Holiday Indulgence Rx, Part 1

Back to reality, dear readers: it's January and the party's over.
Back to work or school -- or in my case both, since my day job is journalism professor -- and time for a reckoning between our bodies and our bathroom scales. (Or whatever other method you may have for keeping track of your girth, such as how tight the skinny jeans have become.)
It's only a couple of pounds extra that I've managed to acquire, but the older I get, the harder it is to deal with even that amount of new weight.

So now what? Here's my first idea about how to shape up this January: GO VEGAN FOR A DAY EACH WEEK. 

Served with cornbread and white wine, yum!

Yes, you could be satisfied with vegetarian-for-a-day, but many of my readers already are vegetarian or at least "flexitarian." Also vegan cuts out dairy, which means cutting out cheese -- a big calorie booster when we eschew meat.
Even if you're not ready to commit to a vegan diet, try the following recipe. I made it for our New Year's Day dinner, with black-eyed peas (a good-luck food for 1/1 among my kinfolk). You can substitute any other bean. Also feel free to play with the proportions, adding more beans if you like. Throw in additional veggies, and/or nuts other than pine.

Recipe: Quinoa with Spinach, Beans and Avocado

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa (may substitute brown rice, couscous or other grain)

2 c salted water

2 c fresh spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces

1 c shredded carrot

1 c canned beans, rinsed and drained (such as kidney beans, black beans or black-eyed peas)

Salt, pepper and garlic powder, to taste

3 T olive oil, or more if desired

Juice of one-half lime

3 T pine nuts, toasted

1 or one-half avocado, cut into bite-size chunks

Instructions:

Cook the quinoa in the salted water until all the liquid is absorbed. Meanwhile, place spinach and carrots in a large mixing bowl. When quinoa is done, add to spinach mixture and toss well to wilt the spinach. Mix in beans, seasonings, olive oil and lemon juice. Spoon into a serving bowl and top with pine nuts and avocado.

More winter comfort food: Braised aromatic vegetables

Braised veggies with mushroom sauce

We fell totally in love with these flavors. (One secret: sneak just a little bit of butter in the braising liquid.) We had it as a side dish with broiled fish, and had leftovers to enjoy later. For vegetarians, don't use chicken broth in the braising liquid, and consider this dish as a main course, accompanied by whole grain bread and a green salad.

Recipe: Braised Fennel and Leeks

Serves 4 (side)

Ingredients:

1 ½ c chicken or vegetable broth

½ c white wine

½ c water

4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced in half

½ c chopped onion

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried tarragon

2 T butter (optional)

Salt and freshly ground or cracked black pepper, to taste

3 leeks, white parts only, trimmed and sliced in half lengthwise

2 fennel bulbs, cored and cut into quarters lengthwise

2 c sliced mushrooms, any type

3 T olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Prepare the braising liquid in a large, deep sided frying pan: add the liquids along with the garlic, chopped onions, herbs, butter (if using) and seasonings. Cover and bring to a boil.

Arrange leeks and quartered fennel in the pan. Bring liquid back to boiling, then reduce heat to low, cover and cook until vegetables are tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a smaller frying pan, heat olive oil over medium and add mushrooms. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, add salt and pepper and remove from heat.

To serve, carefully remove fennel and leeks to a platter; top with sautéed mushrooms.

Note: Strain the braising liquid to remove solids and store broth in the refrigerator for another use—it will be quite flavorful.

Vegan Grill Recipes -- Yummy whether you're eating vegan or not!

Grilling doesn't have to rely on meat alone. While steak and burgers may be the first things that come to mind when thinking of outdoor cooking, there are plenty of interesting options beyond the standard grilled zucchini, peppers and portobello mushrooms (not that there's anything wrong with those reliable grillable veggies).
Food & Wine Magazine's website has a nifty set of vegan recipes for the grill, which range from Grilled Polenta and Radicchio (in photo) to Spinach Fettuccine with Grilled Summer Squash or Grilled Broccoli and Bread Salad with Pickled Shallots.
Click here to check out these recipes, and more.

