Raised on the Farm

Steam Sautéd Carrots

Daddy grew plenty of carrots in his huge vegetable garden every year. Stored in the root cellar they would last for months, albeit growing a few wrinkles. The orange roots were mostly supporting players in those days; never cast in the lead. Mom used them in salads, soups and stews, but primarily she nestled them along with potatoes next to a long simmered chuck roast. They also made somewhat frequent appearances raw. When she wasn’t sure what was available for lunch, they were the token veg in the guise of celery and carrot sticks. Probably parked next to the cheese and crackers that were always available.

So here we are in November, and I’m thinking that carrots might be able to segue into an official Thanksgiving side dish. What makes a great holiday side dish in my book? They need to be independent characters, more or less capable of cooking themselves, because I’m wrestling with turkey and gravy at the last minute. It’s also quite desirable for them to cook quietly on the stove top, as the oven tends to be busy baking my grandmother’s mashed potato dressing and roasting Brussel sprouts.

These steam sauted carrots meet this criteria quite nicely. Once the ingredients are prepped, they simmer to tenderness on their own, then brown a bit, uncovered, as the liquid cooks off. The carrots gain depth of flavor from the miso, sesame oil and fish sauce, finished with a hit of acidity from the rice vinegar and lemon. Stir in the fresh herbs at the end and they are ready for the table.

Today, while carrots are no kale or cauliflower in terms of popularity, they have gained considerably more respect as a solo vegetable. Roasted whole with accompaniments such as miso and honey, or tahini, they step up into that long coveted lead role as the vegetable on the plate. Some plant based eaters even stretch their credibility considerably by parking them into buns as “hot dogs.” But I’ll travel a fair distance out of my way to avoid hot dogs, whether carrot or the real thing… Today though, I’m using a steam/saute combo cooking method.

Whatever bounty graces your Thanksgiving table this year, I wish you a blessed, lovely day with family and friends. Side dishes aside, that’s what Thanksgiving is all about.

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Steam Sauted Carrots

Slightly browned and tender cuts of carrot, with deep flavor from miso, sesame, fish sauce and lemon. Topped with green onion and herbs for freshness.

Prep Time30

Cook Time15

Total Time45

Course: Side Dish, Vegetable

Cuisine: Fusion

Keyword: carrots

Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 tsp diced ginger root
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp white miso
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp fish sauce
1/3 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup chopped green onion
2 tsp lemon zest
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Melt the coconut oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Add the ginger root and stir lightly for a minute or so. Add the carrots, miso, honey, vinegar, lemon juice, sesame oil, fish sauce and broth. Mix and bring to a boil, cover, and lower the heat to simmer. Steam until just tender.
Uncover the skillet and increase the heat to medium high, allowing the liquid to cook off. As the carrots begin to brown and glaze, stir in the onions, lemon zest and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.

Notes

63 Calories per serving
Total Fat: 2.6 g
Sat Fat: 1.3 g
Cholesterol: 0 g
Sodium: 247 mg
Total Carbohydrate 8.5 g
Fiber: 1.8 g
Total sugar: 4.8 g
Protein: 1.4 g

Nutrition calculated by VeryWellFit

Roasted Fruit with Mini Almond Shortbread

“What do you think of when you hear the word dessert? Does your mind automatically go to ice cream, cookies, pies, or other decadent treats?… Let’s reset our thinking and consider fresh fruit — served without any preparation or garnishes — as dessert, shall we?”

https://www.thekitchn.com/in-defense-of-fruit-for-dessert-221163

Christine Gallery

Health minded folks have tried to hawk this concept to the American public for years…upon years…

Please note that the author of this piece was raised in a culture that did not include many sweets other than fresh fruit. I, on the other hand, was raised in a midwestern farm culture where high quality fresh fruit was relatively sparse, while ice cream, cookies, pies and other decadent treats were around in abundance. The particular abundance on the farm leaned toward dairy and egg based desserts such as custards, bread pudding, trifle and cream puffs…

My first exposure to fresh fruit as dessert was at Schiavone’s, a local Italian fine dining restaurant. After you had stuffed yourself with whatever rich Italian-American dish you’d ordered, a platter of fresh fruit appeared. As I recall, though, that platter also held nutmeats and slices of delicious cheese, the requisite fats needed to fulfill the potential of all that fresh fruit! Which is pretty much where I am at today. Yes, a dish of fresh figs is amazing, when tossed with goat cheese crumbles and pistachios, then drizzled with honey. Super sweet dates are luscious, split open and stuffed with almond butter and chocolate chips. And the list goes on. Is it fresh fruit? Yes, but accompanied by sweet and fatty friends.

It just needs a little something- a bit of sweetness, a bit of richness, a hit of acidity. Whatever, you can fill in the blank for your own taste preferences. Today I’m filling in the blank with a hint of honey, a touch of fat, spices and balsamic vinegar. All mixed into the fruit before it roasts in the oven for just a few minutes, softening it and bringing out all the caramel notes that fresh fruit desperately tries to keep hidden. The roasted fruit is sometimes a dessert all on its own, but I often nestle in a few tiny almond shortbreads, cut out using Mom’s container of miniature cookie cutters.

