Rapini With Spiced Turtle Beans, Tuscan Beans With Kale And Craisins, Bean-Stuffed Squash, Oven-Baked Tofu

RAPINI WITH SPICED TURTLE BEANS

Way back when, I posted a variation on the bean recipe HERE - using back then soy beans rather than the turtle (or black) beans pictured here. I may have added a few extra little bits of this and that for interest, but the idea is the same: spicy hot (but not too hot) beans gently simmered with a sweetener (maple syrup works nicely, as does agave nectar, but I like organic molasses for this one to go with the rich taste of this kind of bean.) along with various spices (see recipe) to produce a delicious bean dish that keeps well in the refrigerator and can be used for a variety of dishes.

In this case, I served rapini (broccoli rabe), lightly done with a little garlic, to complete the Beans 'n' Greens meal. The contrast of the slight bitterness of the rapini with the beans is sensational.



TUSCAN BEANS WITH KALE AND CRAISINS

This is an old favourite, but I can't resist adding it in here. The recipe I have posted before, as HERE, although I, like most of people reading this blog, don't follow the recipe slavishly. Using lightly cooked shredded kale steamed with a touch of onion or garlic and some dried cranberries (craisins) not only looks wonderful and is good for us, but the slight sweetness of the cranberries turns the kale into something even more special than usual. As you will have gathered by now, I love putting slightly sweet dried fruit with 'cabbage-like' vegetables. One could used chopped dried apricots here, or raisins, currants - whatever. Again, it's Beans 'n' Greens in a simple but not boring way.




BEAN-STUFFED SQUASH

Now this was nearly a disaster. I used the photo to make the point that either of these bean recipes would be good, if there are any leftovers, in all sorts of ways - on toast, on a split baked potato, etc. Our preferred way is to stuff them into a small pre-baked squash (you choose your fave) and serve with whatever other leftovers or salad seem appropriate. In this case, I had some tofu that needed to be used quickly, the baked squash and the beans (and a green salad - always have the makings of a green salad here). But it was indeed nearly or perhaps actually a disaster. I left them in the oven that bit too long and the tofu, which was also marinated and then baked, got too much heat and the edge of the squash turned a little darker than was aesthetically desirable. Wanna see my disaster in the uncropped version? Here ya go:



Not a dish I am proud of! I actually can bake tofu successfully, however (and usually don't scorch my squash). Later in the week I made tofu to go with greens (much more sensible than adding it to beans, but as I say it needed to be used) and managed bake my marinated fingers of tofu enough to get just the right degree of colour and texture.




OVEN-BAKED TOFU

So simple, but it is easy to answer the phone and let it over-do. This was frozen tofu (makes a different texture) lightly squeezed to removed excess liquid after defrosting, then marinated in minced garlic (you can used the dried flakes if you are in a rush), ginger (powdered is a different taste, but it works for heat), crushed or powdered chilies - totally optional - a little mirin or other sweetener (just about half a tsp, but to taste), a shake of Bragg Liquid Amino/All-Purpose Seasoning, and a little water to help it not be too strong. Marinate in a flat dish and turn a couple of times while you're preparing something else, then put in a 375 F oven for as long as it takes - it depends on how thick you have cut the tofu strips or logs or fingers - turning once. You can used a light spray of oil on an oven tray or cookie sheet or put it all on top of a sheet of parchment paper. I find the spray of oil works better.

Serve hot with a drizzle of whatever you fancy and decorate according to your whimsy. Leftovers make great additions to a wrap or, cubed, a salad. We rarely have leftovers. *sigh*

Red River Raw Borscht, Cauliflower Salad, Tomato Plate, Kale and Apple Salad

If you've been reading this blog at all, you know that my dh and I love beets - hot, cold, pickled, in soup, in salads, however they come and the redder the better. Recently I made a raw beet salad - and was absolutely amazed at how good it was. And I have tried a few raw soups with similar success. But raw borscht??? I didn't think so. I did, however find a recipe for a raw borscht with garlic and dill and a cup of soaked-overnight almonds (which would have 'creamed' it), and, of course, cabbage and beets in Brigitte Mars's Rawsome! and thought, well, it can be done. So I turned to my previous variations on conventional cooked borscht, thought of some amendements, and within minutes had a raw version chilling in the refrigerator. My dh pronounced it excellent, and I must say I enjoyed it thoroughly too.