Morels, fiddlehead ferns and an A+ vegan dish

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One night this week I had no plans for dinner and no time to go to the grocery store. We've all been there, right?
Luckily, I had a couple of special springtime veggies in the fridge from a visit to the market last weekend: a small amount of morel mushrooms and an equally tiny portion of fiddlehead ferns.
With some garlic, a leek, a handful of fresh spinach and another kind of mushroom that were on hand, I was able to whip up a vegan dish (served over brown rice, which I keep in the microwavable bags, frozen) that my husband was crazy about.
The one little "cheat" that made it extra delicious was that I added about 1 T of pure unsalted butter at the very end of the cooking process.
The rest of the ingredients:
Salt and pepper
2 T of capers, drained
1 T toasted pine nuts

Mixed Greens & Dinner

Last night I made this excellent side dish: mixed Southern greens sauteed with mushrooms, shallots and red pepper. The greens were in a convenient bag, pre-cut and pre-washed, a combo of mustard, turnip and collards.
To go with it (bottom photo) we had a small piece of artic char, black-eyed peas and a piece of whole grain garlic toast. And I finished off a bottle of cabernet sauvignon we'd had open for a couple of days.

Recipe: Mixed Greens Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 T canola oil
1 8-ounce package sliced mushrooms
1 red bell pepper, coarsely diced
2 shallots, minced
2 T minced garlic
1/2 of a 16-ounce package of precut greens, or Swiss chard
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth or stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash cayenne pepper, optional
3 T good quality balsamic vinegar, plus more at the table

Instructions:
Heat oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, pepper and shallots. Stir-fry for 4-5 minutes until the veggies start to brown. Stir in garlic and reduce heat to medium.
Add half of the greens and a half cup of broth. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes until greens start to wilt. Uncover and add remaining greens and broth, plus seasonings (except vinegar).
Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until greens are tender, about 5 more minutes.
Stir in vinegar and serve.

Whole grains and good-for-you protein -- a recipe to smack your lips over!

My friend Mary Ann Barnes (an MD with a specialty in nutrition) sent me this recipe that combines whole grains with soy crumbles, and the finished dish tastes great. If you're not a fan of soy, you could substitute chunks of cooked chicken, salmon or shrimp. With the tofu, you have a vegan dish, however, which is great to work into your diet at least a couple times a week.
I also like to add a sprinkle of chopped peanuts or cashews right before serving, which gives you more protein and the healthy fats found in nuts.

Recipe: Asian Salad with Brown Rice, Soy and Snow Peas

(Serves 6)

Ingredients:

1 12-ounce package soy crumbles (such as Smart Ground)

3 tablespoons sesame seeds

8 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

8 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

4 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 cups cooked brown rice

8 ounces snow peas, sliced into 1 – 2 inch long pieces

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into 1 – 2 inch pieces

1 bunch green onions, chopped, divided (reserving some for garnish).

Lettuce or mixed greens

Instructions:

1. Crumble soy into a medium bowl. Add sesame seeds, vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce. Microwave on high for 1 – 1 ½ minutes, stopping to stir once. Add brown rice and allow to sit for 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place snow peas in a medium bowl and microwave for 1 minute, or until bright green but still crisp.

3. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and toss until well blended. Serve on a bed of lettuce or mixed greens and garnish with reserved onions.

White beans with tomatoes over polenta -- so easy, so delicious

This vegan dish starts with an aromatic-veggie base—aromatics include onions, celery, carrots and similar fragrant and flavorful vegetables. You add peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach along with cannellini beans. Spoon this sauce over polenta disks sauteed in a little olive oil, but it would be just as tasty tossed with multigrain pasta (such as penne or farfalle) or piled on a mound of rice.

White beans, tomatoes and aromatic vegetables with polenta
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups diced or chopped aromatic vegetables*
½ cup chopped red pepper
3 T canola or olive oil
1 8-ounce package sliced mushrooms
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juices
1 18-ounce can cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained
2 T chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash of cayenne pepper or ground chipotle chili (optional)
¼ cup lightly chopped fresh basil leaves (optional)

* Any combination of onions, leeks, shallots, garlic, carrots and/or celery

Instructions:
Heat oil over medium heat in a large frying pan; add aromatic vegetables and red pepper; cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
Add mushrooms and 2-3 T of water, cover and cook 5 minutes. Uncover, stir, cover again and cook for 5 more minutes.
Add beans, tomatoes and thyme, stir well and cook until heated through.
Add spinach and seasonings, stir until spinach is wilted.
You can also serve over pasta or brown rice.

Faithful readers will recognize this recipe from late summer, but I think it’s wonderful on a rainy night in late fall. So I’m posting it again.