Quinoa, Mango and Black Bean Salad

We have had another busy month, to put it mildly. Ben's parents were able to visit for 2 weeks in February and we had such a lovely time with them and were going non-stop. We took many walks to the playground in the beautiful spring-like weather that we have been blessed with. We indulged a bit and went out to eat a few times while they were here, including a triple-date night with Ben and I, Ben's parents, and Andy and Kerry, to 2941. But most nights we were at home and I am very happy to say that we did a pretty good job of sticking to our plant-based diet. I have been continuing to find hidden treasures of recipes in the "veganomicon" cookbook and one of our absolute favorites is this quinoa salad.

Quinoa is such a beautiful grain with loads of protein. This salad is very versatile and we have made it a handful of times in the past month. It is great to enjoy on some greens for an afternoon lunch, as Ben and I did today. The joy of making something so many times is you really can work with the recipe to figure out your favorite way to eat it. Today we stumbled upon our favorite one :)

Quinoa, Mango and Black Bean Salad

adapted from "Veganomicon." serves about 4 for a main lunch.

1 mango, peeled and cut into small dice

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 cup chopped scallions (green onions)

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil (or another mild tasting oil, such as plain olive oil)

juice from 1 lime

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

Combine mango, red bell pepper, scallions and cilantro in a medium bowl. Add the vinegar, oil, lime juice, and salt, and mix well. Add the quinoa and stir to incorporate, then fold in the black beans. Serve immediately, or chill before serving. Can be made the day before if desired, and is super good served over some salad greens. Enjoy!

Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry

Right after Christmas I made a bit of an impulse purchase (two purchases, to be exact) on Amazon. I ordered "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" and "Veganomicon," both by the same authors. I made two of the cupcake recipes right off for Adelaide's birthday (Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes and Apple Cider Cupcakes) and they were both delicious! I saved some of the pumpkin ones in the freezer and pop one out every once in a while to have with a morning tea.

This cookbook, Veganomicon, has pretty much changed my life. I finally have a very large arsenal to help me plan our nightly meals. In the past 5 weeks that I have had this book, I have made no less than 15 of the recipes, and a couple I have already made again because they were THAT good. Some of my favorites have been: sauteed spinach and tomatoes (sooo good!), lemony roasted potatoes, roasted portobellos, easy stir-fried leafy greens, Israeli couscous with pistachios and apricots, and a pineapple-cashew-quinoa stir-fry.

Feb 2012. Charlie (14 months) and Adelaide (3 years) enjoying their Red Lentil-Cauliflower Curry for dinner. (And yes, some peanut butter toast!)

One of the first recipes that we made though was the Red Lentil-Cauliflower Curry. It is a very tasty and easy curry, and mild if kept as the recipe is written, so maybe good for those who are new to curries. We love curries, and I try to keep them on the mild side so as not to worry about the kids. You could definitely add some extra curry powder to this recipe though and keep it on the safe side. The type of pepper used I think will also be a factor as to the heat. Both of the kids enjoy this one, but Charlie especially, as he devoured three bowls of it last night!

Feb 2012. Charlie, very proud of his mad spoon skills that he acquired this week when mum and dad finally handed the spoon over to the kid.

Red Lentil-Cauliflower Curry
from the cookbook "Veganomicon" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero
serves 4-6, takes about an hour to make

3 tablespoons oil (grapeseed, peanut, olive)
1 large onion, chopped
1 large chile pepper (jalepeno or serrano), minced
2 large shallots, chopped
1 (1/2 in) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 large parsnip, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons (or more!) curry powder
1/2 teaspoon each: tumeric, ground cinnamon, ground cumin, ground corriander
1.5 cups red lentils, sorted and rinsed
4 cups vegetable broth or water
1.5-2 pounds cauliflower (about one medium-size head), trimmed and sliced into small florets
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
1.5 teaspoons salt

Prepare all ingredients. In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Saute' the onion and shallots until tender and translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the grated ginger and chile, and saute' for 1 minute. Add the spices and briskly stir-fry for 30 seconds, then add the parsnip and stir-fry for another minute.
Slowly pour in the vegetable broth, then stir in the lentils. Cover the pot, raise the heat to high, boil for 1 minute. Give the mixture a stir, then cover the pot and lower the heat to medium-low. Allow the lentils to simmer for 10-12 minutes, until they are light yellow and mushy.
Add the cauliflower, stirring to coat with the lentils. Partially cover pot and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender but not completely falling apart. Remove from the heat and stir in chopped cilantro, lime juice, and salt.
Allow the curry to sit, covered, for about 15 minutes before serving to the allow the flavors to meld.
Serve over basmati rice with a side of steamed greens and some naan or roti.

