BONUS RECIPE: Chickpea Noodle Soup

Robin Robertson was kind enough to share a recipe from her new book One-Dish Vegan. 

Chickpea Noodle Soup

Recipe © 2013 by Robin Robertson and used by permission of The Harvard Common Press

 Gluten-free option | Soy-free| Serves 4

This comforting, versatile soup can be altered easily to suit your taste. For example, vary the vegetables according to personal preference, or substitute seitan, tempeh, or different beans for the chickpeas. As the noodles cook in the soup, they will absorb some of the broth, so you may want to add a little more broth before serving. Alternatively, if you have leftover cooked pasta from another meal, you can just add it when ready to serve instead of cooking the noodles right in the soup. To make this soup gluten-free, use gluten-free pasta and, of course, make sure that your vegetable broth is gluten-free.

Ingredients:

·          2 teaspoons olive oil or 1/4 cup water

·          1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped

·          2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

·          1 celery rib, thinly sliced

·          3 garlic cloves, minced

·          1 teaspoon dried basil

·          1 teaspoon dried thyme

·          7 cups vegetable broth, or more if needed

·          4 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

·          4 cups coarsely chopped stemmed kale or cabbage

·      3 cups cooked chickpeas or 2 (15.5-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

·          1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

·          Salt and freshly ground black pepper

·          6 ounces uncooked linguine, broken into thirds

·          1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas

·          2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley

 Directions:

 1. Heat the oil or water in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and cook for 5 minutes to soften. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer, then add the basil, thyme, and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

 2. Add the green beans, kale, chickpeas, and tomatoes with their juices. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

 3. Stir in the pasta, peas, and parsley. Simmer until the pasta is tender, about 15 minutes longer. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. Serve hot.

Why Use a Slow Cooker?

  

I am so excited to host a guest post by one of my favorite vegan cookbook authors: Robin Robertson. She is about to release a new cookbook called Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker (The Harvard Common Press, 2012). I haven't gotten to see this one yet but from reading her post, I certainly can't wait to get it . . . and you can be sure I'll post a review when I do. So without further ado . . . here's Robin!

Why Use a Slow Cooker?

by Robin Robertson

Most slow-cooker enthusiasts would agree that convenience, economy, and great taste are what keep them coming back to their slow cookers time and again. When you cook in a slow cooker, the longer cooking times allow the flavors of the ingredients to meld into a deep complexity that is often unparalleled in other cooking methods. Slow cooking can be more nutritious, too, since the long cooking time allows the nutrients to concentrate in the food as it draws more flavor out of the ingredients. When you factor in the convenience quotient, you’ve got a kitchen helper worthy of the name.

What could be easier than assembling your ingredients, putting them in the slow cooker, and turning it on? That’s it! Several hours later, dinner is served. For added convenience, your meal can be served directly from the ceramic pot in which it was cooked. In addition, the removable ceramic insert can be refrigerated, so you can prepare your ingredients the night before and refrigerate them overnight right in the insert so it’s all ready to cook the next day. Slow cooking can be a terrific solution for busy people who want to eat healthy delicious meals.

In addition to cooking soups and stews, a slow cooker can be used to do such diverse things as cook corn on the cob, braise tofu, and make seitan from scratch. Its versatility extends to casserole-type dishes such as lasagna or mac and cheese, and even “bake” breads and desserts—dishes usually associated with the oven.  It’s also ideal for making jams, chutneys, and other condiments.

Perhaps one of the most popular dishes to make in a slow cooker is chili. One of my favorite chili recipes in Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker is this Two-Lentil Chili.  Using two kinds of lentils give this chili a great texture — the red lentils cook down and thicken while the brown lentils hold their shape.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Recipe: Two-Lentil Chili

Serves 4 to 6

Slow Cooker Size: 4- to 6-quart

Cook Time: 6 to 8 hours on Low

Gluten-free

Soy-free Option

Ingredients

·          2 teaspoons olive oil (optional)

·          1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped

·          4 garlic cloves, minced

·          1 or 2 jalapeño chiles, seeded and minced

·          1 bell pepper (any color), seeded and chopped

·          3 tablespoons chili powder

·          1 teaspoon dried oregano

·          1 teaspoon ground cumin

·          1 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed and picked over

