March 22nd, 2016
As though writing a cookbook and trying to stay on top of a second grader’s homework and extracurriculars is not enough, we’re planning a long overdue and major kitchen renovation this summer. When I say long overdue, I am not exaggerating one bit, as we haven’t put a hammer or paintbrush to the kitchen in the thirteen years of living in this house. Something has always topped it on the priority list, which, I know, sounds crazy considering what I do.
Our kitchen is nicely sized and sunny, but has many questionable and outdated details from the 90s along with badly aging countertops, the layout needs improvement, and there is a low hanging ceiling in an otherwise high ceilinged house. There’s lots of unearthed potential, and we are finally coming around to letting it free. To me, this is extremely exciting – the kitchen is my office, the place where the family eats, and also happens to be the central hangout spot in the house.
Somehow, we’ve managed to put ourselves onto a very tight schedule – the book manuscript is due June 30th, and the kitchen is being knocked down July 1st, the next day!
For now, I’m planning and gathering ideas, scouting Craigslist and Pinterest, and picking up old pieces of driftwood off the beach – who knows when I’ll need them.
Hot soup has always been my ultimate comfort food, and I know I will be needing lots of it in the months to come. Vietnamese pho is king when it comes to soups that warm you from the core, and I’ve been experimenting with vegetarian pho recipes during the past couple of weeks. The main component of any pho, but especially vegetarian pho, is the broth. This pho broth is first and foremost based on toasted spices – star anise, cinnamon, coriander, cardamom, peppercorn, and clove – each bringing its individual character to the flavor profile. I’m not normally the biggest fan of cinnamon in savory dishes, but in this broth it balances with tamari, brown rice vinegar and chili to create a fragrant and deeply nourishing broth.
I bought a few too many sweet potatoes from my favorite local farm and they made it into the pho in place of rice noodles, truly hitting the spot. This soup is all I want to eat right now. It’s warming, spicy and substantial, but also loaded with springy, crunchy vegetables and tons of herbs – the perfect balance, if you ask me.
Ciao Italian readers! Our book The Vibrant Table is now available in Italian, and you can order it here.
Vegetarian Spring Pho with Sweet Potato Noodles and Heirloom Beans
Note: I noticed that making the broth the night before lends the best flavor, so if you have time, let the aromatics sit in the broth for a night.
2 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
1 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorn
5 whole cloves
3 cardamom pods – green shells removed
1 medium onion – sliced into 8 wedges
3 garlic cloves – crushed with a knife
1-inch piece ginger, sliced and crushed with a knife
1/2 lb shiitake – hard stems removed, caps sliced
6 cups purified water
3 1/2 tablespoons tamari
1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon sriracha
1 1/2 cup cooked beans (I used these beautiful ones)
2 medium sweet potatoes – spiralized (I use this spiralizer)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 small or 1/2 large broccoli head – cut into florets
2 baby bok choy or 1 regular bok choy – sliced
handful mung bean sprouts
juice of 1 lime, plus more for serving
handful each cilantro, basil and mint leaves
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1. Warm dried spices in a medium soup pot over medium heat, stir around until toasted and fragrant, for about 2-3 minutes. Add onion, garlic and ginger and toast for another couple of minutes, until fragrant and onion begins to get some colour. Carefully add water (it may splatter) and shiitake stems, followed by tamari, brown rice vinegar and sriracha. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to simmer and cook, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let infuse further for at least 30 minutes or as long as you have time (overnight is best). Strain, discard solids.
2. Warm the coconut oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat, add broccoli and bok choy and saute for about 3-4 minutes, until they turn bright green in color. Set aside. This step can be eliminated and you can add broccoli and bok choy directly to the broth, along with the sweet potato noodles or later, together with mung bean sprouts, if you want to keep the greens extra crunchy.
3. In the meantime, bring the broth back to a boil, add cooked beans, sweet potato noodles and sliced shiitake caps. Adjust the heat to a simmer and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the type of spiralizer used. Mine makes very thin threads, so 3 minutes is enough time, while other spiralizers produce much thicker noodles, which need longer cooking time. Add sauteed broccoli and bok choy to the broth, followed by mung bean sprouts.
4. Remove pho from heat, add lime juice, herbs and sesame seeds. Serve warm with more lime juice and/or fresh herbs.
Tags: beans, bok choy, broccoli, mushrooms, pho, shiitake, soup, sweet potato, vegan
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March 15th, 2015
Spring is in the air, I can tell by the volume of the birds outside my window, which gets louder every morning. Daylight savings was a great help – having that extra hour of light in the evenings feels amazing and allows me to be much more productive towards the end of the day. Soon there will be peas, favas, rhubarb and asparagus. For the time being though, while winter produce is on its way out and spring produce is not quite ready, there are root vegetables.
