Chickenless Dumplings, Salad, and Fruit

Chickenless Dumplings

This was a Martha Stewart recipe I've been looking at for years and finally decided to modify and try. I think it was one of my best co-op meals to date...hope you enjoyed. I made it again for Chris's birthday and now I'm finally posting because my sister has been asking for the recipe. I can't believe how much like chicken soup this tastes to me - especially the next day. I need to keep batches of this in the freezer since it's all I want when I'm sick...or cold.

1 package Quorn chik'n tenders

4 medium carrots

1 medium onion, thinly sliced into half moons

2 celery stalks, cut into 1/4 in pieces

1 garlic clove, minced

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 c. low-sodium stock

1 tsp coarsely chopped fresh thyme

1/4 c plus 2 tbsp yellow cornmeal

3/4 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp finely chopped shallot

1 tbsp freshly grated lemon zest

3/4 c finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tbsp finely grated pecorino

1 1/2 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 c. low-fat milk

Bring 2 quarts of water, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, stock and 1/8 tsp salt to boil in a medium pot. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, shallot, zest, parsley, and cheese in a medium bowl. Add butter, and blend in with fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk, and stir with a for, until a dough forms.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls; add all at once to simmering broth. Cover; simmer, undisturbed, until the dumplings are cooked through, about 20 minutes.

While dumplings are cooking, cook Quorn in a pan with a little olive oil over medium-high heat. Add salt and pepper. Once Quorn is lightly browned and heated through, add to the broth.

Okra Curry, Dal, Brown Rice

Here's another few recipes from the best Indian cookbook I've ever used - Cooking with my Indian mother-in-law. It was back at the library on my last trip and I was so excited to get to borrow it again. I feel like I'm taking a cooking course when I use this book - great descriptions and good pictures walk you through different steps.

Curry Okra

This was local organic okra from Greenling - so delicious!

12 oz okra

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Large pinch of fenugreek seeds

1/2 tsp asafoetida

1 tsp dhana jiru (recipe below)

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

3 cloves garlic, crushed with 1/2 tsp salt

Wash the okra pods and dry. Top and tail and cut into 1/2 in thick rounds.

Heat the oil gently in a wide pan (one with a lid). Add mustard, cumin, and fenugreek seeds. After 20 sec, add the asafoetida and increase the heat slightly. When the seeds start to pop, add the okra pieces and toss them in the spiced oil until thoroughly coated.

Reduce the heat to low and add the dhana jiru, chili powder and turmeric, and stir gently. Cover with a lid and cook gently, stirring from time to time, taking care no to break up the pieces. The juices from the okra will run out - keep cooking until they evaporate and the okra is quite soft. The curry should be quite dry. Add the garlic paste and stir well. Cook for a couple of minutes, then serve.

Dhana Jiru

I used a 2:3 ratio of cumin seeds to coriander seeds.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake seeds on a cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. I ground them with a mortar and pestle.

Dal

The recipe calls for yellow and red lentils. I had a bunch of bags with a just a few lentils - so my version had yellow, red, brown, and green lentils. Alas, the conversions in the recipe book were wrong on the amount of water so the spices ended up being diluted. I think it turned out pretty well...but it could have been even better! I've tried to correct the amounts in the recipe below.

1 cup moong dal (yellow split mung beans wtihout the skin)

4 tbsp masoor dal (red split lentils)

4 green chilis

1 fat garlic clove

1 inch ginger

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tomatoes, skinned and chopped

1 tsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 small onion, diced

1/2 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp dhana jiru (see recipe above)

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro stems

Lemon juice to taste

1/2 tbsp roughly chopped cilantro leaves

Wash dal in several changes of water until water is clear. Drain and put them in a pot with 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil without the lid. Skim off any scum that rises to the surface of the water. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the dal for 20 minutes or until it is soft and has broken down completely.

