French Bean & Spelt Berry Salad ~ The Perfect Vegan Meal

I've made it a habit to shop the liquidation stores in town.  We have about four or five in the area and often there are many items I use to cook with that are marked down considerably.  Sometimes the packaging is damaged or the original price was just too high and the items didn't sell well in the local markets.  That is a big deterrent when people are just beginning to incorporate plant based cooking in their diet.  Organic fruits, vegetables, and many products are more expensive in the grocery stores.  It doesn't have to be that way though.

Yes, if you shop in the conventional grocery stores, it will be more expensive to eat whole foods. But, shopping the local farmer's markets and buying what's in season, getting to know the local gardeners and farmers, shopping the discount stores like the liquidation stores, and growing your own veggies, are good ways to keep the cost low.  Many items seem to be more expensive at first glance.  For example, Celtic Sea Salt usually costs about $6-$8 a pound.  But, that pound lasts me for months and months.  I use coconut milk quite often, the only thing I use from a can, and the brand I like is usually $2.29 a can.  I can find it now & then at the liquidation store for sometimes as low as $1 a can.  I usually buy all they have and stock up. I use pre-made organic, low sodium vegetable broth for cooking my beans.  I used to be happy when it was two for $5.  I've found it in the liquidation store as low as ten for $1.

Recently there were a lot of Bob's Red Mill products on the shelf.  I picked up some French beans I'd never seen before, Flageolet Beans, and there was a great recipe right on the back of the bag.  It's the perfect vegan meal, "protein, greens, & grains". The original recipe calls for Kamut berries, but I used some spelt berries I have already.  Any whole grain or combination of grains can be substituted for the Kamut berries such as:  whole oat groats, hull-less whole barley, wheat berries, long grain brown rice, or spelt berries.  I substituted fresh beet greens for the spinach and a fresh white onion from the garden for the green onion.

French Bean & Kamut Berries Salad

2 cups cooked Kamut berries or other whole grains
2 cups cooked Flageolet Beans
1 cup green onions, chopped
1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 cups spinach or other fresh greens, chopped

Vinaigrette

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 TB white wine vinegar (I used organic apple cider vinegar.)
2 TB Dijon mustard
1/4 cup shallots, minced
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Tarragon (I used fresh rosemary)
1 TB fresh parsley, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper.

Soak beans, about 1 cup, overnight.  Drain water and rinse off beans.  Place beans in a pot covered with plenty of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer placing lid on pot.  cook beans until beans are soft, about 1 hour.

Place Kamut or other Spelt berries, about 11/2 cups in a pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and place lid on pot.  Cook until berries are soft, about 1 hour.

While the beans and berries are cooking, mix vinaigrette ingredients together in a large bowl.  Chop veggies and place in bowl.

Drain beans and berries and rinse in cold water. Measure out 2 cups of both the beans and berries and add them to the other ingredients in the bowl.

Blend together  all ingredients and chill for a few hours or overnight.  Serves about 10.

~~Enjoy~~

Quinoa with Roasted Squash and Greens

I took the rest of the roasted squash, a pumpkin, a delicata, and the butternut squash and cut them up in about 1 inch cubes and tossed them with some quinoa.  Then I sauteed a red onion, rough chopped portabello, some fresh green beans, garlic, a little sea salt and pepper and then added chopped Swiss chard and tossed it about until the chard was just wilted.

Cholcolate Chip Cookie Pie - Dairy Free and Whole Grain

From Zennie:

"I make a horribly unhealthy chocolate pie that everyone loves but I am not supposed to eat 90% of what is in it. I have tried to play with it to make it semi healthy but I fail. Think one of you ladies can give it a shot? If it is white or packaged I am not supposed to eat it or limit it greatly.

The pie itself is:

1/2 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
stick of butter
dash vanilla
two eggs

mix that up and pour it into a pie shell filled with chocolate chips and nuts. If you use less then 3/4 cup of each the pie loses its zing.  We love this but I am actively trying to eat healthier so if you can give it a whack I would appreciate it.

If you look at recipe it is basically just a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I somehow messed up years ago and started baking it in pie form instead."

The above is a request from a poster in a forum I visit.  This is my response.  I had fun taking this recipe and editing the ingredients to whole grain and dairy free.

A chocolate chip cookie recipe gone right, I'd say.  I can imagine how rich this is using the butter and eggs.  At first I thought of a non dairy cheezecake, but I'll do that next time.  I made this as close to what I think you described.  Hope you like it, we sure do.  I omitted the dairy by replacing the butter with coconut oil and used the Bob's Red Mill egg replacer. I used whole grain brown rice flour for the crust and whole spelt flour for the filling. I used 3/4 cup of Sucanat instead of the ½ cup white and ½ brown sugar.  I used wheat sweetened chocolate chips.  They are sweetened with barley malt instead of refined sugars.