The roasting technique is versatile, working well with whatever seasonal fruit one might have. Summer fruits like berries, peaches, cherries and figs? Check. Fall and winter fruits like grapes, pears, apples? Check. I sometimes add chopped nuts into the mix to be roasted, other times the finished fruit might be topped with a nut cream, or whipped cream. Or it might be just plain roasted fruit. The shortbreads freeze well and are easy to grab from the freezer to enrich the fruit when one so chooses.

My conclusion is that for this time in my dietary life, fruit-as-dessert is not ready for a solo gig. I could get there, it is possible, but how likely is that? People only live so long, y’know?

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Roast Fruit with Mini Almond Shortbread

A dish of lightly caramelized roasted fruit, enriched with tiny almond shortbread cutouts.

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: almond, fruit, shortbread

Servings: 4

Calories: 196kcal

Ingredients

Roasted Fruit

3 cups fresh fruit, peeled as needed
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp neutral oil (I use avocado oil)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1 pinch ground cloves

Mini Almond Shortbread

1 tsp flax meal
1/3 cup almond flour
3 tbsp white whole wheat flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp neutral oil
1 pinch salt
1/8 tsp baking powder
2 drops almond extract
1 1/2 tsp milk of choice

Instructions

Roasted fruit

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cut the fruit into pieces appropriate to the fruit being used, generally 1/2 to 3/4 inch pieces.
Toss with remaining ingredients and spread out in a greased baking dish. Roast in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until juices are released and fruit is tender and starting to caramelize. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.

Mini Almond Shortbread

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or grease lightly.
In a small cup, mix the flax meal with 2 teaspoons of water and set aside to gel.
Combine the flours, sugar, salt and baking powder in a small mixing bowl. Stir in the oil, extract and vinegar or milk. Mix to a soft dough. Roll out to 1/4-inch thickness, and cut with small shaped cutters or into 1/2-inch squares. Place cut outs onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, til set ad lightly browned on the bottom.

To Serve

Toasted chopped nuts (optional)
Whipped cream/cashew cream (optional)
To serve, spoon the roasted fruit into serving dishes. Tuck 4 mini shortbreads into the serving of fruit. Top with desired garnish, if desired.

Notes

Total Fat: 10.4 g
Sat Fat: 1.2 g
Cholesterol: 0.0
Sodium: 2 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 25.4 g
Fiber. 2.7 g
Added sugars. 16.8 g
Protein: 3.1 g

Abruzzi Hazelnut Chocolate Cake

I have an uncanny memory for the source and location of recipes. Not a skill set that will ever make me rich, I suspect, but handy in the kitchen, given that I easily own at least one hundred cookbooks plus magazines, notebook, recipe box. Let’s see… Is it in the recipe box? A particular cookbook? A magazine? It’s rather like a database in my head. It doesn’t help much, however, when one remembers that the desired recipe is in a small, worn and tattered paperback that belonged to one’s mother-in-law, when the cookbook no longer sits on the shelf. Abruizzi Black Cake was the only recipe we made from this particular volume, and when the book fell apart, it was discarded. Probably. This happened long enough ago that I don’t really have a clue what happened to it, to be honest.

Would the internet come to my rescue, yet again? Keying in “Abruizzi Black Cake,” the first hit was for a web service entitled Eat Your Books. (https://www.eatyourbooks.com) An organized place where one can document their collection of cookbooks online, then search digitally by recipe, ingredient, etc. Which I never knew I needed, given my uncanny memory for exactly the same thing. On the site, I could see just enough to know that the recipe came from The Home Book of Italian Cooking, (https://www.amazon.com/Mama-Mia-Italian-Cookbook-Cooking/dp/0883652161 and contained hazelnuts, chocolate and pantry ingredients. And yes, I already knew that much. But given that I no longer had the book, the remainder of the recipe would remain a mystery for the ages. Unless I wanted to hunt the book down and order it. Which I didn’t, because really, all I wanted to do was bake a cake…

Never one to admit defeat, I simply made a cake. I mostly remember that we had made this cake for company, it included hazelnuts and dark chocolate and was well liked by all. I suspect the cake I turned out is not remotely like the original, which I recall as being richer and denser. Given the title, it probably had considerably more chocolate, melted and mixed throughout the batter. It was probably made with butter… but as long as I was starting from scratch, so to speak, I may as well make it with my preferred olive oil. My version is also lightened with well beaten eggs, minimal sugar and applesauce substituted for part of the oil.

My cake, now renamed Abruzzi Hazelnut Chocolate Cake, turned out to be light, moist and delicious, redolent with the richness of nuts and the slight bitterness of dark chocolate. The top is drizzled with chocolate glaze, a riff on a recipe from www.food.com. (https://www.food.com/recipe/chocolate-glaze-that-hardens-when-cool-155392) Topped with a sprinkle of chopped hazelnuts, it is a beautiful cake. Quick and easy to make, with a better nutrition profile, too. Slices are wrapped and nestled into my freezer, waiting to be the night’s dessert. Maybe at some point I’ll change my mind on ordering the paperback, but for now I’m making this cake when I crave that yummy Italian Nutella flavor combo.