While the dal cooks, make the masala (spice mixture). Top and tail 2 of the green chilies, cut into short lengths and use a mortar and pestle to crush them with the garlic, ginger, and salt. Add the tomatoes and pound the mixture to combine.

Heat the oil in a separate pan, add the mustard seeds and onion and fry until pale gold (cook for at least 10 minutes - onions should start to break down). Add the butter and, when melted, add the dhana jiru and turmeric. Cook the spices for a few seconds, then add the tomato mixture and the coriander stems. Increase the heat and simmer the masala until the tomatoes break down and oil pools around the sides of the pan. Set aside.

When the dal is cooked, take a whisk (I used an immersion blender) and beat the mixture to make it as smooth as possible. then add it to the cooked masala with the remaining 2 chilies (left whole). Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add more water if necessary - it should have the consistency of thin soup.

Taste the mixture, adding more salt and some lemon juice to sharpen the flavor as you like. Scatter the cilantro and serve.

Baked brown rice

I am loving this recipe - best rice ever!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/baked-brown-rice-recipe/index.html

Total cost = $26 for 4 families

Lentil Salad, Tabbouleh, and Saffron Rice

Warm Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese

This is a long time family favorite from Martha Stewart. It's so quick, flavorful, and low in fat. Usually it includes a bell pepper - but dang since they are on the dirty dozen I keep substituting celery for bell peppers. I can't afford $4-5/organic bell peppers for co-op meals.

3/4 c. green lentils

EVOO

2 shallots, thinly sliced

1 carrot, diced

1 stalk of celery, diced

1/2 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, diced

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

6 oz spinach, coarsely chopped

4 oz goat cheese

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add lentils, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat small amount of EVOO in pan. Add shallots, and cook stirring occasionally until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add carrot and celery, continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the veggies are tender, about 5 minutes more. Stir in parsley, vinegar, and a little EVOO. Transfer to a large bowl.

Drain lentils, and add to bowl with veggies. Stir in spinach, and season with S&P. Crumble goat cheese into bowl, and toss gently to combine.

Tabbouleh

Another low-fat family favorite from Martha Stewart.

1 c. bulghur wheat

4 plum tomatoes, finely chopped with juice

2 bunches parsely, finely chopped

4 scallions, finely chopped

1/4 c. fresh lemon juice

3/4 tsp coarse salt

EVOO

I buy the bulk organic whole wheat bulghur wheat from Central Market and follow the preparation instructions that print out on the label.

Add tomatoes with juice, parsley, and scallions to the prepared bulghur wheat. Add lemon juice, salt, a little EVOO, and S&P.

Saffron Rice

I lost the instructions to my rice cooker and haven't been able to cook brown rice properly since. Then I came across Alton Brown's baked brown rice recipe. I've never been a fan...but this is a great recipe that makes perfect rice every time. I added veggie bouillon cubes and pinches of ground saffron to the rice too.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/baked-brown-rice-recipe/index.html

Total cost for 4 families = $36.00 (I did a food tree this week...finally. I've been in arrears.)

Salad Night!

Sorry about the late delivery! We owe great thanks to Martha Stewart this week.

Quinoa-and-Apple Salad with Curry Dressing
Per serving: 304 calories, 14 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 38 g carbs, 154 mg sodium, 8 g protein, 5 g fiber

INGREDIENTS
Serves 4.

1/4 cup raw whole almonds
1 cup white quinoa
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons dried currants
1 small McIntosh apple, cut into 1/8-inch-thick wedges
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped, plus more for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread almonds on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until lightly toasted and fragrant, about 7 minutes. Let cool; coarsely chop nuts.
Rinse quinoa thoroughly in a fine sieve; drain. Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add quinoa; return to a boil. Stir quinoa; cover, and reduce heat. Simmer until quinoa is tender but still chewy, about 15 minutes. Fluff quinoa with a fork; let cool.
Whisk together honey, shallot, curry powder, salt, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Season with pepper. Whisking constantly, pour in oil in a slow, steady stream; whisk until dressing is emulsified. Add quinoa, currants, apple, mint, and nuts; toss well. Garnish with mint.