I think this is the pie she described.

The crust

Dry Ingredients

2 C Spelt flour or other whole grain flour (I used brown rice flour for this one)
¼ cup Sucanat
1 Tbl Arrowroot powder
1 tsp Baking powder
¼ tsp Cardamom powder
¼ Sea salt, or to taste

Wet Ingredients

1/3 C Safflower oil
2 Tbl Raw agave
2 Tbl Apple juice, fresh (Just put an apple in the blender for fresh juice)
1 tsp Vanilla extract

Place dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and mix well.  Place wet ingredients in the blender and blend well.  Add wet to dry, mixing well with hands, crumbling the ingredients together.  Press into the bottom of a pie pan, or spring pan. Bake at 350° for about 10 minutes.

The filling

½ cup whole spelt flour
¾ cup sucanat
½ cup coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
Egg replacer for the equivalent of 2 eggs

Then I roasted 3/4 cup coarse chopped pecans and put them in the bottom of the baked crust.  I added 3/4 cup wheat sweetened chocolate chips. Then I put the filling ingredients in the blender and poured the mixture on the pecans and chocolate chips.  I baked it at 350º for about 35 minutes.  I got a big chewy chocolate chip cookie in a pie pan.

I made it a bit healthier and it may not be what you're looking for, but we sure like it. Thanks for the idea.  I am going to try this same base, the crust, nuts, and chocolate chips with a non dairy cheezecake filling.  I bet that would be really nice too.

Artichoke-Chili Bisque and a Little Tree Climbing

Been having some busy days, haven't had time to sit down and blog.  My granddaughter and her mom moved to town, I am so happy about that.  I can see her anytime now and have some good grandma time.  My honey and I spent some time having fun together last weekend, including a visit to the Tree to Tree Adventure Park. This is us 30 or more feet in the air.

I took these swings very slowly, he jumped. Notice, the feet are in the air.

It was a great test of self trust.  I did three courses, my husband did all of them.  Although they make sure you are safe and most people can do this, it is physically demanding.  It's Thursday, we did this Sunday and my arms and thighs are finally not sore.  I am looking forward to doing this again.

What did I make for dinner?

Last weekend we ventured out to Puget Island to a friend's house for dinner.  She's a kitchen witch, not a vegetarian, but a whole foods kitchen witch, a flexitarian. She doesn't use processed foods and when she does prepare animal protein, it's from a local source.  She knows lots about herbs and preparing wild greens.  I'm learning quite a bit from her.  I love to give her vegetables from my garden and then see what she creates with them. We made dinner together Saturday afternoon.  She marinated some fresh tuna fillets, wrapped in bacon, they looked like little fillet Mignon. She seared them gently in avocado oil with a little fresh thyme and sage. She also made a barley salad with black beans and fresh vegetables: corn, zucchini, chilis, onions, garlic, and fresh herbs.  I contributed vegetables for the salad, a dressing made from oranges and tahini, and a fresh artichoke-chili bisque.

Fresh garden salad with Orange Tahini dressing, Vegetable Barley salad, Artichoke-Chili Bisque, and Tuna Fillet

Artichoke-Chile Bisque (Vegan)

10-12 small artichokes, steamed and the outer tough leaves removed
6 roasted Anaheim chilis, skin and seeds removed
1 cup roasted cashews (I roasted raw cashews gently in a saute pan)
3-4 cloves fresh garlic
seas salt, dill, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, black pepper, and shoyu to taste
3-4  cups filtered water (Start out with 3 cups water then add more depending on the consistency you like, I like it kind of thick.

Blended together until smooth.  This can be eaten warm or cold. 

We also tried sauteing squash flowers for the first time.  I picked a variety of squash flowers Saturday morning, zucchini, summer squash, delicata, and pumpkin.  She sauteed them in the oil from the tuna fillets.  They were pretty fun to prepare, they get puffy again every time you turn them.  I missed getting a picture of them.  They were so good, they didn't last too long.  I have heard you can stuff them, I will try some again soon.

Vegetable Wheat Berry Risotto

I love Sequim in July - Lavender touches all my senses

While in Sequim this weekend I picked up some Hard Red Spring Wheat Berries from their local farmer's market.  I bought a couple different varieties from this vendor, Nash's Organic Produce.  I made a nice wheat berry salad while I was up there with fresh produce from my friend's garden and some of my own.  Yesterday I made some wheat berry risotto. This was very easy!  Anyone can make this effortless dish.  It does require soaking the berries overnight, so planning ahead is a good idea.  After the berries have soaked, the prep work is about 15 minutes. This is a high protein, vegan meal. The wheat berries tested out at 14% protein.  It can be served as an entree or a side dish.

