Lemongrass Risotto

During this transitional time of year, Lemongrass Risotto is perfect. Like all risottos, it is creamy and comforting, just what we crave as the air gets brisk. Yet, the lemongrass makes this risotto bright and refreshing, reminding us of those beautiful summer days.

Risotto is a rice dish, but it is very different from a pilaf or even plain rice. To make risotto, you need to use arborio rice. This short grain rice has a higher starch content, which causes the creamy texture. 

The process for making risotto is simple but can be intimidating. Essentially, you keep adding flavored liquid to the rice in small amounts, letting the rice absorb all the liquid before adding more, until the rice is creamy and soft. 

I've seen recipes that use a pressure cooker or a microwave or slow cooker to make risotto. I like using just a pan and my stove; keep it simple.

Risottos can be flavored with anything. This particular risotto is flavored primarily with lemongrass, which is commonly used in Thai cooking. Lemongrass has a strong citrus scent with a hint of ginger. Lemongrass's close relative is citronella - the popular herb used in mosquito-repelling candles. 

Lemongrass can help relieve nausea and can detoxify your liver, pancreas, kidneys, bladder, and digestive track. During the change of seasons, we all need a little help to adjust our bodies to the new season. Often, we just continue to plow through our lives, ignoring the season's change, which weakens our immune system and can result in catching a cold or other virus. The more we can detoxify our bodies and treat them with care during this time of the year, the healthier we can be!

Lemongrass Risotto
4 servings

1/3 cup almonds, slivered and toasted
6 stalks lemongrass (about 1/3 cup smashed and diced)
3 cups water (at least)
2 tablespoons olive oil (or butter)
1/3 cup onion, minced
1 cup arborio rice

1 cup bok choy, chopped

1 Thai chili, minced (optional)

1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon fresh mint, minced
1/4 lime, juiced

1. Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add the almonds and stir frequently until they are lightly toasted and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Immediately remove from the hot pan and set aside.
2. Peel the lemongrass stalks and chop off the tough tops. Using the end of a knife or a mallet, smash each stalk to release its juices and fragrance. Coarsely chop the lemongrass and place into a medium bowl. Pour 3 cups boiling water over the lemongrass and let seep for 7 minutes. Strain most of the lemongrass out of the tea; discard the lemongrass chunks.
3. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add the arborio rice and stir to coat with the oil. Let cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is somewhat transparent, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Pour about 1/3 cup of lemongrass tea into the rice and stir. Turn down the heat to medium-low. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Pour in another 1/3 cup tea and let absorb into the rice, stirring occasionally. Repeat this process with the rest of the liquid. As the rice absorbs more liquid, you will need to stir more frequently. Taste the rice periodically for doneness. The rice is done when it is creamy and has the consistency of thick porridge. The whole process takes about 20-30 minutes. If you run out of tea before the rice is done, warm up some water and continue adding liquid until the rice is to your liking. Toward the end of cooking the rice, stir in the salt and mint.
5. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a small skillet. Add the bok choy, ginger, and chili (if using). Squeeze about 2 teaspoons of lime juice over the bok choy mixture. Stir and let cook for about 7-10 minutes until the bok choy is soft.
6. When the rice is cooked, stir in the bok choy and the rest of the lime juice. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt or mint if needed.
7. Serve warm, garnished with plenty of toasted almonds.

Potato Celeriac Soup

Cool-weather soup season is just around the corner! I love soup. I love blending the perfect flavors together to make the most comforting meal ever. Celeriac is the perfect vegetable to kick-off soup season.

Celeriac, also called Celery Root, is a crazy looking vegetable!

 

The tops can be used as a garnish, but is the ugly root that is the true gem. It smells like celery, but it tastes like a creamy, peppery potato. It's flavor is unlike anything else you can find. 

To use it, simply slice off about 1/4 inch off the bottom and about 1/2 inch off the top. Then, slice off the knobby outside to reveal the smooth flesh on the inside and you're set. Celeriac can be eaten raw, but I really enjoyed it in this soup. 

Roasted garlic adds flavor depth to any soup and is a perfect topping for bread.

It is so worth the extra time it takes to roast the garlic. Leaving the entire head of garlic intact, simply cut off the tops of each of the cloves and pour some olive oil on the top, letting the oil seep throughout the head of garlic. Wrap in tin foil and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 35 minutes or until the cloves are soft.

With the soup, I also served a simple mixed lettuce salad that had some mini-sweet peppers, red onion, cucumber, tomatoes, radish-chive cheddar cheese, and roasted red pepper dressing. Perfect. And so pretty!

This soup is heartwarming and comforting. However, I'm not a huge fan of evaporated milk. So, the next time I make this, I'll probably eliminate the milk and double the potatoes. Then, toward the end, I'll scoop out some potatoes, mash them, and mix them with some cream before returning to the pan. I think I would prefer that flavor better.

