Vegetarian

Forbidden Rice Revisited with the Instant Pot

/ TaMara / 3 Comments

Looking through my pantry I realized I hadn’t made Forbidden Rice since I purchased my Multi-Pot electric pressure cooker. I thought it was time to try it out.  The recipe below is updated for  Instant Pot cooking.

From January 2016 (original recipe here and a bunch of other rice recipes at this link)

This recipe was inspired by a bag of black rice, also known as Emperor or Forbidden Rice, in my pantry. It’s a heritage grain and it has a complex flavor – it’s deep, nutty, savory, earthy. I had never even heard of it, much less tasted it. I cooked up a cup of it and it was love at first bite, then I had to decide how best to use it.

It easily overwhelmed chicken and pork, and the flavors did not balance with beef. I did use it with some crumbled Spicy Italian sausage and that worked, the balance was right. What I thought it really needed was a citrus or vinegar pairing, some veggies, I wasn’t sure about nuts. Time to experiment.

Limes were on sale this week, so I settled on a citrus vinaigrette and fresh veggies paired with the rice (pictured above). I think it worked out very well.  Walnuts worked well, cashews were overwhelmed by the rice. I served it warm, but it was good cold today.

If you want to add some cheese, I think a nice Feta would work.

Black “Forbidden” Rice with Citrus Vinaigrette

  • 1 cup black rice, rinsed well
  • 1-3/4 cups water
  • snow peas (or veggie of your choice)
  • tomatoes (grape tomatoes work well)
  • toasted walnuts
  • 1/4 cup fresh limejuice
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • dash of orange juice
  • pinch of lime zest
  • dash of ground ginger
  • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • honey to taste
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

instant pot-style cooker, serving bowl

In the Instant Pot/Multi-Cooker add rice and water.  Cook for 20 minutes and let the pressure release naturally. Fluff with a fork.

Cut snow peas into about four pieces each, half the grape tomatoes, and lightly chop the walnuts.

For the vinaigrette, whisk juices, vinegar, ginger and honey together. Drizzle in oil, whisking constantly. Give it a quick taste and add more ginger and honey as desired.

Toss rice and veggie mixture with vinaigrette and serve warm or refrigerate and serve cold.

Creole Veggies with Black Beans And Rice

/ TaMara

creole-veggiesWe’re trying to do a vegetarian night a few times a week. This was one of my favorite creations.

Creole Vegetables with Black Beans and Rice

  • 1 cup Jasmine Rice
  • 1 -15 oz can no salt black beans (drained and rinsed)
  • lime juice
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 6 green onions, chopped (including greens)
  • 1/2 each: green, red and orange pepper, diced
  • 1 stalk celery, diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 1-14 oz can no salt diced tomatoes
  • salt to taste

Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Files: Stuffed Mushrooms

/ TaMara / 1 Comment

Stuffed Mushroom AppetizersStuffed Mushrooms ready to go into the oven just before company arrives

Want something different for Thanksgiving?  Stuffed mushrooms might fit the bill. I searched around for recipes, but I had an idea that I wanted to use wild rice, so I just went from there. Who needs a recipe? I used large button mushrooms because they were appetizers, but I think it would work with portobello mushrooms for a main course or nice side.

Pop Quiz: Is wild rice actually rice? Answer: Nope, it’s a grass.

The best way to cook wild rice, is to bring a saucepan filled with water to a boil add salt and (well washed) wild rice, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 60 minutes, or until the rice is cooked. You’ll want it chewy, try not to overcook it, because then it just gets mushy. Drain as you would pasta, don’t rinse.

Wild Rice Stuffed Mushrooms

  • 12 large white mushrooms
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 cup or more of cooked wild rice
  • Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to .

Butter a shallow baking dish.

Snap stems off mushrooms and chop. Place the mushroom tops, bottom up, in the baking dish.

Melt butter in a medium size skillet. Add garlic and mushroom stems. Cook over medium heat, stirring, 3 minutes. Add rice and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from heat and add Parmesan cheese. Spoon wild rice mixture into the mushroom caps. Top each with two or three leaves of rosemary.

Bake in a 400°F oven for 10-15 minutes or until hot.  Serve warm.

You can put the mushrooms together ahead of time (I did it the night before), cover and refrigerate and bake just before company arrives.

