Vegtastic!

Did you know that the first season of “Portlandia” is available on Netflix?

That’s pretty much how my over-celebrated self spent New Year’s Morning: sipping coconut water, eating cold vegan pizza, and watching everyone’s favorite satire of the crazy antics of Seattle’s wacky neighbor to the south.

Two of the characters are a pair of dumpster-diving freegans. Here’s their story — you should probably watch it for the rest of this post to make sense.

While I’m not going to use a metal tube as a sleeve or cuddle a dirty crochet doll, the curry lentil cabbage cumin stew they made for their dinner party from their finds actually sounded kinda… good.

So I made some — with ingredients entirely from the supermarket.

Here’s my version. Adorable miniature stuffed koala optional.

Curry lentil cabbage cumin stew

Ingredients:

• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 1/2 head cabbage, shredded/chopped
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 cup lentils, rinsed
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 TBS lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in oil until soft.
2. Add cabbage, curry powder and ground cumin and cook for a few more minutes.
3. Add lentils, broth and salt and pepper, to taste, cover, and simmer for 45-50 minutes or until lentils are soft.
4. Stir in lemon juice.

Serve with crusty bread and a grating derision of the wasteful mainstream world.

My coworker Josh made an incredible sweet potato chili for our company’s Halloween potluck. It simmered all morning in a crockpot, and filled the entire office with its Southwest-inspired aroma. We were salivating by lunchtime.

After much begging, pleading, and some threats on my part, Josh gave me the recipe. Which isn’t true at all — he very obligingly shared it. He’s a nice guy.

The recipe is actually his girlfriend Clara’s (she’s a very talented photographer), who got it from her mom, who got it from a friend, who may have thought it up herself or may have found it somewhere else. Like a tall tale, no one really knows the origins. Actually, the friend of the mother of the girlfriend of the coworker might — you’ll have to ask her.

My version is mostly the same, though because I thought I knew exactly what I was doing and recreated it from memory, what I present to you today differs slightly from the original crockpot-based recipe (doc) in a few ingredients and in that I made mine on the stove. You have options.

May I present to you Helen’s take on Josh’s girlfriend’s mom’s friend’s Sweet Potato Chili. The bonus of my version is that it’s super-duper rainbow colorful.

Fun sweet potato fact: both the sweet potatoes and yams sold on the American market are actually sweet potatoes. So, buy the white (like Josh and I did) or buy the yellow — it’s all good.

Sweet Potato Chili

Ingredients

• 1 medium chopped onion
• 1 each red and green bell pepper
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• olive oil, to saute onion and garlic
• 1 can (28 oz) undrained diced tomatoes
• 1 cup mild or medium green salsa
• 2 medium peeled cubed sweet potatoes
• 2 small or 1 large purple potato, peeled and diced
• 1 can red kidney beans
• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 (11 oz) can corn, drained
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 TBS molasses (secret ingredient)

Instructions

1. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until brown and fragrant.
2. Add all other ingredients and simmer until vegetables are cooked, about an hour.
3. Serve with cashew cream and chips.

Soup, soup — sweet, simple soup.

This soup may exhibit the exotic flavors of coconut and curry, but it’s really just hearty fall peasant fare: a bunch of orange veggies blended together with some purple kale, which ends up looking sort of black when cooked, which would have made it perfect for Halloween, which has now passed.

Hindsight is 20/20.

Here’s to Halloween 2012!

Curried butternut squash, sweet potato, carrot and kale soup

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 1 jumbo clove garlic (or two regular-sized cloves), pressed
• Olive oil
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled and diced
• 1 bunch small carrots (or a couple large ones), peeled and diced
• 6 cups water + 1 TBS un-beef broth (or 6 cups broth)
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 bunch purple or green kale, chopped
• cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

1. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until browned.
2. Add sweet potato, squash, and carrots and saute for a few minutes.
3. Add broth, coconut milk, curry powder and salt and pepper (to taste). Cook until veggies are soft.
4. Puree about 3/4 of the mixture with an immersion blender or in a regular blender; return to pot, if using regular blender.
5. Add kale and cook for a minute or two longer.
6. Serve with chopped cilantro (optional)

Dexter is (with some shame) one of my favorite shows, but I also refuse to pay for cable.

So, having just finished season 5 on DVD, I must fulfill my desire for tawdry graphic sensation elsewhere, while the Dexter Facebook page taunts me with status updates concerning events in season 6. I miss the days when you could just “like” something on Facebook without it talking to you.

The solution: beets — much cheaper than Showtime, twice as delicious, and just as gory.