Feb 2012. "Who, us? Do we look like we make a big mess every night?"

Black and White Bean Soup

My Aunt Susan made this soup for Ben and I when we lived in New Jersey and I have made it several times since. It is hard for me to find soups that Ben cares for but this is one that he likes maybe as much as I do. Adelaide must take after Ben because she generally doesn't care for soup either but this one she ate last night without a fuss. Charlie, of course, devoured it, as the texture is great for his 6 (!) teeth.

The soup has such a nice thick texture, is super healthy and vegan as well. The recipe originally came from Weight Watchers but I made several changes to it last night, some changes that my aunt suggested. The white beans I added because I only had 2 cans of black beans and the original recipe calls for 3. I really loved the addition of the white beans. If you wanted it a bit spicy you could substitute Rotel for the canned tomatoes and green chiles.

Black and White Bean Soup
adapted from Spicy Black Bean Soup at WeightWatchers.com

cooking spray or olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, with leaves, chopped
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
30 oz. canned black beans
15 oz. canned white kidney beans, drained
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
16 oz. vegetable broth
15 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
4 oz. can diced green chiles (I used the fire-roasted kind from Trader Joe's)
15 oz. can yellow corn, drained (or fresh or frozen corn, about 8 oz)

Coat bottom of stockpot with cooking spray or 2 tsp olive oil. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic and cook until onions are soft but not brown, about 5 minutes. Place one can of black beans, undrained, in blender with a bit of the broth and the onion mixture. Blend until smooth, then return mixture to stockpot.

Put the second can of black beans, drained, with the rest of the veggie broth into the blender and puree. Add to stockpot. Pour the can of white beans, tomatoes, green chiles, and corn directly into the stockpot. Bring to a boil then turn heat down and let it simmer for about 25 minutes.

Cauliflower with Olives and Cherry Tomatoes

Ben saw this recipe Sunday afternoon on Lidia's Italy. He looked online and located it here. The only exception to the whole foods plant-based diet is the olive oil. I'm not going to claim to know everything about what the strict diet calls for as we are still easing into it. But no matter your diet,  this recipe was amazingly delicious and so rich. I'm not a fan of olives, but they are whole so I just dished mine over to Ben and Adelaide. We ate it for dinner with a baked sweet potato each. The kids loved it, too, although I didn't give much to Charlie because of the high amount of salt, which is not good for babies. We used Kalamata olives instead of Italian olives, which may have added to the saltiness. Next time I will lessen the amount of salt, maybe 1 1/2 teaspoons.

Cauliflower with Olives and Cherry Tomatoes, slightly adapted from Lidia's Italy

1 large cauliflower, about 2.5 pounds

1 medium onion

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 plump garlic cloves, crushed and peeled

2 teaspoons kosher salt

a pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup pitted black Italian olives 

Tear off the tough outer leaves at the base of the cauliflower, and cut out the tough core. Cut the branches into small florets (about 1 inch), and cut any small tender leaves into pieces. Peel the onion and without trimming away the root end, slice it into eight thin wedges. The onion layers should still be attached at the root end, so each wedge remains intact. 

Pour the olive oil into a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, set it over medium heat, and toss in the garlic cloves. When they start to sizzle, strew the cauliflower over the pan bottom, and drop in the onion pieces here and there. Season with salt and red pepper flakes, if using, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cover the pan. Let the vegetables cook without stirring for 20 minutes or so, softening in their own juices until the florets and wedges begin to take on color on the bottom. If the pieces are soft but not caramelizing, uncover the pan, raise the heat a bit, and cook a few minutes longer. 

When the vegetable pieces are caramelized on one side, gently tumble them over. Scatter the cherry tomatoes and olives in the pan, stir gently to distribute them, then cover and cook until the tomatoes release their juices, about 5 minutes. 

Finally, remove the cover, raise the heat, and bring the pan juices to a boil. Cook until the juices are syrupy and the vegetables are caramelized all over, another 5-10 minutes. Heap on a platter or in a casserole dish and serve warm or at room temperature.