Tag: vegan

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

A Trio of Japanese Vegetable Side Dishes

Loren made these…
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Daikon-Carrot Salad
Am easy recipe from FoodNetwork.com
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds daikon, peeled
Kosher salt
1 pound carrots
1 tablespoon grated peeled ginger
1/8 of a Napa cabbage (optional)
3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 1 3/4 teaspoons black sesame seeds
Directions:
Shave the daikon into ribbons with a vegetable peeler. Toss with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a colander; let drain in the sink, tossing occasionally, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, shave the carrots into ribbons with the peeler and slice cabbage into thin pieces.
Make the dressing: Whisk the ginger, vinegar, lime juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the vegetable oil and sesame oil until blended. Toast the sesame seeds in a skillet over medium heat, tossing occasionally, until the white seeds are golden, about 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon seeds to the dressing. Toss the daikon, cabbage and carrots with the dressing and season with salt. Top with the remaining sesame seeds.
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Cucumber Sunomono
Ingredients
2 large cucumbers, peeled
1/3 cup rice vinegar
4 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root
Directions
  1. Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise and scoop out any large seeds. Slice crosswise into very thin slices.
  2. In a small bowl combine vinegar, sugar, salt and ginger. Mix well. Place cucumbers inside of the bowl, stir so that cucumbers are coated with the mixture. Refrigerate the bowl of cucumbers for at least 1 hour before serving.
SPINACH WITH SESAME SEED DRESSING #2 (HORENSO NO GOMA AE)
PREP TIME: 10 mins TOTAL TIME: 12 mins
SERVES: 4
ABOUT THIS RECIPE
“The first version of this salad that I ever made, from “The Japanese Cooking Class Cookbook”. I think it’s still my favorite version. If you don’t have 2 tbsp. of dashi on hand (and who does?), or want a vegan version, use vegetable stock or water instead. NOTE: Sesame seeds love to pop right out of the skillet; I’d recommend using one with high sides or even a medium saucepan for toasting them.”
INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons dashi
1 quart water
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 ounces spinach
DIRECTIONS
Heat sesame seeds in a small skillet over medium-high heat, stirring or shaking pan constantly, until seeds are light brown and first popping sound occurs, about 2 minutes.
Reserve 1 teaspoons (5 ml.) of the toasted sesame seeds. Grind remaining seeds in a mortar and pestle or grinder until smooth. Combine ground seeds, sugar, soy sauce, and dashi in a small bowl to make dressing. Set aside.
Heat 1 quart (1 liter) water and the salt to boiling in a 2-quart saucepan; add spinach. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until spinach is tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain spinach. Rinse undeer cold running water; drain. Squeeze spinach to remove excess moisture. Cut into 1-inch pieces.
Combine spinach and dressing in a medium bowl and toss lightly until thoroughly mixed. Divide evenly into 4 small bowls and garnish with reserved sesame seeds.
Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Red Rice and Quinoa Salad with Orange and Pistachios

made by Loren
Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s!! recipe in Food & Wine.
Serves 6
Ingredients
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
1 cup quinoa
1 cup Bhutanese red rice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil1 medium onion, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup dried apricots (diced), cherries or cranberries
1-2 Navel Oranges, supremed and cut into small pieces
1 large or 2 small red beets
Bring 2 medium saucepans of salted water to a boil. I added 1 ½” chunks of beet to the red rice water, for color, removing them after it was sufficiently red, before adding the rice.Add the quinoa to 1 saucepan and the red rice to the other.
Cover and simmer over moderate heat until tender, about 12 minutes for the quinoa and 35 minutes for the rice. Drain the grains and spread them out on baking sheets to cool.
While grains are cooking, grate the rest of the beets and put aside.
Step 2   
In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
Step 3 
In a large bowl, combine the orange juice, orange zest, lemon juice, garlic and the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Add the quinoa, rice, onion, and shaved beets. This can sit for 1-2 hours before serving. Add apricots, pistachios and scallions and lettuce just before serving.
Make Ahead
The cooked quinoa and rice and the dressing can be refrigerated separately overnight. Bring to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.
Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Pecan-Orange Granola with Dried Cranberries

BY COOK’S ILLUSTRATEDPecan-Orange Granola with Dried Cranberries

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Store-bought granola suffers from many shortcomings. It’s often loose and gravelly and/or infuriatingly expensive. We wanted to make our own granola at home, with big, satisfying clusters and crisp texture. The secret was to firmly pack the granola mixture into a rimmed baking sheet before baking. Once it was baked, we had a granola “bark” that we could break into crunchy clumps of any size.

INGREDIENTS

⅓cup maple syrup

2tablespoons finely grated orange zest
2 ½teaspoons ground cinnamon
⅓cup packed (2 ⅓ ounces) light brown sugar
4teaspoons vanilla extract
½teaspoon salt
½cup vegetable oil
5cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2cups (10 ounces) pecans, chopped
2cups dried cranberries

INSTRUCTIONSMAKES ABOUT 9 CUPS

Chopping the almonds by hand is the first choice for superior texture and crunch. If you prefer not to hand chop, substitute an equal quantity of slivered or sliced almonds. (A food processor does a lousy job of chopping whole nuts evenly.) Use a single type of your favorite dried fruit or a combination. Do not use quick oats.

 

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk maple syrup, orange zest, cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in large bowl. Whisk in oil. Fold in oats and pecans until thoroughly coated.
3. Transfer oat mixture to prepared baking sheet and spread across sheet into thin, even layer (about 3/8 inch thick). Using stiff metal spatula, compress oat mixture until very compact. Bake until lightly browned, 40 to 45 minutes, rotating pan once halfway through baking. Remove granola from oven and cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 1 hour. Break cooled granola into pieces of desired size. Stir in dried cranberries. (Granola can be stored in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.)

RECIPE TESTING

Granola Gone Wrong

Most store-bought granola is so bad (and so overpriced), we’re surprised anyone ever buys it.

Without oil to provide moisture, fat-free versions contain dry, dusty oats. Baked with the other ingredients, dried fruit turns tough and leathery. Loose oats, versus chunks, too readily absorb the milk or yogurt and turn soggy.

STEP-BY-STEP

Keys to Chunkier Granola

PRESS DOWN

Spread oat mixture onto parchment-lined baking sheet. Press it firmly with spatula to create compact layer.

BAKE BUT DON’T STIR

Bake granola at 325 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Rotate pan halfway through baking but don’t stir.

BREAK UP

Break cooled granola “bark” into pieces as large as you’d like.

RECIPE TESTING

For Better Granola, Add Fat

When we mixed up a batch of granola in which we left out the oil, the resulting cereal was a real flop, the oats having taken on a crisp but overly dry consistency. It turns out that fat is essential for creating a likable crispness.

Here’s why: When the water in a viscous liquid sweetener (like the maple syrup in our recipe) evaporates in the heat of the oven, the sugars left behind develop into a thin coating on the oats and nuts. But without any fat, the sugar coating will become brittle and dry. Only oil can provide a pleasantly crisp coating with a sense of moistness.