·          1 cup dried red lentils, rinsed and picked over

·          1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

·          1 tablespoon soy sauce

·          1 teaspoon natural sugar

·          1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

·          Salt and freshly ground black pepper

·          4 cups water

·          Diced avocado, minced onion, vegan sour cream, shredded vegan cheese, and/or chopped cilantro, for garnish

Directions

1. For the best flavor, heat the oil in a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, chiles, and bell pepper and sauté until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the chili powder, oregano, and cumin and sauté for 30 seconds longer. Alternatively, omit the oil and sauté these ingredients in a few tablespoons of water or combine them in a microwave-safe bowl with a little water, cover, and microwave for 2 minutes.

2. Transfer the onion mixture to the slow cooker. Add both lentils, the tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar, cocoa, and salt and pepper to taste. (You may need to add up to 2 teaspoons of salt.) Stir in the water, cover, and cook on Low until the lentils and vegetables are tender, 6 to 8 hours.

3. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed. Serve hot, garnished with your favorite chili toppings.

Recipe © 2012 by Robin Robertson and used by permission of The Harvard Common Press.

Destressing weekday meals

I love my routine of cooking on Sunday afternoon/evening to make the start of a busy week less hectic. This Sunday morning, I put some black beans to soak as soon as I got up. Then before I went out in the afternoon, I put them in the crock pot on high. When I got home a couple of hours later, they were cooked. We were able to have black beans burritos for dinner, then I made a big pot of soup for Monday dinner and lunches, and still had enough beans to freeze for later on. Mondays are so much less stressful when I have food already figured out.

How about you out there? Any good ideas for making weekday meals easier?

And btw--this soup took about 20 minutes to make. I sauteed chopped onions, potatoes, carrots in a little olive oil. Added broth, chopped caulifower and cooked 10 minutes. Then added black beans, chopped spinach, and frozen corn and cooked another 5 minutes. Seasoned with salt and herbs and spices.

Garlicky Beans and Spinach

I'm visiting my family in Massachusetts so haven't been doing much cooking (my mom and sisters have been spoiling me), but last night decided to give Mom the night off. I roasted potatoes, carrots, zucchini, and onions but needed wanted a protein dish to go with it. So I raided the cupboards and came up with this dish that was a surprise hit with both my family and my nonveg parents. I don't have exact measurements but here's what I did.

Drained and rinsed 1 can of black beans and 1 can of pinto beans and placed in a pan.

My mom has these cubes of crushed garlic that she keeps in the freezer -- said she got them at Trader Joe's. I dropped in 1 cube but if you like even more garlicky flavor use 2. I think roasted garlic would be really great as well.

I added about 10 halved cherry tomatoes. And a cup or two of frozen chopped spinach. Then salted to tasted and added some Italian seasoning herb mix. Heat until warm. Serve with grated parmesan cheese.

It was also good on toasted Italian bread -- sort of like bruschetta.

Easy roasted vegan dinner

I am just all about roasting lately. It's easy, makes the house smell great, but mostly everything just seems to taste spectacular when it's roasted.

Here's my latest creation that we all loved. And it really has all the food groups--maybe add a nice warm, crusty bread to round it out!

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 head cauliflower, broken into bite size florets
1 3/4 cups or 1 (15-ounce can) garbanzo beans
1 large onion, peeled and cut into wedges
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (thyme would also work well)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a large bowl, toss everything together with enough olive oil to coat. Spread on a large baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Roast in the oven about 30 minutes, or until the squash and cauliflower are tender. Stir and flip veggies once or twice to keep once side from getting to brown.

Serves 4-6

White Bean Spread and Crostini

I'm working on a good white bean spread that I can use on sandwiches and I'm hoping on pizza too--and came up with this yummy spread. It's easy to make and very versatile -- you can use it instead of mayo on sandwiches and you'll get lots of great nutrients like protein and minerals rather than empty calories. If you want a stronger garlic flavor, roast two heads rather than just one. And BTW, this was my first time roasting garlic and it couldn't have been easier. Don't know why I waited so long as I love it so much.