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Abruzzi Hazelnut Chocolate Cake

Light yet rich hazelnut chocolate cake, glazed with chocolate and sprinkled with hazelnuts.

Prep Time35

Cook Time25

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: cake, chocolate, hazelnut

Servings: 10

Ingredients

Cake

2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup hazelnuts, ground to meal consistency
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup almond milk
2 1/2 oz dark chocolate, shaved

Glaze

1 tbsp coconut oil
1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
121/2 to 3 tbsp hot water

Garnish

2 tbsp finely chopped hazelnuts

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan and set aside.
Combine the eggs and sugar in mixer bowl and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Mix in the olive oil, applesauce, and vanilla.
Combine the flours, hazelnuts, baking powder, and salt. Using low speed, add gradually to the mixer bowl alternately with the almond milk to make a well mixed batter. Fold in the shaved chocolate by hand, then pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove to a cooling rack. When cake is cool, run a table knife around the edge, then turn the cake out onto a serving plate.
Mix the confectioner’s sugar with the cocoa powder. Stir in the coconut oil and vanilla. Slowly stir in the hot water until a pourable consistency is reached. Drizzle over the cake in a decorative pattern, then sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts.

Pecan Cinnamon Toast

Serving whole wheat bread was a true priority for Mom. So much so that she drove thirty miles round trip to historic Bear’s Mill to purchase freshly stone ground whole-wheat flour. Amazingly, this beautiful old mill still stands today, with a country store and monthly art events. https://www.bearsmill.org But it didn’t stop there… there was evidently a local bakery in the small town closest to our farm. Mom delivered the flour to the baker, who prepared the dough and baked our bread. Sounds kind of like the story of the little red hen! Except those were the days of fluffy white bread. We weren’t exactly standing in line, begging her for the whole-wheat variety.

So what did I do with Mom’s exceedingly nutritious bread? Whenever possible I toasted it just til golden, slathered it with butter and plastered a thick layer of brown sugar and cinnamon on top. Yes, we’re talking cinnamon toast. It amazes me that I was able to get away with this, actually. Maybe she figured with eggs and juice on the side, it wouldn’t kill me too quickly. I would outlive her, and she would not have to observe the damage to my long-term health…

I now bake my own sourdough spelt loaves, normally. (Mom would be proud.) But I happen to be recovering from surgery at the moment. That, along with the typical hot southwest summer, means that only the most basic cooking activity is taking place in our kitchen right now. I’m offering up hearty thanks to the tremendous Don Guerra, James Beard award winning baker at Barrio Bread, for my delicious Heritage Loaf this week. https://www.barriobread.com Made with natural leaven and local heritage grains, this stunning loaf has the tang of sourdough and comes stenciled with Don’s signature saguaro. And we can easily find it on our community supported agriculture pick-up day. No need for the little red hen.

I apparently have also outgrown spreading my whole-wheat toast with sugar. Fortunately, I can still get that rich cinnamon flavor in a slightly healthier vehicle with my toasted pecan and cinnamon spread. This one’s a quick and easy spread for toast that tastes yummy and lasts us through the morning. There’s nothing quite like the rich buttery flavor of toasted pecans, sweetened with date and maple syrup, spiced with cinnamon and orange zest. Want to make it vegan? Substitute coconut butter or even white miso for the tablespoon of butter-the miso option offers up that sweet-and-salty flavor combo that so many people love.

I spread this thickly on a slice of whole-wheat toast, accompanied by fresh fruit and cappuccino. All the enjoyment, none of the guilt.

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Pecan Cinnamon Toast

Whole wheat toast spread with the rich buttery flavor of toasted pecans, sweetened with date and maple syrup, spiced with cinnamon and orange zest.

Prep Time20

Total Time20

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cinnamon

Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 cup pecans
1 large Medjool date, pitted
1 tbsp Butter or coconut butter, or white miso
1 tsp grated orange zest
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp maple syrup

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pour the pecans into an oven safe dish and toast for 5-7 minutes, until you can smell the toasty aroma. Remove and cool while gathering remaining ingredients.
Put the toasted pecans into the work bowl of the food processor. Pulse to break them up into bits. Add the remaining ingredients and process to make a chunky spread.

Summer Bowl of Oats

Oats were pretty clear-cut in Mom’s kitchen. They were simmered in water ‘til thick and dowsed with brown sugar and milk, or used as a baking ingredient.

No one was making “overnight oats” in those days. Overnight oats do have a predecessor, called Swiss Bircher muesli. However, this recipe called for a fraction of the oats used today. Several tablespoons of oats were soaked in water overnight, squeezed dry and joined by considerably larger amounts of grated fresh apple, chopped nuts and condensed milk at breakfast time. I believe I tried this once, but didn’t find it to be near as internationally delicious as it seemed it should be.