Potato Celeriac Soup

6 servings, adapted from Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon

1 tablespoon butter

1 medium onion, finely diced

6 cloves garlic (roasting is preferred but optional)

1/4 teaspoon celery seed

1 celeriac, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes

2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes

2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped

5 cups vegetable stock

3/4 teaspoon ground pepper

salt to taste

1 cup evaporated skim milk

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1. Heat the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and celery seed. Saute for about 5 minutes, or until onion is soft.
2. Add the celeriac, potatoes, carrots, and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until vegetables are extremely tender. Add the salt and pepper.
3. Stir in all but 2 tablespoons of the evaporated milk; heat gently. 
4. Add the cornstarch to the rest of the evaporated milk and stir to dissolve. Pour a ladle-full of the hot soup into the cornstarch mixture and stir well. Then pour the mixture into the soup. The soup should thicken slightly.
5. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with crusty bread. 

Golden Peanut-Miso Velvet

Are you ready for this? Hold onto your aprons because this is one delicious recipe!

I cannot take any credit for creating this recipe. I followed it almost to the letter from Crescent Dragonwagon's Passionate Vegetarian tome. The only downside to Passionate Vegetarian is that it's HUGE. It's over 1,000 pages long; it's easy to get overwhelmed with the options.

So what is Golden Peanut-Miso Velvet? It's a creamy, rich, peanut gravy that is poured over basically anything! It is vegan but you would hardly know it. It tastes like a lot of butter and heavy cream have been added to make it into a wonderful salty creamy sauce.

This velvet is perfect comfort food. Make it on a rainy, gloomy day.

It tastes horribly bad for you, but it is actually packed with nutrients. Each serving has less than 5 grams of fat and has over 6 grams of protein! Plus, it is high in vitamins B-12, B-6, niacin and riboflavin. Not bad for gravy!

It is also quite flexible. You can pour this gravy over just about anything. And that is where the recipe becomes a little time intensive. All the vegetables and protein need to be prepared separately from and prior to making the velvet. I used boiled potatoes, steamed broccoli, and baked tofu. If you are going to use other vegetables, use at least one that has some color to brighten the dish. Be sure to also include some sort of protein to make it more substantial of a meal. Seitan would be fabulous in this. Some grilled tempeh would also be good.

I decided to use baked tofu. I have never baked tofu before! It was really easy, but time consuming. The tofu should be marinated for 1-24 hours prior to baking for a total of 25 minutes at an extremely high temperature (factor in preheating the oven when estimating your time). If you don't want to spend the time baking your tofu, you can buy already baked tofu.

I marinated my tofu in cornstarch, sherry, garlic, salt and pepper for about an hour. Lay the tofu strips on a well-greased baking sheet and preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

After baking for about 10-15 minutes, turn them over when they are browned on the bottom. Bake for another 5-10 minutes and remove from the oven. So good.

I used fingerling potatoes from our CSA and steamed broccoli. And then because this was kind of a complicated recipe, I measured everything out beforehand. This made putting together the velvet extremely easy.

Once the velvet is done, pour it over the potatoes, broccoli, tomatoes, and baked tofu. Serve over a grain, pasta, bread, whatever. I chose whole wheat couscous because it was fast and easy.

Golden Peanut-Miso Velvet
Serves 4, from Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon

1 large onion, diced
2 cups vegetable broth
3 tablespoons sweet white miso
2 tablespoons peanut butter (nonhydrogenated)
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons arrowroot (cornstarch would probably work but would make it a little more gelatinous)
1 tablespoon mirin (I used sherry)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Pour a little oil in a large skillet and heat over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes). Stir in 1 3/4 cup broth and bring to a boil.
2. Add the yeast and arrowroot to the reserved 1/4 cup broth and stir to remove any lumps. Then add the mirin to this mixture. Set aside.
3. Bring the boiling broth and onions to low and add the miso and peanut butter. Mix well to remove any lumps. Do not bring back to boiling (miso likes lower temperatures). 
4. Stir the yeast, arrowroot, mirin mixture into the skillet. Stir well while the sauce thickens. Taste and add salt and pepper. You will probably need a small amount of salt and a large amount of pepper.
5. Pour over cooked vegetables and protein. Serve over rice or toast. (I used about 4 cups cooked diced potatoes, 1 head of broccoli steamed, 2 diced tomatoes, and 16 ounces of diced baked tofu)

Fiesta Rice

This recipe is like being reunited with an old friend.