 

Aloo Gobi

/ jeffreyw

Since I made garam masala for the butter chicken and had plenty leftover I took another dive into Indian cuisine.  Aloo gobi is a vegetarian dish of cauliflower and potatoes.  Mine is a tad redder than the yellow veggies in this recipe because I used some of my canned tomatoes rather than fresh, and a packet of annato powderI started with Yukon Gold potatoes and some purple ones because I needed to use them – they were growing fairly long roots in my bin.I could have used a can of tomato bits but I didn’t think it would be a problem to use a pint of my copycat rotel.  It turned into a decent gravy.
I used more turmeric that the recipe called for, and a bunch more garam masala. We don’t eat cilantro so I garnished with parsley.  We both gave this dish a thumbs up.  As per my custom, I added fresh ground red peppers to my bowl at the table

Asian Pear and Grape Cabbage Salad

/ TaMara / 1 Comment

Today sucked. I mean really and truly sucked.

marvin_the_martian_by_zombiegoon-d3bpzz1

But in other news, there’s water on Mars and the Blood Moon did not bring on the apocalypse and in the words of Scarlett O’Hara, tomorrow is another day.

I have a bunch of nice vegetarian sides and main dishes piled up in my to post file, so I thought this week would be a good time to focus on a few. Farm stands are still going strong, the weather can’t decide if it’s grilling or soup weather, this seemed like a safe bet.

Savoy Cabbage

Savoy Cabbage

Asian Pear and Grape Cabbage Salad

Dressing

  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp spicy brown mustard
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together all the ingredients, except oil, slowly whisk in oil to create vinaigrette. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

Salad

Red Anjou Pears

Red Anjou Pears

  • 1/2 head of red cabbage
  • 1/2 head Savoy cabbage
  • 1 Asian pear, halved, cored and sliced into thin strips
  • 1 Red Anjour pear, halved, cored and sliced into thin strips
  • 1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
  • 1 cup seedless green grapes, halved
  • 1/2 cup toasted walnut or almond pieces

 

Cut each cabbage in half to create two wedges, remove core and slice crosswise into thin shreds, toss with pears, grapes and nuts. Drizzle with vinaigrette and toss thoroughly. Let set for 10 minutes and serve.

Asian Pears

Asian Pears

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vegetarian Meatballs

/ TaMara

When I did the meatball post a while back, I asked for some vegetarian meatball recommendations. This was the one that I thought sounded really good and I can’t wait to try it. It may take me a while before I can get to it, so I thought I’d go ahead and link to the original recipe. I’ll revisit it when I have the chance to test it out.

From Macheesmo:

veg meatballs

Spinach and Ricotta Vegetarian Meatballs

Yield: Serves 4.  Prep Time:20 minutes   Total Time:50 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 Cup ricotta cheese
  • 1 Cup Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1 Cup fresh spinach, chopped
  • 1 1/2-2 Cups Italian breadcrumbs (plus some for rolling)
  • 4 Eggs
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh oregano
  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil

Continue reading…

For the complete recipe, click on this link and let me know how yours turn out.

Black Bean and Cheddar Burgers

/ TaMara / 3 Comments

Originally published 08/25/12:

Now for something completely different to grill.  I love black bean burgers, but the frozen ones can leave a lot to be desired.  So I’ve been looking around for a good recipe.  I found this one, but cannot tell you where, sorry to say.  I’ve changed up few things, made it a bit spicier and a bit moister.  Grill or fry on medium heat to keep the burgers from drying out.  Makes 4 good sized burgers, though you may want to double the recipe to serve 4-6 people.

Black Bean and Cheddar Burgers

  • 1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 6 ounces sharp cheddar, grated (about 1-1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs* soaked in 1 to 2 tbsp milk
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or Italian parsley
  • 1 tbsp chopped, pickled jalapeno
  • 3 green onions, finely chopped
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 2 tsps minced garlic
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper

Serve with:

  • 4 hamburger buns
  • Tomato and avocado slices for garnish

In a mixing bowl, with a potato masher, mash half of beans into coarse puree; add remaining ingredients.  Work mixture together by hand until it holds together easily. Shape mixture into four 3/4-inch-thick patties. Oil a large piece of aluminum foil, place on a grill set to medium heat and place burgers on the foil. Cook for about 8 minutes per side or until browned on outside and heated through to center. Serve on buns, topped with tomato and avocado.

You can also fry these on medium heat in a covered, well oiled skillet.

*for gluten free, use quick oats instead.

Week one of burger week…