No one is making overnight oats in my kitchen now either, despite their apparent popularity. Cold sodden oats are simply not part of my breakfast routine. I find them to be a bit on the slimy side after their protracted overnight soak… At the same time, I’m certainly not sitting down to a bowl of steaming hot oatmeal given that it’s hot enough to melt cacti here in the desert summer. Thankfully, a terrific recipe developer and cookbook writer named Maria Speck has solved my summer oats problem in her book, Ancient Grains for Modern Meals. (https://mariaspeck.com)

While she calls it muesli, it’s not the Swiss overnight cereal; it’s more of a template than a true recipe. Rolled oats are combined with dried fruit, seeds, nuts and spices in a dry mix, and stored in the pantry. To prepare, the oat mix is combined with an equal amount of milk, then microwaved for about 45 seconds. The dish sits for a few minutes to soften the oats. This makes a delicious room temperature bowl of oats that retains its texture and “chew.” The oats provide a blank canvas for bursts of flavor and texture from the fruit, nuts and spices, and the possible combinations are endless, sweetened and spiced just to the cook’s taste.

The one that sits in my cupboard most frequently includes pecans, tart dried cherries, coconut and bits of shaved dark chocolate, spiced with cinnamon and cardamom. The mixture is sweetened with little nuggets of diced dates rolled in a mixture of brown sugar and almond meal. The morsels of chocolate delightfully melt into hidden pockets of the cereal. (Only one of Ms. Speck’s combinations includes chocolate, but it seems to sneak into all of mine. Truly a mystery.) I add a sprinkle of flax meal and hemp seed after heating for fiber and additional protein, then top it with fresh berries and/or sliced stone fruit and extra pecans.

It’s a delicious breakfast bowl that is quick, remarkably easy and satisfying on hot summer mornings. Not too hot, not too cold… it’s just right.

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5 from 1 vote

Summer Bowl of Oats

Chewy bowl of oats prepared muesli style, with dried cherries, coconut, pecans, and spices.

Prep Time20

Total Time20

Course: Breakfast

Keyword: oats, summer

Servings: 6

Ingredients

Cereal:

2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup chopped pecans
2 tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut
3 tbsp shaved dark chocolate, or mini-chips
1/3 cup dried cherries
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
3 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp almond flour

To Prepare

milk of choice (I use almond milk)
vanilla (optional)

Toppings:

flax meal
hemp seeds
sliced berries or stone fruit
chopped nuts

Instructions

Cereal:

Combine the oats, nuts, coconut, chocolate, salt and spices in a large mixing bowl. Pit and dice the dates. Combine the brown sugar and almond flour, then sprinkle over the dates. Rub the flour and sugar mixture into the dates to coat and separate the pieces. Stir this mix into the oats, and combine well. Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature.

To Prepare individual servings:

Measure out ½ cup of the oat mix into a cereal bowl. Pour ½ cup milk over the cereal, adding a few drop of vanilla extract if desired. Microwave individual servings for approximately 45 seconds. Remove and allow to sit for several minutes to thicken. Sprinkle each bowl with 1 teaspoon each flax meal and hemp seeds, then top liberally with fresh fruit of your choice and chopped nuts.

Cal-Asian Sesame Salad

We just returned from a trip to the central coast of California.

Cultural diversity is not the highpoint of a farm upbringing. I was exposed to plenty of the great outdoors, but not to many places, peoples or cultures. We did take family vacations, but my ideas about the world came primarily from TV and music. Yep, we’re talking some pretty skewed ideas given that sitcoms and LPs were the primary sources of influence… I drove my family nuts listening to the music of California bands of the time. Others of advanced middle age will remember relatively clean-cut boys cruising down Ventura Highway, in a little deuce coup, searching for a surfer girl, only to be waylaid and detained at the Hotel California… (My apologies to younger readers.)

California seemed a foreign country, given the waves of new ideas, music and entertainment that slowly washed over the rest of the nation. While most midwestern types thought crazy originated in California, its cultural influence cannot be denied. And as concerns crazy, I’m pretty certain that these days, the feeling is mutual…

This was my second trip to the Golden State. My childhood image did in fact prove a bit twisted. To begin, this is a huge state, encompassing a multitude of landscapes and lifestyles. It is a unique place, vast and varied, from remote to uber-urban. I see the draw; from wind swept sand dunes to rocky hills to crashing ocean waves of the clearest turquoise, this place is awe inspiringly gorgeous.

Oops. I forgot- this is a food blog, not a travelogue… lucky for me that decades of food trends have also emanated from California, from the 60’s “farm to table” movement to today’s wildly popular avocado toast. Spa cuisine, organic produce, local ingredients, Baja and Hispanic influence, fast food burgers, Asian flavors, fusion cuisine, and Cali-styled pizzas all come to mind. Oh! And don’t forget the wine. My local wine city store will miss me, given the number of bottles we brought home.