RED RIVER RAW BORSCHT

3/4 pound red beets, peeled and chopped
1 large clove garlic
two large handfuls of fresh spinach (I'd have preferred beet greens, but it's early in the year for that)
1-1/4 cups cranberries (I used some I'd frozen earlier)
zest, juice and chopped flesh of 1 orange (blood orange, if you have it)
4 sundried tomatoes, soaked and chopped (soaking liquid reserved)
large handful dulse, lightly rinsed, chopped (other sea vegetable would be good, but I was keeping with red.)
1-1/2 tsp miso
2 or 3 dashes cayenne (optional, but it gives it a nice extra zip)
enough water to blend the ingredients and to reach the desired consistency

Set a few cranberries aside for garnish, if you wish, and put the rest of the ingredients with the soaking liquid from the dried tomatoes and a cup or more of water into a blender. Puree well, adding more water as needed. Add any extra water to bring to your preferred thickness. Taste for seasoning and adjust. Regrigerate until needed, for a cold soup, or serve at room temperature.

Garnish with cranberries and, if you like, fresh herbs, etc. Serve chilled with freshly ground black pepper.

And - oh yes, the name of the soup? My very first taste of borscht was in the late '40s and came from the kitchen of a lady who had migrated to Manitoba from the Ukraine. The soup was strong (not, I imagine, vegetarian!), chunky, full of many wonderful things, and was like no soup I'd ever eaten before. I loved it! This soup is named in honour of that long-ago hospitality. Thank you, Mrs B.


And now for some raw vegetable dishes we've been enjoying - nothing tricky, nothing fiddly, but all fresh and delicious!




CAULIFLOWER SALAD

This was pretty simple and almost embarrassingly easy, but it was good enough to pass on for a quick and easy dish to add to any array of salads or to have alone with some chunky French bread if you prefer. The addition of the sea vegetable adds a dimension I wouldn't have believed. Lovely :)

1 small head of cauliflower, cut into florets
2 or 3 green/spring onions, cut across into chunky rounds
handful of dulse, lightly rinsed and chopped into small pieces
a couple of handfuls of 'baby' carrots
1 or 2 tsp Bragg's Aminos / All-Purpose Soy Seasoning, or low-sodium soy (not strictly raw)
Zest and juice of one lime

Whisk the last two ingredients together and pour over the vegetables. Toss to lightly flavour all the vegetables with citrus and the soy. Serve with more lime wedges if you wish.


And sometimes the simplest methods sometimes escape me when I'm hassled for time. This is one of those. Tomatoes are great, just sliced and passed at the table, of course. When I'm thinking ahead even half an hour (an hour if I can), however, I like to increase the flavour a little this way (not a great photo or a very classy presentation, but you get the idea):



TOMATO PLATE

1 large tomato or as many as you wish to serve, thinly sliced
2 thin slices of onion, separated into rings or half-rings
sea salt
large handful cilantro, roughly chopped
1 lime
freshly ground black pepper
ground cummin to sprinkle to taste

At least half an hour before serving, sprinkle the tomatoes in a bowl with a little salt, layering with the onion and, if you wish, a little of the chopped cilantro. Squeeze a little lime juice over the lot.

Give the tomato mixture a couple of gentle turns in the bowl during the next half hour or so (being careful not to break up the tomato slices).

Arrange the slices of tomato and onion on a plate, add freshly ground black pepper and a sprinkle or two of ground cummin and the rest of the cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Everyone knows how much I love eating kale. It's full of good things, including loads of calcium, but it's also so good in flavour. There are different kinds of kale, but this lovely green curly kale is what is available to me now. I'm always making salads from it these days, and I just vary the ingredients and the seasonings to make it a little different each time.



KALE AND APPLE SALAD

1 head of kale
1 or 2 slices of onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 sweet red apple
small handful of raisins
raw cider vinegar, to taste
tsp raw agave syrup
Squeeze of lemon or lime juice to taste
sprinkle of Braggs Aminos, to taste (optional) - or you could use low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
dash or two of cayenne (optional)
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Strip the leaves only from the kale stems, wash, and tear into small pieces and place in a large bowl. 'Massage' these with your hands, deliberately bruising and wilting the leaves for a few minutes, until they take up less volume in the bowl and have turned darker green (as if lightly cooked). Don't worry about overdoing this - this pseudo-cooked texture is nice - taste a little as you go along!

