Pav Bhaji

2 cups diced sweet potato
1 cup diced cauliflower
1/4 cup diced bell pepper
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water
2 cloves minced garlic
2 t grated ginger
1/2 t turmeric
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t hot curry powder







1. In the morning, load all ingredients except salt into slow cooker.
2. Place on low for 7-8 hours.
3. When ready to serve add salt to taste.
4. Use spoon to mash vegetables a bit
5. Serve in a toasted bun, or over rice/quinoa.

Makes 5 sandwiches. Adapted from Vegan Slow Cooking by Kathy Hester.

Okra Smokra

Did I ever tell you all about that time during Hurricane Isaac when Erik and I got called yuppies by a stranger?

It was probably 2 or 3 days post electricity, and we were on a hunt for ice. After an unsuccessful trip to the grocery store nearest our house we drove a little further to Winn Dixie, where we found a whole glorious mountain of ice. Upon checking out, the cashier asked if we had a store discount card. When we said we did not, she said, "oh, do you guys usually shop at whole foods?"

I was thinking about this as I rode my vintage bike home from the farmer's market last week with my basket full of vegetables. Yes. I am a yuppie.

Anyway. Let's get real. Does anyone really just like plain okra? If you live in the south, no doubt you have a complicated relationship with okra. On one hand, it is an extremely cheap, healthy, plentiful vegetable and the farmer's markets overflow with local crops. On the other hand, it has a mucus-like quality.

I know, I am selling it here.

The slimeyness of okra is due to mucilage which makes okra rich in dietary fiber. The slime only really comes out when you cut okra, so if you keep the pods whole it can be avoided. These pickled okra are best if you use small pods that can be devoured in one or two bites. The pickling brine is adaptable and can be used with other vegetables too.

Quick Pickled Okra

3 cups water

1 cup white vinegar

1/3 cup salt1.5 pints okra
1 tablespoon Sunny Paris spice (optional)

2 jalapenos, sliced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

In a saucepan heat up water, vinegar, and salt. Take clean glass jar and stuff all of your okra, jalapenos, and garlic inside. If using additional spices pour over top of okra in jar. Take the heated liquid and fill up the jar to the top. Put the lid on and place jar in refrigerator for 3-5 days. I find they get better if you let them sit a little longer.

P.S. these would make an excellent addition to any Thanksgiving relish tray.

In Which I Eat Things I have Grown

Last night for dinner I had a salad. This salad to be exact. It was delicious. I used purple cabbage instead of green because, duh color. And instead of using just kale, I used half chard - WHICH I GREW MYSELF. My mint leave were also hand cultivated but herbs are not as IMPRESSIVE. 

The dressing is pretty magical

You might imagine now that I am put together enough to enjoy freshly harvested roughage straight from my own garden that I dined in a highly CIVILIZED and CULTURED manner. In reality I ate this at 9:30 pm after sitting in my sweaty workout clothes for 2 hours and eating too many dried plums.

2011 Superlatives

Well, I feel as though my idea for a top whatever was stole right underneath me. But since Elle has been blogging better than I, I will forgive.

Here some memorable events of 2011, cheers!

Best purchase: Zorro (or D'Angelo if you prefer) hands down. I can not tell you how much I love love love waking up to an espresso bar in my house. It has triggered my inner coffee-snob-ness.

Most blog-worthy meal that didn't make it to the blog: Daniel's Thai Pork and Noodle Soup. It was so good, and could be adapted to veggie friendly. If you don't know, I had a New Year's resolution last year to make one new meal a week. As far as New Year's resolutions, I did pretty good (faltered in June, right after school was out). I am lucky enough that I have a wonderful husband who likes to (and is good at) cook. He took up my yoke and continued on with the

goal.

Roast Beefyist: Kelly's Roast Beef in Revere (just ride Daniel's favorite blue line train)

Worst overall (in the everything category): My garden which produced such a weak harvest that it seemed that the only thing I could grow this year was albino carrots.