I find that these trends most definitely have influenced the meals I prepare at home. I associate my Cal-Asian Sesame Salad with California, and I found variants of it on a number of menus. In some, it’s a slaw-like base, in others a mix of lettuces, with additional vegetables and either chicken or Ahi tuna slices. But what makes it irresistible is the sesame dressing. The flavors are simply addictive. My version is plant heavy, with lettuces, radicchio, edamame and steamed snow peas. Sesame sautéed brown rice makes it substantial, and while I usually include cubes of cooked chicken, it can easily be omitted to make a meatless salad entree. Toasted almonds provide the perfect crunch.

The heat of summer has already arrived in the desert. Cool, crisp, yet substantial salads are best in the heat. Add this one to my repertoire of satisfying summer dinners, for we’ll be serving it often.

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Cal-Asian Sesame Salad

Cool, crisp substantial entree salad with addictive sesame dressing

Prep Time45

Total Time45

Course: Entree, Entree Salad, Main Course

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: cool, salad, sesame

Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 cup cooked brown rice
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp sesame seeds
8 cups baby lettuce mix I add arugula, if not included
1/4 head radicchio
1 1/2 cups shelled frozen edamame, thawed
4 oz snow peas or sugar snap peas
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken breast see below for vegan option
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Dressing

3 tbsp neutral flavored oil I use avacado
1 tbsp toasted Asian sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp Thai fish sauce

Instructions

Heat the 2 teaspoons sesame oil in a medium skillet. Add and panfry the cooked brown rice and sesame seeds, stirring until the mix is lightly toasted. Set aside to cool.
Clean and tea the lettuce mix into large bowl. Thinly shred the radicchio and add to the lettuce. Lightly steam the snow peas and cut in half. (I do this quickly in the microwave.) Add the toasted rice mixture, edamame, snow peas, chicken, green onions and toss to mix.
Whisk the dressing ingredients together until well blended. Dress the salad to your liking, tossing to evenly distribute the dressing. Portion onto 4 dinner plates, and sprinkle with the toasted almonds.

Notes

To make the salad vegan, omit the chicken and increase the amount of edamame to 2 1/2 cups. Substitute coconut aminos for the Thai fish sauce.

479 calories
Total fat: 28.3 g
saturated: 3.4 g
Cholesterol: 1 mg
Sodium: 579 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 36.7 g
Fiber: 11.5 g
Total Sugars: 6.7 g
Protein: 22.1 g

Beer Bean Tostadas with Chili Pesto

A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to impart a specific flavor, to enhance the flavor, or to complement the dish.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condiment

Meat department sticker shock! My friends with meatier diets are suffering this malady in these days of inflationary pricing. The causes are multiple, ranging from labor issues to Covid to supply chains. One can read up on these factors til the cows come home… (Pun intended.) The fact remains that due to the high price of animal products, many are unable to sustain those meaty diets right now. As one who buys primarily pastured animal products, the prices in the supermarket today are similar to what I’ve paid for years, but that’s a story for another day, I suspect.

It’s been over a year since our household transitioned to what I term a “plant predominant” dietary pattern. We have cut out no particular food products, other than highly processed items; but we have switched the ratio of animal based foods to plant foods. In other words, we mostly eat vegetarian, with animal products occasionally serving as a condiment. Eating this way, I can easily get twelve to sixteen servings from a single pound of ground beef. And in my case, I spread these servings out over weeks, as opposed to one night’s dinner. This, however, was never my motivation. Plant predominant diets are proving to be quite beneficial to those of us who suffer digestive challenges. It sure hasn’t hurt that I’ve dropped a few of the pounds that otherwise seem to stubbornly stick as though super glued. And the fact that plant heavy diets appear to be associated with better health and longevity? I’ll take it.

My own grocery bill hasn’t changed much in these last weeks, because we’ve cut way back on the meat and we just so happen to live in close proximity to produce production areas. While my produce bins overflow, my freezer houses only small parcels of meat. When meat hits the kitchen, it’s portioned into four ounce packages and frozen. When I want to augment a plant heavy dish with the flavor and texture of meat, I pull out one of those small packages and work it into the recipe. And of course, how much one wants to cut the meat is totally up to the individual. While I’m using four ounces, there’s no reason you couldn’t use eight. Flexibility is the name of this game.

This beer infused bean tostada, topped with a pesto of roasted chilies and pumpkin seeds, is a perfect example. The beans are deeply flavored with beer, chili and tomato; the chili pesto is spicy and rich with pumpkin seeds. Sprinkle on the condiments: taco spiced ground beef, chopped tomato, avocado and grated cheese. The finished tostada is an explosion of flavor and texture. Let’s be clear, however. One does not need the ground beef topping for these to be a delicious, nutritionally adequate dinner. The beans, cornmeal and pumpkin seeds alone provide the protein one needs in a meal. Some days, we choose to add the meat condiment, other days we simply don’t find that we need it.