We’ve been eating variations on this stew for the last couple of weeks, and this version is one of my favorites. It is a hearty one-pot meal that is very simple in preparation.
This dish speaks of both winter and spring, when the earthiness of roasted carrots, parsnips and sweet potatoes is combined with the bright notes of lime juice, ginger, turmeric, cardamom and coconut milk. Red rice and lentils bring substance to the dish, and spinach delivers a good dose of green. Enjoy!
Roasted Root Vegetable, Red Rice and Lentil Stew
serves 6
3 medium carrots
2 medium parsnips
2 small sweet potatoes or 1/2 small winter squash
3 tablespoons coconut oil – divided
few sprigs thyme
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper – to taste
2 teaspoons cumin seeds – freshly ground
4 green cardamom pods – seeds crushed in mortar and pestle
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
large pinch red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger root
1 small red chili pepper – sliced (optional)
1 large yellow onion – chopped
3/4 cup red rice such as Ruby Red or Bhutan – rinsed under cold water
handful kaffir lime leaves – bruised with the back of a knife (optional)
1/2 cup green lentils – preferably soaked
1 14 oz can Thai coconut milk
1 large or 2 small limes – zest and juice, plus more for serving
4 cups packed chopped spinach leaves or baby spinach
1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Peel and chop vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Toss them in a bowl or right on the baking tray with 1 tablespoon coconut oil and thyme leaves, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in a single layer for 20-30 minutes, stirring at halftime, until soft and caramelized.
2. Meanwhile, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a medium heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add spices, ginger, and chili if using, stir around for about a minute, until fragrant. Add onion and saute for about 7 minutes, until translucent.
2. Add rice, big pinch of salt and kaffir lime leaves, if using, stir to mix. Add 4 cups filtered water. Increase the heat, bring to a boil and decrease to a light simmer. Cook, covered, for 15 minutes.
3. Drain and rinse lentils and add them to the pot with rice with a pinch of salt. Cover and simmer for another 15 minutes. Test lentils for doneness, if you did not soak your lentils, they might need to be cooked a little longer, cover and simmer for another couple of minutes until lentils are cooked. Add roasted vegetables, coconut milk, zest and juice of lime and another pinch of salt. Stir to mix and let simmer for a couple of minutes for flavors to mingle.
4. Remove from heat and stir in spinach to wilt. Taste for salt and pepper, adjust as needed. Serve immediately with more lime juice squeezed over.
Tags: carrots, coconut milk, lentils, parsnip, red rice, rice, spinach, stew, sweet potato, vegan, vegetarian
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October 14th, 2014
Ciao from Italy! By the time this post goes up, I will be in the mountains of Abruzzo, having already walked down the streets of Rimini and Venice for the first time in my life. I will already have tasted many fresh and amazing dishes, crossing them off my long list of things to try, one by one. As open as I am to all kinds of food while traveling, I always crave very simple fare when I come back home – vegetables and greens, very much like this salad from Gena’s Hamshaw new cookbook Choosing Raw.
I love Gena’s style, represented so well on her site – easy and informative, full of nutrition advice, but always taking flavor into consideration. I gladly accepted Gena’s offer to send me a copy of her cookbook and already made the Avocado Black Bean Breakfast Scramble, Fig Bars, and this Sweet Potato and Kale Salad – all to delicious results.
Gena’s plant-based recipes, not all of them raw, are fuss-free, and offer options that will satisfy both a rookie and a seasoned cook. What sets the book apart are the many educated answers to your questions about nutrition, veganism and raw food. Being a certified nutritionist herself, Gena provides helpful meal plans for beginners, with higher protein and raw meal options.
This salad is great for fall, with sweet potato as the featured guest. It is simple in preparation and very nourishing – well done Gena!
Sweet Potato and Kale Salad
for the dressing
1 cup cashews – soaked for about 4 hours
1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chipotle powder
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup water
for the salad
2 sweet potatos – peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt and pepper
1 bunch kale – cut into bite-size pieces
1 red bell pepper – sliced
1/3 cup slivered almonds
to make the dressing
Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
to make the salad
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Toss sweet potatoes with oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes until soft. Cool for 15 minutes.
2. Massage 1/2 dressing into the kale in a large mixing bowl, until the kale softens. Add in the pepper slices, potatoes and the rest of the dressing. Mix to combine.
3. Serve right away with some slivered almonds sprinkled on top.
Note: Gena uses all of the dressing for this salad, but I used less, as I like my salads dressed lightly. I saved the rest of the dressing for another salad.
Tags: kale, pepper, salad, sweet potato
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