I adore beets, though they’re not for the hemophobic.

I also dearly love funny vegetables, like carrots spooning:

I hacked these adulterous carrots — red as murder on the outside, a sunny orange on the inside — to bits, along with innocent potatoes, sweet turnips, onions that barely deserved it, and violent beets; boiled them; blended the pieces of their lifeless bodies into a chunky pulp; and threw in some beans and chopped beet greens for good measure.

Borscht — not for the faint of heart.

Blood Red Borscht

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, pressed
• olive oil, for sauteing
• dill (fresh or dried) to taste
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 bunch beets, peeled and diced, greens reserved and chopped
• 1 lb potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 turnip, peeled and diced
• 1 bunch carrots, chopped
• 1 (15 oz) can navy beans
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until brown. Add dill, to taste.
2. Add beet, potato, turnip and carrot and saute for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Pour in broth and simmer until vegetables are cooked through.
4. Puree 1/2 – 3/4 of the soup in a blender or with an immersion blender.
5. Add beans and cook for a few more minutes.
6. Add beet greens and cook until greens are wilted, a minute or so.

Serve with cashew cream or vegan sour cream and chopped chives or dill.

The next time you visit the farmers market, talk to the vendors.

Pay attention to what they have to say on the differences between certain varieties of potatoes, which hot peppers are sweet (in addition to being spicy) and which are not, and what kinds of apples go best in a pie and which ones should be consumed raw. Tell them what you’re cooking, and ask for recommendations.

You’ll probably try some new foods, and learn more about how to prepare what you’re already eating. You’ll also get to know some of the people who produce your food, which is really one of the best reasons to shop at farmers markets in the first place.

This soup is made entirely from the produce available at farmer’s markets in mid-September in Western Washington, inspired by conversations with the people selling the veggies. One red jalapeño makes this soup very spicy, so look for a milder pepper if you’re adverse to heat.

Corn is naturally creamy, and this soup is even more so due to the addition of pureed white beans and nutritional yeast. Serve with crusty bread.

While I wasn’t trying to copy, my corn chowder ended up being somewhat similar to The Spicy Vegan’s Mexican Corn Chowder, which looks delicious!

Southwestern corn chowder

serves 4-6

Ingredients

Instructions

1. In a strong blender, puree the beans and nutritional yeast with about a cup of broth; set aside.
2. Saute onion and jalapeño in just enough oil to keep from sticking to the pan until onion is browned.
3. Pour in remaining broth; stir in bean/nooch mixture.
4. Add potatoes, corn, zucchini, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, and simmer for ≈10 minutes. Add roasted red peppers, and continue to simmer until potatoes are fully cooked.

*Heat oven to 500 degrees. De-seed and halve peppers, and place on a cookie sheet sprayed with oil. Spray peppers with oil, and roast for 10-12 minutes, flipping once.

This is what a day off looks like.

A chance to recharge the brain.

An opportunity to answer to no one– I do what I want!

A day with just me + the cats + the TV + chai tea and a donut with Jessica + a leisurely trip to the food co-op + a massage + a homemade margarita.

And a nice sit-down lunch: potato leek soup + broiled asparagus + lemony greens + applewood-smoked olives marinated in chardonnay.

Mmhmmm. Good.

Potato leek soup

• 3 leeks
• 3 medium yellow-skinned potatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• olive oil
• 6 cups light-colored vegetable both (I used faux-beef this time around and it made the soup dark)
• salt and pepper, to taste (best with LOTS of pepper)
• dried parsley
• 1 can cannelloni beans, drained

1. Wash leeks. Chop off white part, rinsing under cold water to remove any additional dirt, and discard green stem. Slice while part into strips.
2. Wash and finely dice potatoes– peeling optional.
3. Saute leeks and garlic in olive oil until fragrant in a soup pot. Add broth, salt and pepper, and parsley. Simmer until potatoes are cooked through.
4. Remove all or most of the contents of the soup pot to a blender (I elect to leave a bit behind for a chunkier texture) and add the beans. Puree until smooth.
5. Return contents of the blender to the pot and cook a few minutes more.

Broiled Asparagus for one

• 1/2 bunch asparagus
• olive oil
• sea salt and pepper, to taste

1. Set toaster oven to broil. Let heat up.
2. Spray pan with olive oil. Pus asparagus on it. Spray with more olive oil and add salt and pepper.
3. Broil 10 minutes, turning once of you want. Or don’t turn.