When I was first learning to cook on my own, I purchased the cookbook 100% Vegetarian: Eating Naturally from Your Grocery Store by Julianne Pickle. It is a small cookbook and extremely simple. Just what I needed at the time. All ingredients from the book can be found at a typical large grocery store. No tempeh. No nutritional yeast. No exotic spices or herbs. Mostly it consists of carrots, celery and onions. Consequently, many of the recipes are quite bland. They are good; they just lack pizzazz.

Nevertheless, when I was first learning how to cook, I needed simple and bland. I needed to start with the basic and begin experimenting after that. Fiesta Rice was one of my staple recipes while in college. It was super cheap and versatile.

A little known secret about me is that I'm horrible at cooking rice. Or at least I was horrible at cooking rice. I tried the rice cooker, cooking rice like pasta, cooking different kinds of rice. I tried everything. I ruined many pots. I ate a lot of undercooked rice. Finally, I discovered one very specific method that works for me for cooking rice. It's not earth-shattering, but it works for me. I used it every time I cook rice (except for maybe risottos...). And I describe it in the recipe below.

It was while I was struggling to cook rice that I discovered Fiesta Rice. For some reason, adding some tomatoes always made my rice taste fantastic - even if it was a little underdone. This version of Fiesta Rice is a little different than the version from 100% Vegetarian. I use fresh tomatoes and peppers instead of canned. Most importantly though, I add cheese. All the recipes in 100% Vegetarian are vegan, but for those of you who do eat cheese, add it to this rice! It transforms this dish from being good to being great.

You can add quite a lot of variety with Fiesta Rice. It can be a base for bean burritos. Or you could add just a can of beans directly to the rice for a complete protein. You can eat it like a dip with tortilla chips. Or just with a fork. Because of its versatility, I make a lot of this. Leftovers are really easy to use up and make for quick weekday lunches.

Fiesta Rice
Serves 5, inspired by 100% Vegetarian: Eating Naturally from Your Grocery Store by Julianne Pickle

1 cup basmati rice
1 medium onion, chopped
5 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped (this is an estimate; a little less or a little more won't make much of a difference)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
2 bell peppers (I used orange Ukranian)
4 mini-sweet peppers (or if you want something more spicy, use a jalapeno)
1/2 cup shredded colby cheese (or pepper jack, cheddar, or other nice melting cheese)
tomatillo salsa (optional)
sour cream (optional)

1.  Rinse the rice well, until the water runs clear. Place rice in a medium saucepan with 1 3/4 cups water and some salt. Bring to a boil. Stir to make sure all the grains of rice are floating freely in the water. Turn down to a low simmer and let cook for about 20 minutes. When rice is done, it will not have a bite to it and most (if not all) of the water will be absorbed. Leave the cover off the pan to let any extra water evaporate until ready to use.
2. Heat a little bit of oil in a large skillet and when hot, saute the onions over medium-high heat until translucent. Stir in the tomatoes and cumin. Cook for about 10-15 minutes or until the tomatoes are fully cooked and have become mostly a liquid mass. Crush any remaining pieces of tomatoes with a spoon. 
3. Stir the tomato mixture into the cooked rice along with the salt and pepper. 
4. Chop the peppers and saute just until al dente in the same large skillet. The peppers should still be firm and juicy. Stir peppers into the rice.
5. Serve the rice with cheese and salsa and/or sour cream.

Spicy Eggplant Chili Tacos

I know. This sounds a little strange. But if you have been waiting to try one of my recipes, this is the one to try. It is fairly simple and oh so delicious!

This chili starts with a rich peppery base. I sautéed onion, garlic, and an assortment of peppers together. When they were soft, I added some wine, canned tomatoes and broth and eventually pureed the mixture into fabulousness.

The base is what makes this so good. Spend the most time making the base taste to your liking. You might not be able to find fresh pimento peppers in your local grocery store. You could use canned or you can use other kinds of peppers. The peppers are what make this spicy. If you don't like a lot of spice, use bell peppers instead of poblanos or cut back on the jalapeno. As you are chopping your peppers, taste a little bit of each one you add to check for spice. I have a fairly low tolerance for spice and this dish was right on the edge of my tolerance. Adding more sour cream and cheese helped! :)

Once you get the base perfect, drop in the eggplant and the can of chili. I love Amy's chili. It has an amazing flavor. I wanted to use it with this dish because I wanted something more exciting than just a can of beans in my chili. Amy's chili has TVP and beans in it. TVP (texturized vegetable protein) is what a lot of fake meat is made from (especially fake ground meat). Added to this chili, the tiny pieces of protein add some great protein without taking away from the texture of the chili. If you don't want to try Amy's chili, you could add some beans or your favorite can of chili. Or you could be adventurous and try Amy's!

I served this soupy chili on flour tortillas, topped with cheese, sour cream, and fresh tomatoes. It was messy. Deliciously messy. I was thankful I was only eating with my husband. Crunchy tortilla chips would be wonderful with the chili too. Or you can skip the taco part and just eat it by the spoonful.