White Bean Dip/Spread
This is a nutritious and delicious dip for raw veggies or pita wedges or steamed artichoke leaves. I like it as a substitute for mayonnaise on sandwishes—it’s full of nutrients and low in fat.

1 3/4 cups or 1 (15-ounce) can cooked white beans
1 head roasted garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Keep refrigerated.

Makes 2 cups

Variations: Add chopped parsley, chives, or other fresh herbs

Roasted Garlic
This is super easy, but can transform an ordinary dish into something spectacular. Add them to mashed potatoes, dips and spreads, or just spread them on warm bread.

1 bulb garlic (or as many as you want)
olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degress F. Peel most of the white papery skin of a the garlic bulb, leaving enough so that the cloves still hold together. Slice off about 1/2 inch off the top—just enough so that most of the cloves are exposed. Place garlic cut side up in a small baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil. Cover the dish—if it doesn’t have a cover use foil. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, or until cloves are soft and outsides have started to brown. Let cool slightly before using.

So for the crostini I toasted Italian bread, spread the slices thickly with the White Bean Spread. Arranged sliced heirloom tomatoes on top and sprinkled with chopped fresh herbs. So good! The perfect summer lunch or dinner.

Eden Foods Organic Beans--No BPA

As I continue my quest to find out what canned foods do not contain BPA - - - this from Eden Foods: "Eden Organic Beans are packed in steel cans coated with a baked on oleoresinous (a natural mixture of an oil and a resin extracted from various plants, such as pine or balsam fir) c-enamel lining, that does not contain bisphenol-A. These cans cost 14% more than the industry standard cans, which do contain bisphenol-A.

It looks like they've switched to glass for their tomatoes products too.

Ultra Quick Dinner

A healthy dinner in 15 minutes! Yes, it's possible. I made these Crispy White Beans (10 minutes), sliced a couple of farmers' market tomatoes and snipped fresh herbs over them, and served with leftover pesto pasta (even if I'd made the pasta, it still would've been a quick dinner). And the family gobbled it up!

BPA from canned foods

Scientists from the Breast Cancer Fund recently published a study that showed that eliminating processed foods significantly lowers BPA exposure. BPA is a toxic industrial chemical used to harden plastic. It is commonly used in plastic food and beverage containers, lids of glass jars, epoxy lining in metal cans and dental sealants. Research has shown that BPA leaches out of the plastic and into food and can be harmful even at low doses. Hundreds of peer-reviewed studies have linked BPA to health and development problems, including birth defects, breast and prostate cancer, early puberty, infertility, obesity, chromosome and reproductive abnormalities, diabetes, heart disease and neurobehavioral problems. (Read more here.)

So, according to the Breast Cancer Fund, here are some tips for reducing BPA in your diet:

- Switch to stainless steel and glass food storage and beverage containers.
- Move foods to ceramic or glass food containers for microwaving.
- Consider a French press for coffee – home coffee makers may have polycarbonate-based water tanks and phthalate-based tubing.
- Eat out less, especially at restaurants that do not use fresh ingredients.
- Limit canned food consumption.
- Choose fresh fruits and vegetables when possible, and frozen if not.
- Soak dried beans for cooking (you can make extra and freeze them).

So -- as I read this, I'm thinking I've already done most of these . . . but then they have a list of the canned foods to especially avoid -- the ones high in sodium, fat, and acid - - - which pretty much covers all canned foods. Recently, I've been consciously working toward eliminating canned foods . . . for me, that means beans, tomatoes, and coconut milk. In fact, today I have a big batch of white beans in my slow cooker that I will use some of for dinner and freeze the rest (in glass containers, not plastic). Here's how--in case you're interested.

Soak 2 cups beans overnight in a lot of water. Drain the beans. Place in slow cooker with 8 cups water. Add a strip of kombu (sea vegetable) if desired--helps to soften beans and reduce gas effects. Cover and cook on low about 8-10 hours. Makes about 6 cups beans.

Slow Cooker Moroccan Lentil Soup

I was talking to a friend last weekend about my slow cooker experiments and said she loved Moroccan Lentil Soup--so that was the experiment of the day. And yum -- I really liked this version. I may continue to fine tune the spices -- I didn't have coriander but think that would be a good addition. But for a first try, very pleased!