What about those remaining little parcels of frozen ground beef? They might add flavor and texture to: a tomato and eggplant pasta sauce; walnut taco meat for nachos; chickpea filling for lettuce wraps; predominantly veggie based “meatballs”; chili soup; grain stuffed peppers. The possibilities are endless, but the best place to start is with your own favorite recipes. The question becomes: how can I flip the ratio of veg to meat? How will this improve my grocery bill? How will it improve my health?

One can view cutting back on the animal products as inflation dictated deprivation, or as a health promoting money saving practice. I choose the latter and consider it a win-win.

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Beer Bean Tostadas with Chili Pesto

Spicy beer infused beans with hot chili pesto atop crisp tostada shells, with classic condiments.

Prep Time45

Cook Time1

Total Time1 45

Course: Entree, Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: pinto beans, tostadas

Servings: 4

Ingredients

Beans

3/4 cup pinto beans, soaked for 8 hours see notes for canned bean option
6 oz beer
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp green chili powder
1 small onion, diced
2 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp chili powder

Chili Pesto

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds best if toasted
1 can Hatch green chilies can substitute 2 roasted green chilies
1/3 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cumin
salt and pepper

Spiced Ground Beef

1/4 lb ground beef
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp dried oregano
dash cayenne
salt and pepper

To Serve

8 tostada shells
Toppings: grated cheddar, chopped tomato, avocado

Instructions

Beans

In a medium saucepan, combine the drained beans, beer, bay leaf and green chili powder. Add water to cover the beans by one inch. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until beans are tender, about one hour. Add a pinch of salt to the pot and turn off the heat. Set aside to cool. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet and sauté the diced onion til softened. Drain the beans and add them along with the tomato paste and chili powder. Mash the beans lightly, adding additional beer or water to thin to spreadable consistency.

Chili Pesto

Put the pumpkin seeds into the food processor and process to a fine meal. Add the chilies, cilantro, lemon juice and cumin. Process, adding water as needed to make the texture smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Spiced Ground Beef

Brown the ground beef in a small skillet, and drain any accumulated fat. Stir in the chili powder, salt, cumin, oregano and dash of cayenne. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To Serve

Spread each tostado shell with beans and pesto. Sprinkle with ground beef mixture, then top as desired, with your choice of toppings.

Notes

To use canned beans, substitute one can refried beans. Add the sauteed onion, tomato paste and chili powder. Heat and thin to spreadable consistency with beer.

Crepes with Roasted Balsamic Berries

Listen to the soft calls of the mourning dove and bright chirp of the bobwhite. These were the summer sounds I heard each morning, waking to the sun streaming in my east window. Mornings like this meant I was probably on school break, no early morning commitments or rushing to make the school bus. It also meant that Mom was likely in the kitchen, with breakfast on the go. And on the best mornings, she was making crepes.

Crepes are super thin, egg rich pancakes, originating in France. Made without sugar, they are delicious on their own, with butter and maple syrup, which is how Mom served them for breakfast. I always envied the ease with which she rolled hers into neat cylinders, the syrup pooling around the edges. Crepes also provide a neutral canvas for both savory and sweet applications, ranging from combinations of creamed vegetables and proteins to dessert crepes with sweet, creamy fillings. The “in or out” status of the crepe varies with time here, it seems. Restaurants with the entire menu consisting of crepes with various fillings and toppings have been popular at various points in my life. And yes, there was an appliance at one time called the crepe maker. While not particularly in vogue at the moment, I can always order them at our local French bistro, where they never go out of style. Or get out my trusty seasoned cast iron skillet and make them myself.

Crepes are versatile pancakes. I’ve made absolutely beautiful crepes from buckwheat, oat, whole grain and white flours. They are a bit tricky to make the first time, though. The batter is quite thin, and quickly poured and swirled to coat the bottom of the skillet. I use an 8-inch cast iron skillet; much larger and you might end up with scrambled crepes! Slide a narrow spatula underneath one edge to the middle, then a quick flip. You’ll find many recipes with varying proportions of eggs to flour to liquid, affecting how easy this process is. Mom’s recipe was particularly delicate as she emphasized the egg with less flour and milk. The recipe I’m posting has a bit more flour and milk, allowing it to swirl easily in the pan, while being simpler to flip. Can one make them plant based? I have made them successfully with Just Egg, though they are more delicate and harder to flip. There are vegan versions, which omit the eggs completely, but I’d have a tough time calling those crepes…

The ones I’ve prepared today are filled with Greek yogurt, and topped with a balsamic roasted berry medley. A sprinkle of toasted almonds results in a high protein breakfast that fuels me throughout the morning. The same bird sounds wake me these days, along with the raucous call of the Gambel’s quail. Sun still streams in the window, but the only way there will be crepes for breakfast is if I make them…

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Crepes with Balsamic Roasted Berries

Egg rich, ultra-thin pancakes, served with Greek yogurt and balsamic roasted berries.