Vegetable Wheat Berry Risotto

Vegetable Wheat Berry Risotto

About 2 TBL olive oil, I used garlic chili oil I made a couple weeks ago
1 medium to large onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1½ cups wheat berries (pearl barley would substitute just fine.)
1 medium zucchini, diced in half inch cubes
4 cups low sodium vegetable broth (can be combined with water wheat berries
soaked in to make up the four cups of liquid)
2 TBL golden balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup tart juice, (cranberry, pomegranate, or apple cider would work)
1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiana cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste, I used cayenne pepper for a little extra zip.

Soak wheat berries overnight or for at least three hours.  Rinse and reserve the liquid for stock.

Heat up the broth to almost a boil for adding to wheat berries a little later.

Saut­è onion and garlic in oil about 2-4 minutes.

Add the wheat berries and sautè for about five minutes allowing the wheat berries to brown a bit. When I did this my kitchen had a toasty nutty smell, it was wonderful.

Add the broth, juice, vinegar, and zucchini and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover the pot.  Simmer for at least an hour.  I like my wheat berries al dentè so that there is some texture.  If you like them a little softer, you may have to cook a bit longer.  I simmer until almost all the liquid is absorbed leaving a nice gravy consistency.

Remove lid and add the cheese and cook a little bit longer, about ten minutes.

Barley with Tomato, Capers and Kalamata Olives

This is another of the test recipes for The Flexitarian Cookbook.  It is supposed to be made with Farro which is a whole grain similar to wheat berries or barley.  I couldn't find it in town and when I looked it up online it was $11 a pound. Yikes! I substituted pearl barley without a problem.  I really like this grain dish, it's very flavorful with unexpected flavors, as my husband called it.  It's a warm or cold whole grain dish with a zesty flavor and great texture.  It's very easy to make, the prep time for everything except the barley is about 20 minutes.

It's a very simple meal with roasted red peppers, garlic, fresh parsley, fresh tomatoes, capers, and kalamata olives.  I served it on a bed of fresh picked beet greens.  This salad will make future appearances at my house.

Fresh Wild Salmon with Quinoa & Roasted Vegetables and Fresh Garden Peas

Fresh wild Salmon poached in vegetable broth, Quinoa with roasted vegetables: red pepper, fennel, carrots, & onions, and fresh peas and garlic tops from my garden lightly steamed in the vegetable broth I used for the salmon. 

Vegetarian Pizza

 
In the past it was commonly believed that pizza was not really a healthy food. Part of the reason for this is that it was put in the same group as other fast foods, such as hamburgers and fries. This is a major misconception, as pizza can actually be a highly nutritional meal. There are health benefits to pizza, especially home made where I can control the ingredients.

I made a crust with whole wheat flour. Soy, rice, or bean flour can be used for a gluten free pizza.  I brushed a little olive oil on the crust, spread some tomato paste, sprinkled some toasted garlic and oregano, caramelized onions, chopped tomatoes, fresh zucchini and crookneck squash slices, organic mozzarella cheese and chunks of sesame garlic tempeh marinated in shoyu.  I baked it for about 20 minutes at 425º.  Just omit the cheese for a vegan pizza.

Pizza Crust

1 tablespoon yeast
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon agave
1 tablespoon oil
2½ to 3 cups whole wheat flour
cornmeal

Soften yeast in  2 tablespoons warm water in a large mixing bowl.  In about 5 minutes when the yeast is dissolved, add remaining 1 cup water, salt, agave, oil, and 2 cups flour, mixing until dough can be formed into a ball.  Turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead in remaining flour as necessary to make a smooth dough.  Knead for 5 to 10 minutes.

Place dough in an oiled bowl, I used coconut oil.   Turn so that entire surface is greased.  Cover with a cloth, and let rise in a warm spot a minimum of 2 hours or as long as 10 hours.  When you are ready to assemble the pizza, punch down the dough, let rest for 5 to 10 minutes to make handling easier.  Divide dough in half and shape.  Bake on a baking sheet or pizza pan dusted with cornmeal.  This dough can be prepared and frozen for use at a later date.

Black Quinoa Salad with Red Pepper and Bok Choy

Now this is an original recipe.   While browsing through the bulk grains at People's a couple weeks ago, I noticed some black quinoa.   I like black rice, I should probably like this, so I bought some and finally tried it today.   I cooked up a cup and let it sit and cool for a bit.   Then I added chopped red bell pepper, a couple diced cloves of garlic, about a teaspoon of ginger juice, a tablespoon of chili oil, a tablespoon of flax oil, a little lemon juice, shoyu, and a dash of Celtic sea salt and cayenne pepper.   I had about half a head of bok choy from last week's market so I sliced it very thin, kind of a chiffonade.  I also added some chopped parsley and cilantro, both picked in my garden today.  It's has a nice zesty flavor and it's pretty too.  It should be really good tomorrow after sitting in the cooler all night letting all the flavors meld together.