Most likely to take a snakey lick: Atticus salivating over Ellen's breakfast in July.

Best food product that I didn't' know I was missing out on: Fluff

There you have it...that was my year in a nut shell.

And in case you were wondering, I did make a resolution for this year. My goal is to become less wasteful in all aspects of my life, but particularly with food. I already recycle everything that could possibly be recycled, but I noticed that we have a hard time finishing produce, fruit, etc. before it goes bad. So this year I will try to purchase only what I need, and then eat/cook/freeze/dry the leftovers. "Precycle" if you will. Hold me to it Charders.

Anyone else have any superlatives to share? Resolutions?

"I literally made the most pesto ever," said in my best Chris Traeger voice

Last weekend my mission was to use up all my basil before the fall frost ruined it.

For me fresh basil=pesto. I love pesto...and by love I mean looooovveeee. One of the reasons

that I married my husband is because he had the secret pesto recipe from an unnamed pasta restaurant that he worked at in E'burg (I kid, I kid, but I do have the recipe now).

Things I learned during the pesto process:

Pesto stains everything it touches.

Basil reacts with oxygen somehow(O-chemers any comments?) and turns your skin black.

The old trick about rubbing your hands with a stainless steel spoon to get rid of garlic smell actually works.

Meat tenderizers make for excellent garlic smashers.

The first step to making a giant bowl of pesto is to gather all your ingredients. Aside from basil, I ran out of pretty much everything and had to start making substitutions.

You will need:

lots of basil

lots of garlic cloves

lots of olive oil (ran out of regular EVOO so I used a garlic infus

ed olive oil to make up the difference)

lots of Parmesan cheese

a cup or so of walnuts

2 1/2 cups of sunflower seeds (roasted but unsalted) (the recipe called for pine nuts...which are delish but too rich for my blood)

First, peel the basil leaves from the stems. I totally underestimated how long this would take, so I enlisted my sous chef. I had to promise him a batch of whatever kids of cookies he wanted, but it was worth it.

I put all the leaves into the sink filled with water in order to wash them and pick out the less desirable leaves. Then I drained the water out and patted dry the leaves. At that moment I

realized that a salad spinner may have been a good kitchen tool to have.

Then I just started mixing everything together. The restaurant recipe called for a "bag" of nuts and a "container" of cheese, etc. Since I didn't know what the quantity of said "bag" was, I just started tasting and guessing.

First I tried using the blender. Alas, a magic bullet my blender is not and nothing mixed together except for the EVOO and basil. So into my mini chopper everything went and although it worked, the chopper is so small that it took many batches to finish. After each batch I poured the mixture into a large bowl and then mixed everything together with a spoon again at the end to make sure that the inconsistencies in my proportions were minimized.

Lastly, I put a "dinner party" amount in a plastic bag and then portioned individual pesto disks and froze everything. Now I can just pull out a disk and have pesto all through the winter (30 portions total). WIN! Even though it made the a giant mess, the most dishes ever and my breath smelled like garlic for a week (I was eating spoonfuls of the leftovers) I had tons of fun making this.

Inside My Lunchbox Part 1

Oh hello there. Good to see you again. You look good.
Me? Oh I have been enjoying a nice old fashioned sinus cold. Reaaal snotty. Oh yeah. That doesn't mean I don't need to eat lunch.
This post is dedicated to a new reader out there - you know who you are.

Veggie Spring Rolls
Vietnamese rice paper wrappers
Veggies cut into 3-4 cm pieces (bell pepper, cucumber, carrots)
Lettuce
Peanut Sauce (recipe below)
Optional:
Tofu
Avocado
noodles

I recommend making this lunch the night before.
The rice paper wrappers are surprisingly easy to work with. You can get these at any asian market, and most supermarkets. You buy them dried and a single package should last you for a long time.
To make the spring rolls boil a pot of water and pour some into a shallow dish or large plate with high sides. Dip an individual rice paper wrapper in the hot water for a few seconds. It will go from being stiff to completely soft and sticky.
Now place this wet wrapper on a plate or cutting board. Add any combination of chopped veggies, tofu, lettuce, noodles, etc - I find a nice piece of basil or mint is delicious.