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: French

Keyword: crepe, Eggy

Servings: 4

Ingredients

Basic Crepes

2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour can use white whole wheat or all-purpose
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs, well beaten
1 cup milk or alt milk
1 tbsp neutral flavored oil I use avacado
oil, for the skillet

Balsamic Roasted Berries

1 lb berries I used strawberries and blueberries
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp brown sugar
1 1/3 cup Greek yogurt to serve
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Instructions

Basic Crepes

Combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl. In separate bowl, combine the beaten eggs, milk and oil. Add all at once to the flour mixture, then whisk until smooth. This can also be done in a blender.
Heat a well seasoned 8-inch cast iron skillet or similar sized non-stick skillet over medium heat, then brush lightly with oil. For each crepe, pour a scant 1/4-cup of batter into the skillet, then quickly rotate the pan to swirl the batter and cover the bottom. Cook for around a minute, until the edges begin to crisp and pull up from the edge of the skillet. Using a thin pancake turner, insert under the edge and push gently to the middle. Quickly flip and cook briefly to brown the other side. Remove to a plate, and repeat until all the batter is used.

Balsamic Roasted Berries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pour the berries onto a sided sheet pan. Drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic vineger, then sprinkle with the brown sugar. Combine well to coat the berries. Place them into the oven and roast for 20-30 minutes, until the berries are soft and juices have released. Remove.

Serving

In a medium bowl, combine the Greek yogurt with about one third of the roasted berries. Use this to fill the crepes, roll up and place on serving plates, two per serving. Top with the remaining berries and sprinkle with toasted almonds.

Almond Sugar Cream Pie

Okay. I hate messing with family recipes that are so unhealthy they show little potential for redemption. Whatever might that recipe be, you ask. “Sugar Pie” is pretty self-explanatory, wouldn’t you think? This pie basically consists of a sugar/flour/butter mixture with vanilla cream poured atop, then baked until set, but still richly creamy. A bit like the filling of a nut pie, just without the nuts. I gather that Mom justified the whole thing on her practice of substituting evaporated milk for the cream, since that would somewhat cut the fat. Like it needed more fat; it was basically streusel ensconced in fat laden piecrust… if only it wasn’t so damned delicious. Sigh.

Not only does it taste wonderful, it’s also a pie with great history. Also known as sugar cream pie, it has heritage with the Quakers, Shakers, Amish and even with the Quebecois. This pie definitely got around, though the state of Indiana claimed it in 2009 as its official state pie, renamed Hoosier Sugar Cream Pie. Supposedly the Amish and Shaker communities baking the pie were living in Indiana in the 1800s. How it got to Quebec is beyond me! (That version unsurprisingly uses maple syrup.) It does seem that the recipe might have originated just about anywhere, given that it was easily made with pantry staples and decidedly satisfied the sweet tooth. Yes, I suspect this innocent pie was probably at the root of more than a few cavities…

So all I really needed to do was cut the fat and sugar, right?? Problem is, that’s most of the pie… once done, the ingredient list is so short there’s no way for it to fill a piecrust. So-o-o, some substitutions were in order. Almond flour seemed a logical candidate to replace a major portion of the sugar, offering up a tasty balance of protein and healthier fat, while actually being a whole plant food. Cut both the butter and sugar by about two-thirds, bump up the flavor with spices and brandy, (you knew the booze would be in there somewhere) and finish it off with one’s choice of creamy milk product. While I tried lactose free half and half, options would include the aforementioned evaporated milk, light coconut milk and perhaps even oat milk. Getting a little carried away, I topped it with the blackberries I had in the fridge, and was amazed at what came out of the oven! Beautifully full and browned, with a lovely circular pattern of berries on top. Still rich in flavor, but lightly sweet with a moist crumbly texture and the tart sweetness of the fruit.

Was it anything like Mom’s sugar pie? Well, no, but this pie was something delectably new and different! Except it wasn’t, really. Delectable, yes. New and different? Uh…No. Somehow I later came to discover that I had actually baked an eggless French Frangipane tart, the British version being the Bakewell tart. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frangipane

I concluded there were two ways to look at this. One way would be to credit myself with the creativity to reinvent the wheel. The other would be to admit that it takes a clueless American to be so unfamiliar with said ethnic baked treasures from other cultures. But I figure in the big picture, it hardly matters. An almond sugar cream pie is still a mighty fine pie. As to the sugar pie recipe? It’s still peeking at me accusingly from the recipe box. Back to the drawing board.

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Sweet Almond Pie

Delicious almond pie, lightly sweet with a rich crumbly texture and flavor notes from spices and brandy.

Prep Time30

Cook Time35

Total Time1 5

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, French

Keyword: almond, pie

Servings: 8 people

Ingredients

2 tbsp flour, heaped
1/2 cup almond flour
1 tbsp butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp anise seed
1/4 tsp cinnamon
7/8 cup light ½ and ½ 3/4 cup + plus 2 tablespoons
2 tbsp brandy
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 pint Blackberries, halved
1 8-inch prepared pie shell

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400° F.
Mix the flours, butter, sugar, anise seed and cinnamon to fine crumbs, using a pastry cutter or food processor. Reserve 2 tablespoons, and spread the remainder in the 8-inch pie shell. Stir together the ½ and ½, brandy and vanilla. Carefully pour the liquid mixture over the filling in the pie shell. Spread lightly to cover. Press the berry halves lightly into the filling. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over top and bake for 8 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350° F. and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, til set and lightly browned on top.
Remove to a cooling rack and cool before slicing.