Buckwheat Teff Pancakes - Vegan Sunday Brunch

While browsing through my Vegan World Fusion Cuisine cookbook yesterday looking for a fun way to use my beets, I noticed a recipe for buckwheat pancakes.   I love buckwheat pancakes, I have since I was small.   They have much more body and flavor than the traditional white flour pancakes.  Of course they do, whole grains have more texture and flavor than over-processed white flour.  I didn't have quite enough buckwheat, but I did have some teff.  I ground some teff and used half a cup of buckwheat and half a cup of teff instead of 1 cup buckwheat.   I didn't have any applesauce, as called for in the recipe, so I just threw a small apple in the blender.  I served them with a drizzle of pure maple syrup and fresh fruit salad made with papaya, kiwi, plum, avocado, and lime juice.

Buckwheat Teff Pancakes with Fresh Fruit

Benevolent Buckwheat Pancakes

Vegan World Fusion Cuisine, page 182

Dry

1 C Buckwheat flour

1 C Spelt flour

3 TB Sucanat

1 TB Flax seed, ground

1 TB Baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp Sea salt

Wet

1 ¼ C Filtered water

¾ C non dairy milk (soy, oat, almond, hemp, rice)

2 TB Sunflower oil

2 TB Apple sauce, unsweetened (chopped fresh apple will work just fine)

Pinch Cinnamon Powder

Place Wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well. I used the blender as I used a whole apple. Combine the Dry ingredients in another bowl and mix well.  Combine all ingredients in one bowl.  Grill as you do any pancakes on a lightly greased grill. Flip over as the bubbles form and pop, about 3 minutes on each side.

Serve with warm fruit, jam, almond butter, or whatever you like on your pancakes.

Millet, Quinoa, & Peas - Seaweed Spectacular Salad

Pretty easy meal last night, Quinoa, Millet, caramelized onions, a little flax oil, some frozen organic peas, and pan roasted almond slivers, served on a cabbage leaf. A whole grain serving at only 133 calories per serving. It's another 'healthy snack day' at work. This is my contribution.

Millet, Quinoa, & Peas

Antioxidant Seaweed Spectacular Salad - A recipe I got to test for the Flexitarian Cookbook coming out soon. Sea vegetables, spinach, orange, red, & yellow peppers with a nice dressing made of seaweed, sesame oil, garlic, and miso.

Antioxidant Seaweed Spectacular Salad

Dinner this week - Whole Grains

There's been a lot of talk about whole grains in my world this week. It got me wondering if we are getting enough whole grains in our diet. I do try to make brown rice or pasta now & then, but I probably don't do it enough. That's easy to remedy, so, this weekend I made some quinoa AND millet for our meals this week. These are kind of tricky to work with together as they both have different cooking times and if I am not careful, I can measure them out and forget which is which. Can you tell the difference?

The Quinoa is on the left, the Millet on the right. The only difference is that the millet is a bit more yellow, but not much. I buy these in bulk and make sure to put them in their jars as soon as I get home. Those little twist ties come off those bags and it is very difficult to tell these grains apart until they are cooked.

The Quinoa has a simmer time of 10-15 minutes. The millet has a cooking time of 25-30 minutes. If I get these mixed up, as I have done, I can have a mess. One is over cooked and the other under cooked. I use sticky notes to remind which is which. I cooked one cup of Quinoa and one cup of millet. Here's a SITE with grain cooking times for your reference. When I fluffed the grains as you do rice. I used a little garlic chili fax oil, about a tablespoon for each grain. I diced and sauteed two yams in coconut oil until tender and a little browned and set them aside. I then sauteed sliced red onion and diced red pepper together until the onions were carmelized. I added a little balsamic vinegar into the pan and put the yams back in. I added the cooked grains and tossed together. I served the grains on a collard green. I often use the collard greens as wraps just like a torilla.

 

So, no surprise I made some beans this week too. Our main source of fiber and protein besides all the vegetables we eat. I cooked some pinto beans this week. Very simple, Celtic sea salt, fresh ground pepper, diced onions, garlic and celery. I didn't do too much different other than add some lime juice before adding the vegetable broth. That should enhance the flavor a bit. I thought I would do something different this week and provide you with some cooking times. I was talking to a friend of mine the other day and she told me one of her biggest problems was cooking her beans the right amount of time. She has problems getting them too soft or too hard. She said she has never gotten pinto beans right. As long as I have been cooking, I still consult a chart before cooking my beans or grains, especially if I haven't used that particular variety in awhile.

How to Cook Dried Beans