Slow Cooker Moroccan Lentil Soup

1 onion, diced small
2 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 1/2 cups brown/green lentils
3/4 cup brown rice
12 cups water
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground tumeric
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste
black pepper to taste

Turn slow cooker to high or low depending on when you want it ready. Add onion, celery, carrots, lentils, rice, water, cumin, ginger, tumeric, and paprika (in other words everything but the tomatoes, salt and pepper). Cover and cook 4-5 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low. Stir in remaining ingredients and serve or keep on warm until ready to serve. This actually gets better as it sits.

Serves 10

I'm in love!

. . . with my new slow cooker. Dinner #3 was another big hit with the family. Here's what I did.

White Bean Soup

2 cups dried navy beans
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 quart vegetable stock
3 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups frozen corn
4 cups chopped fresh spinach
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Soak beans in lots of water overnight (I do this right in the slow cooker, why bother with another dish.) Drain soak water and place beans in slow cooker turned on to low. Add onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots, stock, water, oregano, and basil. Cover and cook on low about 8 hours (or longer). Stir in corn and spinach. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook another 15 minutes or so, until corn and spinach are cooked.

My family liked this topped with parmesan (dairy or nondairy version).

Serves 8

The Hard to Cook Bean Mystery

I feel like I'm Nancy Drew trying to solve this mystery of the hard beans. When I got home at 10 pm Monday night and the lentils were still hard, I just transferred the whole thing to a pot and stuck in in the refrigerator to deal with later. On Tuesday, when I got home from work, I tried cooking the soup on the stovetop . . . after 2 hours, the lentils were a little softer but definitely not soft enough so I pureed the soup with my immersion blender and added some diced tomatoes and frozen corn. The soup tasted good enough . . . but still not the lentil soup I had been envisioning.

To try to narrow down the problem I wanted to see if the problem might be old beans . . . or maybe even our hard water. I
had some uncooked lentils left so I cooked them from scratch on the stove top. Within 30 minutes, they were soft and perfect.

So to recap, I proved that it's not the beans and not our water . . . it must be the crock pot. But what's really weirding me out is why the lentils didn't soften eventually--not even when I transferred them to the stovetop. It's like there was something that permanently hardened them. I know adding acidic foods can do that but I didn't. I didn't add salt either which some say can keep the beans hard. So, must be the crock pot right?

We'll see. I have borrowed a crock pot from a friend so I will try that next.

Amazing Bean Recipe

I've been so enjoying cooking this summer--actually having the time to browse cookbooks and try some new recipes. I was intrigued by a dish I found in Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking for Giant Crusty and Creamy White Beans. I didn't have the exact ingredients she called for, but I did use her idea. Below is my version. Thanks Heidi for the great idea--the beans come out crispy on the outside, but creamy on the inside. My family LOVED these and it was so easy to do.

Crispy White Beans

1 (15-ounce)can large white cannellini beans
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for drizzling
sea salt
2 cups baby spinach

Empty the can of beans into a colander. Rinse well to remove all the bean juice. Let sit to drain. Meanwhile, pour olive oil into a large skillet—just enough to cover the bottom. Place over medium-high heat. Let oil heat for a minute or two until hot. Pour the beans into the skillet—be careful not to get splattered. Spread them out so that beans are in a single layer. Let the beans cook without stirring them for 4 to 5 minutes, until the bottoms are browned. Use a spatula to flip the beans. Let cook about 3 more minutes, or until browned on that side. Sprinkle the spinach over the beans. Drizzle the spinach with a little olive oil. Gently fold the beans and spinach together until the spinach is wilted. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Healthy Meals on a Budget

It doesn't have to be expensive to eat healthy and organic. Look for fresh fruit and vegetables at your farmers' market and buy whole grains like brown rice in bulk. One of the staples in our house are beans. Not only are they inexpensive, but they are full of protein, fiber, minerals--plus they are filling and satisfying, especially when the weather is cold.

Check out this article I wrote for VegFamily magazine--there are several of my favorite recipes as well.

And here's another article I found recently.

Great Meals on a Budget

Check out my latest article in The Whole Family Column in VegFamily Magazine on saving money on your food bills by eating more beans. The article includes bean cooking tips and recipes and more.