White-Bean Salad with Zucchini and Parmesan

INGREDIENTS
Serves 4.

2 cans (15 1/2 ounces each) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 pound zucchini (about 2 small), trimmed, quartered lengthwise, and thinly sliced on the diagonal
4 ounces green beans, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal (3/4 cup)
2 ounces fresh Parmesan cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, place cannellini beans, zucchini, green beans, Parmesan, basil, lemon zest and juice, and oil; season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

Squash Frittata, Wheat Bread, Carrot Medley

Squash Frittata

This is one of our family favorites we adopted from a Martha Stewart recipe and it's pretty low fat too. We like frittatas over quiche since you save calories and fat from skipping the crust.

Onion, squash, zucchini sliced 1/8 in

Feta cheese, crumbled

Dill

6 eggs

Milk

Garlic

Olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place onion in bottom of baking dish with a few glugs of olive oil, bake for 10 minutes. Add remaining veggies and sprinkle with cheese.

Reset oven to 400 degrees. While oven cools, whisk together eggs, milk, garlic, S&P, and dill. Pour over veggies and bake for 20 minutes until the eggs have puffed.

Wheat Bread

Chris is the bread baker of the house. He started with a free bread machine from Freecycle but has moved on after great success with Bread Alone by Daniel Leader. We checked it out from the library numerous times and it definitely changed his bread making for the good. He got Local Breads by the same author for Father's Day and this was the whole wheat sourdough. And if you ever want a pinch...we've always got a batch of sourdough starter on the counter-top that Chris would be happy to share.

Carrot Medley

Chris and I had a date at Monica Pope's T'afia in Houston last weekend. She was on Top Chef Masters so we had to try her restaurant out! I ordered this carrot side dish and was shocked with how tasty and simple it was. This was my attempt to re-make it and I was happy with the results.

Carrots, sliced and steamed

Sun-dried tomatoes

Parsley, chopped

Pepperocinis, sliced

Heat olive oil and add ingredients with S&P to taste.

Total cost for 4 families = $25

Tofu Egg Salad, Brown Rice Salad, Veggies and Ranch

Tofu Egg Salad

Heather and Courtney have made tofu spreads recently and I loved them on sandwiches and then eating the leftovers with crackers. I think this is such a tasty, easy, and light summer treat. I love egg salad and was really happy at how similar this tasted with less fat and no cholesterol.

Crumbled tofu, scallions, chopped celery, a little miracle whip, dijon mustard, fresh dill, apple cider vinegar, tumeric, garlic powder, S&P.

Brown Rice Salad

I lost the directions to my rice cooker - so I made this on the stove. It turned out really gummy but since it was going into a cold salad I just rinsed it in a wire mesh sieve and was okay with the resulting texture. I reduced the oil in the recipe by half.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/505

Veggies and Ranch

The third dish has to be a no-brainer for co-op to not kill me - so tomatoes, carrots, and ranch it was!

Total cost for 3 families = $17

Our first go at it...

Better late than never. A late post about what we made yesterday:
*Tomato salad (tomatoes from the yard, basil from the yard, mozzarella we had nothing to do with)
Cost: probably about $7 once I add the balsamic and oil.
*Three corn grits (from a piece about a vegan chef in Oprah's magazine). I'm so glad Zoe said she liked it. We didn't think much of it. It had grits, cornmeal, fresh corn, ground cashews, and spinach. Corn must be coming into season, it looked great. It was about $1o to make.
*Cucumber salad (mint, cucs, yogurt, garlic, salt). It was $5 to make. And easy. And good.
*Watermelon salad (for dessert). That was our favorite. It was just watermelon chunks in a dressing of lime zest, lime juice and sugar. Maybe $5 to make.

Guesstimated total: $27

We learned a lot about getting portions right. We thought we'd made a lot more grits than we actually had once we had it portioned out to the Pyrex.