Tried and True

Below are some recent winners, stored here more for my benefit than yours. Perhaps they'll help you in a pinch or motivate you to finally experiment with aquafaba (I'm three for three with it).

Yogurt-Honey Mustard Dressing

"The Best" Vegan Gluten-Free Waffles - these really exceeded expectations; I used fine cornmeal in place of almond flour and vanilla soy milk instead of coconut milk; batter seemed thin but they turned out great

Red Curry Vegetable Soup with Kale, Chickpeas, and Sweet Potatoes - a recent favorite; I've so far subbed red lentils or cooked brown rice for the farro

Chickpeas in Spicy Pomodoro Sauce - never underestimate the power of fennel and red pepper flakes; I've made this twice lately and both times I reduced olive oil amount to 1/4 cup and entirely neglected to add the fresh herbs (even though I bought them) and parmesan - still super tasty

Herb-Mustard Pork Tenderloins - sometimes you have two pork tenderloins in your refrigerator, so you google "Ina Garten Pork Tenderloins" and, as you likely know, she delivers

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In the throes of my aquafaba experimentation, I impulse-made vegan snickerdoodles with the older children. I started with a PPK recipe but veered considerably. I'm very happy with the results, which turned out soft, chewy, and much more domed than the original recipe, so if you're into vegan baking (and aquafaba!), have at it.

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Vegan Whole-Wheat Chai Snickerdoodles

For the topping
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

For the cookies
1/2 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons vanilla non-dairy milk
2 tablespoons aquafaba
2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper (or Silpats).

Mix the topping ingredients together on a dinner plate. Set aside.

Mix together all the dry ingredients (flour through salt).

In a medium mixing bowl, beat together coconut oil (room temp) and sugar. Add in maple syrup, milk, and aquafaba and mix thoroughly. Add in dry ingredients.

Roll dough into your desired size cookies and roll in spiced sugar. Place on prepped baking sheet and bake. (1 teaspoon-sized balls took about 8 minutes; 1 tablespoon-sized took 10 minutes.) Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes (this is important - they are fragile right out of oven but will firm up while cooling), then transfer to baking racks to cool completely.

Family Dinner: Baked Lemon-Basil Risotto with All Your Veggies

This recipe is based on one from a cookbook assembled by families from my older children's preschool. It was a fund-raising cookbook; I assisted with data entry and edited recipes and the whole thing was fascinating. We all eat, cook, and feed our families so differently. You would be blown away by how many ways families have found to incorporate that box of Jiffy cornbread mix into their meals! 

This risotto is among the gems I've found in the book, and credit for it was given to a Baby Led Weaning cookbook. When I briefly wanted to jump on the BLW bandwagon (didn't last - too much gagging and mess and heart palpitations for me), I tried it out and was delighted by both how delicious the finished product was and how not-stuck-to-the-pan the baked risotto was. (I had been worried - needlessly, as it turns out - that I'd have a glutinous crust soaking on my counter overnight. I love a recipe that cuts out hands-on time, but not when the trade off is adding time on the washing up end. This one is a win-win.) 

I've made this several times now, throwing in whatever veggie knobs I've got to use up in the fridge and it's always good and it's been invariably well-received by my baby. It freezes great, reheats easily, and the leftovers make outstanding risotto cakes. It's gluten free and vegetarian - could easily be made vegan by opting for vegetable broth and omitting the butter and Parmesan. You should probably make it!

The version below incorporates my favorite flavor combination: fresh basil, fresh lemon, and dried red pepper flakes. I recommend it as written, but this recipe is a canvas. Go crazy.

xx E-N

Baked Vegetable Risotto with Basil, Lemon, and Red Pepper Flakes

Yield: 8 servings

1 quart vegetable or chicken stock + 1 cup water

2 tablespoons olive oil 

1 onion, finely chopped

2 small carrots, finely chopped

3+ cloves garlic, minced*

4-5 cups finely chopped vegetables**

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

Zest and juice of half a lemon

2 tablespoons butter (optional)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional - if you opt out, add 1/2 teaspoon salt before putting in oven)

2 large handfuls fresh basil

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more for serving

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a 2-quart or larger saucepan, bring stock and water to boil.

In a large oven-safe casserole dish or steel pan (I used a 12" ovenproof stainless steel skillet) over low-medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add onion and carrot with a pinch of salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until soft (about 5 minutes). Add garlic, vegetables, lemon zest, and another big pinch of salt and cook until they begin to soften (another 5 minutes). Add arborio rice and additional tablespoon of oil to pan; stir to make sure that all the grains have a light coating of oil on them. Add the boiling stock-water mixture to the pan and bring to a boil. Cover dish (or transfer mixture from pan to an ovenproof casserole dish with a cover), and bake in oven for 30 minutes. Stir gently and add more hot stock if necessary (I have never had to). Taste and, if still al dente, bake for another 5-10 minutes.

While the risotto is cooking, slice or chop your basil and grate your Parmesan. Remove risotto from oven and stir in butter, lemon juice, Parmesan, basil, and red or black pepper. Serve hot, with extra Parmesan, basil, and red pepper flakes on hand.

* I used 5 cloves of garlic because I like garlic and it was by no means overwhelming.

** I used - and recommend using! - 1 small head of broccoli, 1 red pepper, 2 zucchinis, ~10 halved baby tomatoes. You might consider using: a diced butternut squash or a mix of mushrooms finished up with arugula at the end. That would be super tasty and ever so grown up of you.

Maybe I'll Make It

Minnesota has gone tundra. I'm reminded by my fellow Minneapolitans that it's all relative and that my family and I actually missed the REAL cold, which descended and camped out for nearly two weeks in late December and the first days of 2018, and which we escaped in order to spend the 2017 holidays a mile in from the Pacific Coast Highway, no jackets in sight. (We couldn't have planned it better!) We were welcomed back mildly a week ago, and were spoiled with an unseasonable dose of spring until yesterday, when the outside-temperature gauge on my car informed me that we were officially in the single digits, and later the negative digits. It's customary to complain or at least commiserate with the locals about the cold here. I mean, what we deal with most winters is unfathomable to most of the world. But as a California native, I don't take the cold for granted. I kind of love it. It affords a lot of structure to your days and forces you to think before you act. It also makes you want to turn on that oven. And stove and slow-cooker and brand new instant pot. And maybe it will make me blog again.

Last night we made this chicken faux pho for the second time - it's spectacular, and even more so on day two, you should make it!

In the upcoming freezing days, here are some things that have motivated me to get cooking:

Lasagna Style Spaghetti Squash
Baked Lemon Spinach Risotto
Lentil Bites
Tempeh and Sweet Potato Hash
Salted Butter Chocolate Cookies

Wish me luck!

And a very Happy 2018 to you!

xxE-N