Lemony greens for one

• A handful or two of mixed greens (kale, chard, collards)
• olive oil, to taste
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• lemon juice
• salt and pepper

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add garlic and saute a few minutes.
2. Add greens, salt and pepper and cook until starting to wilt. Add a few dashes of lemon juice and cook until completely done.

This hearty winter stew, adapted from one found in an issue of Natural Health magazine that I stole borrowed from the gym, is full of protein and a cinch to make. The recipe originally called for Israeli couscous, which I subbed for quinoa and pasta. The cinnamon and cumin are also my addition– I think they give the stew a more Mediterranean flavor.

Chard, quinoa and garbanzo bean stew
serves 4-6

• 1 bunch Swiss chard, chopped
• 3 medium tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 quart vegetable broth
• 1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans
• 1/2 cup red quinoa
• 1/2 cup kamut-quinoa pasta spirals
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• cayenne pepper to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• a few dashes each cinnamon and cumin

1. In a large pot, saute onion in the olive oil. Add the garlic and spices and saute a few minutes more.
2. Add the broth, tomatoes, lemon juice, beans and quinoa; cook 20 minutes.
3. Add chard and pasta; simmer until all ingredients are cooked, about 10 minutes longer.

Late summer is quite possibly the best time of year for vegetables. All the veggies people buy year round (but shouldn’t) are actually in season: tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, bell peppers, and so on.

Farmers markets are my preferred place to pick up fresh, in-season produce. And if you think they’re too expensive, think again: a study from Seattle U shows that the farmers market in my neighborhood is cheaper than neighboring supermarket chains. Buying “seconds”– blemished or bruised (yet still tasty) produce– brings the cost down even further.

These recipes take full advantage of late summer’s bounty. One is from my head; the other from Edible Seattle– thanks to my coworker Neil for sharing.

Tomato and summer squash pasta
makes 2 servings or one large serving

• 1 heirloom tomato
• 1 cup grated summer squash
• 1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2-3 basil leaves, chiffonaded
• 1 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup Eden kamut-quinoa twists

1. Blanch tomato in boiling water for 1 minute, then transfer to cold water (do not drain pot). Peel and chop.
2. Add pasta to boiling water and cook 7 minutes or according to package directions.
3. Heat oil in pan. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until brown. Add zucchini and cook for a couple of minutes.
4. Add chopped tomato, salt and pepper, and basil. Stir until juice evaporates a bit. Toss with hot pasta.

Creamy Herbed Zucchini Gazpacho (from Edible Seattle)
serves 4-5 (or 2 if you reduce the oil!)

• 1 1/2 pounds small zucchini, cut into 1″ pieces
• 1 large clove garlic, chopped
• 2/3 cup onion
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving (I reduced this by about 75%)
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup water

1. Puree everything except for the water in a food processor (or Vita Mix).
2. Add water to your desired consistency, season with salt and pepper if needed, pour into bowls, and drizzle with olive oil.

Seattle is having the most slit-your-wrists depressing June since… ever. Grey is the color of the season, and King 5 reported via Twitter that the temperature has not risen above 75 degrees in 271 days– extreme even for a city legendary for its rain. Nirvana fan or not, it’s enough to make you want to blow your head off with a shotgun.

Unfortunately, the cloudy malaise sweeping over the city may affect residents’ physical state as well as mental: days without sunshine can lead to a vitamin D deficiency, which can lead to softened bones, depression, a lowered immune system, increased multiple sclerosis risk, cancer, and heart disease (if you believe Wikipedia).

Also unfortunately, there are not many natural vegan forms of vitamin D. Several online publications, however, report that naturally-dried shiitake mushrooms are excellent sources of this vital nutrient; these naughty-sounding fungi soak up UV rays faster than a Jersey Shore castmember.

Soy milk is also a good source of vitamin D. Correction: soy milk with vitamin D added is also a good source of vitamin D.

I’ve combined these two powerhouses into a potent concoction that will fight Ricketts while also warming you, body and soul. Serve with a side of crusty bread and a multivitamin.

Vegan Cream of Mushroom soup
serves two

• 1/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted in 1/2 cup hot water and drained, reserving the liquid
• 1 cup chopped pioppini mushrooms
• 1 cup sliced crimini or button mushrooms
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 tbs Earth Balance, divided
• 1 tbs flour
• 2 cups unsweetened vitamin D-enriched soy milk
• salt, pepper, parsley and other spices to taste

1. Saute the mushrooms and chopped shallot in 1 tbs Earth Balance. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Make a roux with flour and the remaining Earth Balance; add reserved mushroom water and stir until blended.
3. Add soy milk, salt, pepper and other spices, and mushroom/shallot mixture. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Serve.