BAKED leek, swiss chard and mushroom risotto

When I found out in Nava Atlas' The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet cookbook that I could BAKE risotto rather than stirring it for 45 minutes straight I am almost cried out of joy. You just mix rice, broth, and garlic together and bake for an hour - stirring every 20 minutes. Holy crap. What a miracle.

For this recipe I used short grain brown rice (rather than traditional arborio) - and my Le Cruset 1/2 quart cast iron bakeware to first brown the veggies on the stovetop before popping into teh over with the rice. It was marvelous.

Baked leek, swiss chard and mushroom risotto:
1.5 cup short grain brown rice
2 miced garlic cloves
2 cups boiling water
1 cup plain old water
2 tsp "better than boullion" - vegetable obviously
2 leeks - white parts only, chopped
1/2 bunch swiss chard, chopped
1 package sliced mushrooms
Parmesan or soy parmesan

Brown veggies in some oil. Add rice and stir. Add better than boullion to water and add to pot. Add 1 cup water and get ready to bake at 375 for 60 minutes. Set timer every 15 so that you may stir 4 times over the course of baking. When the timer goes off, stir in some parmesan if you wish- and add some for topping. Great stuff I tell you. I had this with my favorite mixed greens/goat cheese/roasted beet/pecan salad.

Life is good.

Seitan and Polenta Skillet with Fresh Greens

A super quickie post- I was on Nava Atlas' web site yesterday getting inspiration for week-night dinners, and happened upon this recipe featured as the recipe of the week, originally from Vegan Express. I never made this particular dish because it sounded plain- but trust me, it is anything but. I won't repost the recipe- just follow the link. The only difference with my version is that I used a HUGE bunch of swiss chard in place of the bok choy and spinach. It was DELICIOUS - and only 332 calories. WIN!!!!

Ginger baked tofu and Asian mashed potatoes

I bought the Kind Diet book on Amazon after I saw some awesome recipe's on the book's community site, the Kind Life. Some things turn out pretty good- but I've had some pretty big flops, and some things I just couldn't eat because of their sheer saltiness. This tofu is an example of that - it was so salty I couldn't finish one slab - and I LOVE tofu! Especially when it is marinated and baked. Dave liked this - but I did not.



Ginger-Baked Tofu
1 container extra firm tofu
1/3 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup H2O
2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 Tbsp chopped garlic
1/4 cup brown rice vinegar
2 Tbsp umeboshi vinegar (omitted)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (increased!)
1 tsp brown rice syrup
scallions for garnish (optional)

Whisk all wet ingredients. Cut tofu into 4 "steaks" - marinate for at least an hour (I marinated overnight which may be responsible for the overwhelming flavor) Bake at 375 on foil-lined baking sheet for 15-20 minutes. Baste with some remaining marinade and flip. Bake 15-20 minutes longer. Garnish with scallions if you feel so inclined.



Served alongside I made some Asian mashed potatoes - since I had boiled potatoes days earlier and never used them - and soba noodles with spinach (an old favorite). We usually don't usually even have one starch, but Dave was off to play in his Adult League hockey game, and I figured he could use the extra energy.

Asian mashed potatoes
5 red skinned potatoes
coconut milk creamer to assist in the mashing
1 Tsp red curry paste
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp chopped ginger
Sprinkle yellow curry
Na++ and pepper to taste

I just threw these together and they were very tasty!

Miso-glazed tofu and soba noodles

I am avoiding work again in a desperate attempt to control my blood pressure. Every time I get a morning email from my advisor with silly comments on something I have written.... I just know I cannot interact with others nicely.



So, let me talk about my dinner last night instead. Miso glazed tofu, and soba noodles with swiss chard.


The tofu was glazed with miso sauce - a recipe from the Moosewood Simple Suppers cookbook. I made it for some salmon the husband was having (see I won't cook meat, but I will make a glaze for it, I am very nice).

Miso glaze-
2 Tbsp miso
1.5 Tbsp mirin
1.5 tsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar or cider vinegar

I had made this awhile ago, so I froze it and it kept perfectly. I set the oven to 450, put the glaze over the tofu (use tin foil, it burns), and baked until it smelled like burning.

The soba noodles are actually a remnant from my weight watchers days. It calls for spinach, but the chard looked great. Use a ton of greens- they shrink down to NOTHING.

8 oz uncooked soba noodles 8 cups swiss chard (or spinach) 2 Tbsp soy sauce 2 tsp honey 2 scallions, sliced 1 tsp sesame oil 1 garlic clove (I had none, so I just used some ginger) Boil noodles- drain. Saute garlic (or ginger) in the sesame oil - add chard, cook. Add scallions, cook a minute or so. Add the liquid ingredients. Toss together noodles with chard mixture- and it's done. I just gone done with my second cup of coffee and my favorite strawberry oatmeal. (I added more strawberries, so it looks prettier today).
Now I will address comments. While listening to an NPR show on the neurobiological implications of stress. How awesome.