WhirlwinDISH 19

I thought I would make a simple cuke and tomato salad as I often do. As I started to prep it, I became hungry for something a tad more substantial. So, I made it a little heartier with some added grains. I had been on an infused rice kick and decided to infuse long-grain brown rice with a hibiscus rooibos. I had teff from making injera, so I infused that, as well. After the teff and rice chilled a bit in the fridge, I added the veggies, a light dressing of oil and vin, and s&p. It was a nice, light summertime salad and the first time I had used teff in this manner.

I am still experimenting with the different ways I can make use of teff. Read about teff’s nutritional value here. It’s high in calcium, Vit C, iron, and resistant starch.

 

WhirlwinDISH 18

One of the many versions of my ‘green & grain’ bowls. I made this particular one with kasha and later the same bowl with brown rice. I just use whatever grains I have at the moment (possibly a mixture, even) along with green veggies & herbs. This time, I was inspired to add some of the pale green cukes from Jasmine Market. I really enjoyed the cool cukes with the warm veggies, beans, & grain.

I started to use edamame for this bowl, but remembered I still had a lot of great northern beans to use up. This day, the ‘green & grain’ also included: pea shoots & radish sprouts, pickling cukes, seared marinated eggplant, thinly sliced seared okra, parsley, finely minced red onion, and a little toasted kasha for crunch. I dressed this with a warm broccoli, parsley, garlic, and lemon puree. The puree really enlivened this dish for me. I didn’t cook it for a long time (just until it warmed through) and added the lemon after removing it from the heat.

I will use many types of grains for these bowls (quinoa, spelt, millet, wheat berries, etc.), but my favorite is still brown rice or a rice mixture.

WhirlwinDISH 17

Happy Fourth! This was kind of a treat meal for me. I had some homemade marmalade, so I had to make use of it 😉 I made this batch with a citrus pectin that’s activated by calcium instead of sugar. Therefore, you can use a lot less sweetener (sugar, honey, agave, etc.), and it will still jell up. I had some chamomile tea, so I decided to use it in place of the water.

I made standard buttermilk biscuits 2 ways: drop & cluster. I was inspired by a cluster of fruit for the latter. I thought later that perhaps I will make one at some point to resemble a cluster of grapes (just add a stem & a few leaves, maybe even a vine). I could serve that with grape jelly! I made the biscuit dough a little sweeter than normal, brushed with a little butter, then gave it a sprinkling of raw sugar. This gave it a nice caramelization. Served with the marmalade, it was delish! I absolutely loved the cluster biscuit. You just pull it apart & spoon the marmalade onto each little ball. The only thing that could have made it better for me is my clotted cream swap: Noosa Honey Yoghurt (the BEST yoghurt in the world!!!) If you haven’t tried it, please do! SO Good!!!

Polenta with eggs is a common dish for me, so I just decided to combine the two this time. This was a cheesy garlic polenta with oven-dried tomatoes and sage. After baking, I finished it with just a smidge of butter over the egg.

Of course, I had to have a little chamomile tea to go along with the orange-chamomile marmalade. I also love this marmalade as part of a glaze for mild white fish. And, it is fab combined with vanilla & added to protein shakes, smoothies, or yogurt for a quick creamsicle flavoring.

WhirlwinDISH 16

Great Northern beans! When I cook a pot of any type of bean, I always have to come up with ways to make use of them. My favorite is simply beans with cornbread or rice. I cooked these in the slow cooker with only garlic & onion to keep my meal options open. Besides the dishes pictured, I’ve used them for veggie Boston baked beans and rice bowls. I still have quite a bit frozen, as well.

# 1: Simple salad with warm northerns, mung bean sprouts, extra virgin olive oil, red wine vin, & raw red onion. I love the warm beans with the crisp greens & bite from the onions.

# 2: Dip with cumin, lime, fresh garlic, ground red pepper, and macadamia nuts. I made one super smooth version (pic) and one with chopped nuts. The chunky dip was my fave. This was delicious with baked injera chips.

#3: Toasted whole wheat ravioli with smashed beans, purple basil-parsley pesto, & oven-dried tomatoes. I also had some of the ravioli just boiled with a little olive oil (as I put the sauce on the ‘inside’). I used the rest of the pesto & tomatoes for spaghetti.

#4: Homemade saffron veggie broth with northerns, golden beets, and baby turnip greens. So easy!