White Vegetable Chili

(With chicken… or not)

Unilever, a huge international food processing company, has released a report recommending people switch to a plant based diet. While the report says all the right things about health and sustainability, my suspicion is that we are approaching a tipping point. A point at which the market for plant based foods has grown so substantially that the future of big food might just have to include plants… albeit highly processed plants. As a plant predominant eater, I appreciate the occasional plant based burger or ice cream bar, but these processed foods are not my foundation dishes.

What are my mainstays? It appears that I’m a relatively new breed of plant based eater, since many of the plant based recipes I find tend toward the mushy and bland. Or leave me ravenous half an hour after I’ve eaten. I’m searching for well-developed recipes using primarily whole food plant ingredients. Said dishes must be delicious: balanced, harmonious in taste and well seasoned, with depth of flavor and pleasing texture. I’m also pretty insistent that they contain the balance of protein, complex carb and fat that I’ve always required in my dietary selections. We are admittedly foodies in this house-piling a few vegetables atop a bowl of grain, however whole it may be, is not going to cut it.

Which has left me to my own recipe development devices… but I am slowly amassing a repertoire of recipes that make meal planning feel possible. The fact that we are still omnivores is quite helpful. A small amount of meat or cheese can make an amazing difference in the taste and texture of a dish, demonstrated by the “flip the ratio” strategy I’m using today. Most entrees contain hefty amounts of animal protein with a few token veggies. But if I adjust dishes such that the vegetables provide the heft and the meat or cheese is the token, these recipes can be real winners.

I love a good white chicken chili, but most feature large portions of chicken, a few white beans and a can of green chilies. My taste buds crave the particular essence of green chili, not the chicken. To flip the ratio, swap the chicken for onion, fennel, tomatillo and zucchini; increase the measure of creamy white beans, providing the protein heft; and wheat berries, to deliver both protein and a pop of texture. White miso and balsamic vinegar supply the depth. When I want the chili to include chicken, I use chicken broth and add in a few ounces of cooked chicken. If not, we use “no-chicken broth” and skip the chicken. TBH, I’m happy with either version of white vegetable chili, as long as the smoky heat of green chili prevails.

Before trying this, you should probably know that I crave the heat in just about everything I eat. What’s my desired level of heat on a scale of 1-5? 5. So I’ve been careful to moderate the heat in this recipe. Feel free to spice it up or down to your liking. I’m using a combination of fresh Hatch green chilies and Hatch chili powder. Hatch green chilies come quite specifically from Hatch, New Mexico, but they are basically the same as the Anaheim green chili, just with more heat. Anaheims are more readily available, and if need be, one can always use the little can of green chilies. The farmer’s market here has also spoiled my chili loving soul with the roasting stand, at which I can purchase freshly roasted chilies and chili powders of all varieties. However, Hatch green chili powder is available for order from various spice companies, and of course from the ever-ready Amazon. Increase the red pepper flakes if the Hatch powder doesn’t happen to reside in your spice drawer.

I’ll be searching for hot weather dishes all too soon enough, but this soup warms me to my core on the chilly nights of a desert winter. I suspect it might do the same for you, wherever you happen to be spending your winter evenings.

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5 from 1 vote

White Vegetable Chili

Warming white bean chili with vegetables and Hatch chilies

Prep Time45

Cook Time45

Total Time1 30

Course: Entree, Soup

Cuisine: Southwestern

Keyword: Hatch green chili, vegetables

Calories: 233kcal

Ingredients

1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil can add fresh garlic, if desired
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped fennel
1/2 cup chopped Hatch green chili can substitute Anaheim
1 cup chopped tomatillo
1 medium zucchini, chopped in 1/4-inch pieces
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 basil leaf
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp chili flake
1 tsp Hatch green chili powder
2 cups cooked white beans, home cooked or canned
2 1/2 cups broth, Chicken or Vegetable
3/4 cup cooked wheat berries could substitute farro or quinoa
4 oz cooked, chopped chicken optional
1 tsp white miso
1 tsp white balsamic vinegar

Instructions

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Stir in the onion, fennel and green chili to coat with oil. Sauté for several minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the tomatillo, zucchini, seasonings, beans and broth. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer for 30 to 40 minutes to cook the vegetables and blend flavors. Mash a few of the beans in the pot to thicken, if desired. When the vegetables are tender, stir in the wheat berries and chicken, if using. Just prior to serving, mix the miso and vinegar, and stir into the soup. Heat through to serve.

Notes

Total fat: 6 g

Cholesterol: 22 mg

Sodium: 683 mg

Total Carbohydrate: 31.4 g Dietary fiber 8.9 g Total sugars: 3.8 g

Protein: 16 g