However you eat this, you will be licking your plate and wishing for more!

Spicy Eggplant Chili Tacos
Serves 4

1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 poblano peppers, chopped
4 pimento peppers, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin, ground
1 teaspoon oregano, dried
1/2 cup red wine
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced
1 can Amy's Spicy Organic Chili
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup shredded colby, cheddar, pepperjack, or similar cheese
1 medium tomato, diced
1/4 cup sour cream
8 flour tortillas

1. Heat about 1 teaspoon oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, then garlic, then peppers as you get them chopped. Stir in the cumin and oregano. Let cook for about 3 minutes or until the peppers are soft, adding small amounts of water to prevent sticking. 
2. Stir in the red wine; simmer until reduced to almost nothing. 
3. Stir in the canned tomatoes and the vegetable broth and simmer over medium-low heat for 7 minutes. 
4. Puree the mixture with an immersion blender and then return to medium-low heat.
5. Stir in the cilantro, canned chili and eggplant. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the eggplant is cooked thoroughly but still holds a firm shape. 
6. If serving tacos, warm the tortillas in the microwave for a few seconds. Spoon the chili onto the tortilla. Top with some shredded cheese, sour cream, and fresh tomato. Fold the tortilla around the filling and attempt to eat. When it gets too messy, just use a fork and knife to cut a piece of tortilla with each bite. Yum!

Polenta Eggplant Casserole

It's the State Fair in Minnesota. Twelve days of fun, friends, and of course, food.

For those of you not familiar with the MN State Fair, it's HUGE! Over 1.7 million people attend the Fair every year. It's the second largest state fair in the United States.

The MN State Fair was originally designed as a way for farmers to showcase their work and learn new techniques to improve their work. Today, the Fair is more about farmers teaching city-dwellers about farming.

mmm.... Cheese curds...

I *love* the MN State Fair. If I could, I would live at the Fair. In fact, I did when I performed for 4-H Arts-In in high school. This year, I'm going 8 out of the 12 days. To be fair (he he), I work at my sister-in-law's family's rootbeer stand. But I usually arrive for my shift early and stay late to spend much needed quality time at the Fair.

While the food isn't the most important part of the Fair for me, it is for many people. The Fair offers more than 450 different foods and over 300 food concessions. The food isn't necessarily good, but quirky. From the deep-fried candy bars to deep fried pickles to chocolate covered bacon to everything on a stick, no one leaves the Fair hungry. And, if you haven't noticed, the Fair isn't really known for healthy food, which brings me to this recipe. I've spent a couple days at the Fair already, and I can feel the cheese curds, lepricon legs, and Sweet Martha's cookies congeiling in my veins. I am craving pure food. Food without fat, salt, or sugar. I need to detoxify my body on my days off.

So, that being said, this recipe is kind of bland. When I heated up the leftovers, I added some cheddar cheese and the dish bursted with flavor. You might want to add the cheese right away - stir in cheddar cheese with the veggies before spreading on top of the polenta to create yummy cheesy goodness.

Also, I was on a time crunch when making this dish. I had 30 minutes to put this in the oven. If I had more time, I would have cooked the vegetables in the tomato sauce before adding to the pan.

This dish makes a lot! And it heats up really well. It is also really flexible. I just used the veggies I had on hand. Be creative!

Polenta Eggplant Casserole
Serves 8
2 1/2 cup milk/water (I used 1 cup rice milk and 1 1/2 cups water - if you use whole milk, just use 1/2 cup and 2 cups water)
1 cup coarse cornmeal/polenta
Salt and Pepper to taste
6 cups chopped vegetables (I used Eggplant, kale, assorted peppers, carrots, and zucchini)
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium tomatoes
2 cups tomato/marinara sauce
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 cups cheddar cheese (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 
2. Bring the milk and water and a large pinch of salt to boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. 
3. Pour in the polenta in a steady stream, whisking to prevent lumps.
4. Turn heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes, whisking frequently. Cook until the polenta resembles thick oatmeal. Spread the polenta in an 8 x 11 inch baking dish.
5. Cut up all the vegetables, basil, and garlic. Mix together with the cheese, if using. (Optional: cook the vegetables in a medium saucepan with the tomato sauce for about 15 minutes or until soft; then, stir in cheese and continue with step 7.)
6. Spread the tomato sauce over the top of the polenta.
7. Spread the vegetable mixture over the polenta. 
8. Slice the tomatoes in thin slices and layer on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt, pepper, and dried thyme.
9. Cover the pan and place in oven. Bake for about 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until the vegetables are done. (Note: if you cooked the vegetables first, cut the baking time in half.) Enjoy!