WhirlwinDISH 15

I wanted dessert, so I started to make a summer berry crumble with an oat topping. I decided to go with a quinoa granola (quinola) instead. I made it my favorite way with a mixture of agave syrup (sometimes I use honey), unsweetened coconut, cinnamon, vanilla, a touch of oil, and a bit of salt. Well, my other favorite way is to also use a nut butter. I baked it in the oven on a low heat setting (stirring every now and then) until it was browned. I used the quinola to top berries macerated in agave and balsamic vinegar and then baked it off in the oven. It satisfied my sweet tooth, and I felt like it was on the healthier side (as far as desserts go). I didn’t even need any cream! I made a second batch with tri-colored quinoa the same way, but added some tropical fruits & nuts: dates, dried papayas, and macadamias. Oats are a great addition, but this day I made it with just the quinoa. I like it for snacking, as well as a quick fruit crumble topping.

WhirlwinDISH 14

I wanted to make some veggie burger sliders after seeing this recipe for homemade buns (they’re so cute!) But, when I was in the mood for veggie burgers, I wasn’t in the mood to make the buns! So, these were ‘bun-less.’

Using up a lot of what I could find…I processed onion, garlic, mint, roasted macadamia nuts, 5-grain tempeh, chickpeas flavored with my butternut curry base, and carrots (with the carrot top greens). I used the pale yellow and ivory carrots from the farmer’s market to keep the burger a golden color. After processing, I added bulgar & vermicelli, tri-colored quinoa, then seasoned with smoked paprika and s&p. I formed the burgers in a spice jar lid with a rubber spat. (Fancy, I know. I saw the lid & thought it was about the right size.) I sprayed these with a little oil, seared on the stove, then finished them in the oven. I’ve topped them with several things at this point, but in this pic:

Burger #1: sweet & spicy grain mustard, pea shoots & radish sprouts, pickled garlic, and heirloom tomato

Burger #2: creamy caper siracha, chard, red onion, and crispy carrots

I made a big batch, as they freeze well. I really loved using the bulgar and vermicelli for this burger. It was a first! The crispy vermicelli reminded me of having crunchy ramen noodles. Yums! I had never used macadamias before, either, but it started me thinking on a totally different path…more on that another time…

WhirlwinDISH 13

Fresh from the farmers’ market inspired meals. You never know what treats await you when you hit the market!

This salad was fairly simple using rainbow chard, romaine, purslane, and pea shoots for its base. I grilled the beautiful squash and eggplant, and plated the heirloom tomatoes and carrots raw. For some crunch and spice: mung bean and radish sprouts. I dressed it with a shantung garlic, lime juice, mint, olive oil, and agave vin. So fresh and flavorful! I stuffed the bell pepper and zucchini blossom with my leftover shiitake and assam rice eggplant, striata squash, carrots, a little fresh tomato sauce, and criminis, then roasted them in the oven. These, along with the salad, made a very satisfying light meal.

The pea shoots and sprouts cried out to be sandwich fixins. I made a quick flatbread from some home milled flours (whole wheat, brown rice, quinoa, teff, and oat), oil, buttermilk (I always make my own), salt, baking powder, raw sugar, and a few sesame seeds on top. I had red lentils already prepared, so I subbed those for chickpeas in a chunky hummus with the shantung garlic, lemon, and tahini. I slathered that onto the bread, then layered in the shoots and radish sprouts, 5-grain tempeh (more on that below), tomatoes, cukes, red onion, and the kicker: pickled garlic and mango. I did end up pickling some mango after seeing it at Jasmine Market and it make the sandwich sing with life. I want to pickle everything I can find now!

The tempeh: I had it in the freezer, so I thawed it just a bit, then sliced. I gave it a light dusting of cornstarch and garlic powder, sprayed it with oil, then seared it on the stove. I decided a glaze might be nice, so I used a balsamic, soy, oyster sauce, agave, and siracha reduction. (I have a boatload of agave syrup, so it will probably go into a lot of my future dishes.) It was delish, so I ate what didn’t go into the sandwich by itself.

Farmer’s markets are such a wonderful things, and I am always blessed when I can take advantage of what they have to offer.

WhirlwinDISH 12

Infused rice. That’s what I decided on when I had a hankering for fried rice patties. I looked around for what I had available and came up with: 1) dried shiitake mushrooms and 2) assam tea. I’m not sure why the tea came to mind. What’s better than rice patties, I thought? Stuffed rice patties! I used short grain brown rice and filled the assam patty with carrot, beet, & cilantro, the shiitake with the softened shiitakes, creminis, & red onion). I finished them with crumbled nori. I didn’t actually fry them, though. I hit them with a spray of oil, seared them on the stove, then baked until warmed back through.

I also had some colorful soy wraps, so I used some of both fillings for those. I just left out the nori and added cucumber to the carrot & beet mix.

Wow! I really loved these infusions, especially the tea. I can think of several other teas that might prove interesting, but I just used what was in currently in the pantry. I had some rice left over, so I used a combo of both in stuffed bell peppers (from the farmer’s market…post more about that another time!).