My Monday Lunchbox - End of Summer Stewing

Happy November, everyone! (yes, this is my first post of the month...) After a month of almost non-stop posting, I have to admit that I needed last week to recuperate. That may explain the pause in blog entries. The other reason I have remained relatively quiet is that I have been trying to get into the groove of my short-term diet switch - omitting grains and sugars (including fruit). I won't go into the WHY (TMI?), but you can get a picture of the reasoning behind the anti-candida diet on Diet, Desserts and Dogs.

If you thought a vegan's diet centered around vegetables, let me tell you that without bready products in one's life, it really puts vegetables at the forefront. This past week has included more greens, beans and nuts than I can remember. Kale and cabbage have been lunch staples. Mung beans and chickpeas have featured prominently in curries and dips. And, well, almonds and sunflower seeds have filled in all the rest. More than once already I have found myself in a bind, without food I can eat, and no way of obtaining it for hours. But I've also had the delight of thinking outside of the box, not relying on my usual go-to items to fill me up (no more three-apple days).

Because it is hard to imagine this seemingly limited array of foods satiating and nourishing a human being, I thought I would provide a little snapshot of today's lunch (figuratively speaking, as I was much too lazy to snap a real photo). Meals at the moment are indicative of the time of year - summer is in recent memory, with eggplants and peppers still in play, but increasingly root veggies, winter squash, and hardy greens claiming center stage.

Changing Seasons Stew
1 small eggplant, diced, salted, and allowed to sit for 30 minutes
1/2 small onion, diced
1 small bunch swiss chard, chopped
1 small sweet potato (this is a limit food, sigh)
1/4 cup vegetable stock
spritz of olive oil
oregano, thyme, and basil to taste

1. Coat bottom of a pyrex casserole dish with olive oil. Sprinkle half of the onions, then layer eggplant, sweet potato, chard, and remaining onions. Add herbs with each layer. Pour in vegetable broth.
2. Place in a 350F oven for at least 45 minutes, until sweet potato is cooked through. Serve with some mung beans.

Curried Mung Beans
1/2 cup dried mung beans, soaked overnight
3/4 cup water or vegetable broth

2 tsp curry powder
1/4 onion, diced
1-2 tsp olive oil

Salt to taste


Heat oil and onions in a small sauce pan over medium heat until onions begin to turn translucent. Add liquid and bring to a boil. Cook mung beans for 30 minutes or so until soft. Add a curry powder, or a mix of turmeric, cumin, cayenne, and ginger, plus any salt you feel you need. Enjoy (perhaps with millet?)


So, this is ridiculously easy to make; and mung beans are so good for you. Considered in Ayurvedic traditions as cleansing, nourishing, and balancing, mung beans are probably one of the most appropriate vegan protein sources while on this diet.

Mmm. I also have a supply of soaked raw almonds, raw cabbage salad with pesto, and some carrots...just in case! Be sure to check back to see how I'm faring on this regime; what new substitutes I find for sugary desserts; and what's new in the sustainable agriculture realm (yeah, don't forget that part!).

And for more healthier recipes, check out Wellness Weekend.

Produce of the Week: Bietola

I bet that one got your attention! On the farm in Italy, I could easily walk out back and grab a few large leaves of bietola for a stir-fry, soup, or salad. While ours were merely green-leafed, whitish stalks, the varieties come in a spectrum of colors. The “Bright Lights” I brought home last week sure lived up to their rainbow reputation.According to a 40-year-old Italian-English dictionary, bietola translated as beetroot.

While the same species as your basic beet – Beta vulgaris – bietola is the variety bred for leaves rather than roots – chard. Recognized during Greek civilization in the Mediterranean Basin, chard didn’t migrate to North America until the 19^th century. As many vegetables, it was traditionally applied to medicinal uses, particularly in the beetroot form. Containing plenty of vitamins A and C, it is no surprise that this leafy green provides a nice health boost!

A week ago, one of the many time-sensitive duties on the farm was transplanting young rainbow chard plants. If you have never gotten your hands dirty, tenderly moving a plant to newly tilled soil, then you are missing out. It is altogether gratifying seeing the row progress from bare soil to rows of tiny leaves to the bouquets into which chard transforms.

Well, after traveling home with a hefty bunch of these multi-colored stems, I had my work cut out for me coming up with creative uses for my bounty. As you will see below, there are endless possibilities for your chard:

Bright Lights Chard Quiche

Crust

½ cup cornmeal

¼ cup white whole wheat flour

1 tbs olive oil

2-3 tbs water

Filling

8 oz tofu

2 tbs nutritional yeast

1 tsp garlic powder

4 large chard leaves

salt to taste

1 tbs garlic scapes

1. Combine crust ingredients until the sand-textured mixture sticks together. Press into two 4” tart pans.

2. Heat some olive oil or spray a skillet. Sautee chopped garlic scapes. Add chard and cook until soft.

3. In a food processor, blend tofu until relatively smooth. Add garlic powder, nutritional yeast, salt, and sautee until chard in roughly chopped.

4. Pour filling into crusts. Bake at 350F until starting to brown and setting on top. Usually 30-45 minutes. Allow to cool!

For a beautiful non-vegan but gluten-free tart recipe, check this one out.

Chard gnocchi made an appearance on my plate tonight – essentially mix mashed potatoes, chard, salt, nutritional yeast, and flour (besan + AP would be good) until a not-so-sticky dough forms. Make little logs, mark with a fork, and then place in boiling water until they float. Drain and then pan fry in olive oil and salt or a nice marinara!

You could always go the sweet route...

Upside-Down Lemon Chard Muffins

½ cup olive oil

2/3 cup almond milk

1/3 cup applesauce

1 lemon, juiced and zested

¾ cup brown or turbinado sugar

1 tsp lemon extract

1 cup whole wheat flour

2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

3 cups chard stems, chopped

½ - ¾ cups sugar

1. Combine chard and sugar in a skillet over medium heat. Cook until stems are tender and sugar bubbly.

2. Mix wet ingredients in a bowl with a whisk. Incorporate dry ingredients until they just come together.

3. Oil muffin tins. Place chard in the bottom of each cup. You could also add some to the batter (or even add some finely chopped chard leaves). Pour batter over chard. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, until a knife comes out cleanly. Allow to cool before un-molding.

There are, of course, more ways to use up chard. 101 Cookbooks has a lovely garlicky recipe. Parmesan is so unnecessary in this tasty chard risotto on the NY Times. A hearty lentil and chard stew is most fitting to the current weather. And these is always the ornamental path…

Yes, the Swiss enjoy the aesthetic properties of chard gracing their cities' gardens!