Love the colors

The thing to remember is to try not to stuff it too full. This is not a burrito. If you are using tofu or noodles stack this next and top it all with a leaf of lettuce. Smear the side of the wrapper with peanut sauce and fold it all up. You can use any technique you like for wrapping them - the rice paper is super sticky and will pretty much keep any spring roll together. Put in a tupperware and place in refrigerator overnight.
Bring to work and impress all of your awesome coworkers with your delicious and healthy lunch.

Peanut Sauce
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
Generous squeeze of sriracha or other hot pepper sauce
1/4 teaspoon miso

In a small saucepan heat all ingredients over medium heat. Stir with a whisk until smooth.

Glug, glug, glug, I am drinking my veggies!

Are you looking to increase your servings of fruits and vegetables?
Would you like more fiber in your diet?
Do you need a quick breakfast you can have on the run?
Is there a picky eater in your household you would like to trick into eating more veggies?
Do you have a boatload of frozen overripe bananas in your freezer that you have been meaning to use for ages?
Has your jaw been wired shut, forcing you to only consume things in liquid form?

If you answered YES to any of those questions allow me to present to you the GREEN SMOOTHIE. Now I did not invent this - in fact I'm not even sure where I first read about the idea of adding greens to your smoothies. But I have been incorporating green smoothies into my diet for the past year or so and therefore I award myself my own personal Iron Chef award for smoothie Queen.

The idea is simple. Each smoothie has 3 main components plus optionals. Here are some ideas for each.

Part 1: Fruits and veggies

• I recommend you use at least 1/2 frozen banana. This will make your smoothie creamy and banana has a strong flavor so it will over power stronger veggie flavors.
• Frozen Mango
• Pineapple (Canned, frozen, fresh)
• Grapes
• Peaches
• Blueberries (I am generally not a huge fan of things like raspberries since I'm not keen on seediness, but that may not bother you)
• Frozen cherries 
• Beets
• Carrots

Part 2: Greens

• Spinach! This is the green beginners should use.
• Kale
• Chard
• Dark leaf lettuce

Part 3: Liquids

• H2O
• "Milk" (soy, almond, mammal, etc.)
• Yogurt
• Any juices

This is a smoothie guys, you can't really break it. Just pick a few options from each category and throw them in the blender. If you are new to green smoothies I suggest you start out with 1/5 greens and 4/5 liquid and fruits. Ease into drinking beet and chard smoothies. 

DON'Ts

• Don't use strong pungent greens (e.g. mustard greens). Laura can tell you what a mustard smoothie tastes like.
• Don't use all fresh fruit/veggies. Otherwise you will have green juice. Frozen fruit (especially the banana) gives you a slushy/creamy consistency.
• Don't be too nervous about adding veggies. Generally the fruits are much more potent and you won't taste a lot of the veggies. Plus, it if is gross it is not big deal.
• Don't forget to give it a good long blend. You don't want to suck up lots of chunks of chard through you straw. 

Here is the green smoothie I made yesterday to have after my workout.

Fruits and veggies: Banana (I used frozen but they looked ugly so I photographed fresh), cooked beets, papaya (Great deal - that whole papaya was only $0.65 at the asian grocery store)

Greens: Kale! My favorite for smoothies. Again, if you are new to green smoothies I suggest you start with spinach.

Liquids: Soy milk and water

Optional add in: Ground flax seed (this gives sort of a nutty taste)

I blend my greens and liquid together before adding in the fruits/veggies. This helps ensure that the greens get liquified and you don't end up with a chunky smoothie.

Finished product. You can't tell because of my camera and the poor light (due to a SNOWSTORM), but the color is a beautiful brilliant red. Yes, beets will stain.

One more from the top.