a nice extra bite. I topped mine with a little cilantro and served with green beans. I should add that I made it, of course, without frying in even a little bit of oil :) Excellent!

The 'extra' stew that didn't fit into the little squashes disappeared very quickly, thanks to my delighted husband.

This is certainly one to remember!