Chop the onion, garlic and add to the kale when it is ready. If you're not going to serve immediately, chop/slice the apple just before adding the dressing - to avoid having the cut apple go brown - or sprinkle it with a little lemon juice meanwhile while it waits. Add the raisins.

Mix together the cider vinegar, agave syrup, lemon or lime juice, Braggs or soy sauce with the cayenne, if using.

Pour this dressing over the rest of the ingredients and toss. Serve in your favourite salad bowl (if you're not already using it!) with other salads or as a first course.

You'd be amazed at how lively we feel with eating so much raw food (although we're not 100 per cent raw - and our condiments are not yet completely raw) - and it certainly saves a lot of time in the kitchen! Next acquisition will be a dehydrator - than watch out!!!!!

Chat: Of Cabbages, Cheezes and Cats

Well I couldn't resist telling you all about the reason for the lovely green kale behind the photo of the beet, apple and seaweed salad I posted earlier! We eat a lot of kale here - any kind we can get our hands on. And this one was for the kale salad I've posted before as Raw Kale Salad, what else :) to which I added the garnish of a little crumbled/grated vegan blue cheez - or more correctly Sheese (which is the brand name) from Scotland.

I have never much cared for faux cheezes - except those individually wrapped Tofutti slices (and Tofutti is very good - esp. its cream cheeze and sour creme) in a huge sandwich which disguises the fact that they're not really the real thing. But someone on the Care2 network recommended Sheese and I found it at my local cheese shop and I had to try. Well, I dunno about you guys, but I thought it was wonderful. I always swear that I don't want to eat faux foods, but both my husband and I have made an exception for this product (and another, which is PC vegan chicken strips, but only VERY occasionally) - which I swear we could become addicted to really really quickly. It comes in many flavours, so you might want to see if it's in your shops. (And no, I don't own the company or get money from them for saying this!). Find them at: http://www.buteisland.com/ - and they have recipes there too, I see.

The next photo is an indulgence of mine. We are eating more raw (I know - am I letting you guys down? Sorry. I'll probably get over it! I do these kinds of things now and then!!) and so the top of our stove is getting used for everything but cooking lately. Yesterday we brought the groceries home and dumped them on the stovetop while we put them away. I put the last item in the refrigerator and turned around to find that my dear little cat had actually dared to jump up there and had decided that the shopping bag would make a nice little hidey hole :)

Raw Kale Salad

This recipe is an adaptation of an adaptation of a cookbook recipe, the variation from which I worked being found here:
http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?gpp=10159&pst=588393
- although you'll have to scroll down a bit and look for it under the title of Cavolo Nero from my friend Linda.

The recipe was meant to be Raw Food, but I'm nowhere near raw yet so I have no qualms about using condiments that have seen heat. Additionally, I have now made this recipe on three separate occasions and each time I found I was out of one or the other ingredients, I omit oil from salad dressings, and of course I tend to throw in a bit of something extra now and then. That said, there's only so much you can do with a salad that is going to be different.

RAW KALE SALAD

1 bunch kale, washed, leaves stripped off the stalks and torn into bite-sized pieces
1 bell pepper, chopped (the coloured ones look prettier than the green)
1/4 red onion, chopped
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium tomato, chopped (optional - it adds a pretty colour if you need more 'red')
1/2 cup dried cranberries
organic shoyu or tamari, to taste (or use a little Bragg's amino or, if you only do raw, sea salt)
raw apple cider vinegar, to taste (I have also done a mix with a little rice vinegar)
raw agave syrup, to taste
pinch cayenne pepper :)
a small handful raw pepitas or raw sunflower seeds

Put the bite-sized pieces of kale (save the stems for soup or stock or whatever another day) in a bowl and get your hands in there to rub and knead it until the leaves turn a darkish green - the way it looks when cooked. This should take a few minutes at most - and it's neat to do! This wilts it and softens it nicely.

Add the other vegetables plus the cranberries.

Mix the liquid ingredients for a dressing and toss with the salad.

Sprinkle with the pepitas or sunflower seeds and serve as a first course or with other salads and/or raw foods. Lovely!

And below you see it in another variation. Always delicious - and so tender!