Mushroom, Tomato, and Chickpea Barley Risotto

Some food for thought: The USA wastes 40% of all food produced in a year. I am guessing the picture isn't much better in Canada. About half of this can be attributed to household waste. In today's world we have an obesity epidemic and massive food waste on one side of the planet and an undernourished population with food scarcity on the other side. Although reducing our food waste won't immediately solve the world's food problems, it will at least save us some money.

Being the food safety freak that I am, I no doubt waste a lot of food. I won't leave leftovers in the fridge for more than a few days and if I forget to freeze it, there it goes into the green bin. I like to be on the safe side. This goes for produce as well. Sometimes I don't use up all the fresh vegetables I have bought before they wilt away. In the spirit of Lent and self-improvement I think I will try and consciously waste less food. This recipe is an example of an attempt to waste-not. I had celery from last week that was wilted, not fit for direct consumption, but would work beautifully cooked up. The mushrooms were getting to the end of their life-time as well. So instead of making the clam pasta that I have been dying to make all week, I made this barley "risotto" inspired by an Oh She Glows recipe, and my withering vegetables.

Mushroom, Tomato, and Chickpea Barley Risotto

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small stalk of celery, chopped finely
13 white mushrooms, chopped
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregnao
1 cup pot barley
2 3/4 cup tomato soup (I used Imagine's Creamy Garden Tomato Soup)
3/4 cup water*
1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add celery an saute for 3 minutes.
2. Add mushrooms, basil and oregano and cook until mushrooms begin to soften (about 3-5 min).
3. Add barley and stir for 3 minutes until hot.
4. Add soup, water and chickpeas and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Allow to simmer for about 30-40 minutes, until barley is cooked.

* Depending on the thickness of the soup you use, you may need to add more water.

This is such a quick way to get a "risotto" type dish. It was very flavourful due to the fantastic soup that I used. If your soup or broth is less flavourful, pump up the seasoning. Cumin or tumeric would would wonderfully instead of basil and oregano. This was a great dish to have for dinner with the current weather: cold and rainy. I look forward to coming home to these leftovers tomorrow. I'll be sure to freeze or eat any leftovers before they get a little sketchy...

Anyone have any good tips to avoid food waste?

Spiced Veggies and Chickpeas

I made this dish last week when all I wanted was to consume a large amount of vegetables that were packed with flavour. I added the chickpeas to add some protein to make it a little more hearty. I wish I could say I remember exactly how much of everything I added but I can't. All I know is that I knew from the get go that a basic pan would not hold all my veggies, and that a saucepan would have to be used. Turns out this was an excellent idea, as the vegetables got very soft and almost stew like, without the sauce. In this recipe I got to use a spice combination I picked up at the One of a Kind Craft Show in Toronto in December. It is called dukkah. It is great on toasted naan or pita, but also makes a nice topping to dishes such as this. By the way, I cannot wait for the next show to treat myself to another new spice/condiment. The products that you can find there are fantastic. Oh...and did I mention there are free samples...EVERYWHERE?!?


Spiced Vegetables with Chickpeas

I appologize for how rough this recipe is, but it must be flexible since I winged it and it turned out great. It is also all about your taste and how much spice you can handle. Don't like ginger? Use less or leave it out. Love garlic? Start mincing those cloves! I also kept the size of the chopped veggies fairly large which is also a matter of taste.

1.5 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1.5 tsp cumin
red onion, chopped
cremini mushrooms, sliced
carrots, chopped
celery, chopped
brussel sprouts (cut into halves/quarters)
1 can of water chestnuts
1 small cauliflower head, chopped
1 brocolli crown, chopped
3/4 tsp tumeric
4 coves garlic, minced
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
1 can chickpeas
black pepper
1-2 tbsp sesame oil

1. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat with chili flakes and cumin. Once fragrant, add the onions and saute for a couple minutes.
2. Add the rest of the vegetables. Stir well for 5-10 minutes until vegetables begin to cook.
3. Add tumeric and stir well to combine.
4. Add chickpeas, garlic, ginger, and black pepper. Stir and continue to heat on medium until vegetables are soft.
5. Drizzle with some sesame oil, mix in well and remove from heat.
6. Serve with dukkah sprinkled on top.

This is a good intermediate dish between wanting the fresh salads riddled with vegetables of the summer, but still craving the warm comfort food of winter.

Lentil and Black Bean Vegetable Soup

As promised here is soup #2 of the winter season. I made it quite a while ago now (nov 19) and as usual I didn't write down what I put in it! So let's see how my memory will serve me today. Usually when it comes to soup I go light on the seasonings and stick to the basil, bay leaf, rosemary variety. That's just how I like it. This time however I went for the cumin, garlic, coriander, chili flavours. While still mild in flavour it was just different enough to make this soup a little bit more exciting.

What also made this soup exciting was that I literally emptied my crisper and made a dent on my pantry while making it. I was just grabbing veggies, cans, and jars left right and center. To my pleasant surprise it turned out rather delicious and not so surprisingly, very hearty.

Lentil and Black Bean Vegetable Soup

1 carton vegetable broth
1 can of stewed tomatoes
water (about a tomato can full)
1 can black beans
red lentils (1/2 cup?)
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 crown broccoli, chopped
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 can corn
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 bunch of kale, chopped
cumin
garlic powder
coriander
dried chili pepper
cayenne pepper

1. Heat broth, stewed tomatoes, and broth on medium-high until a simmer is reached.
2. Add all veggies (except for kale), black beans and lentils.
3. Once a simmer is reached, reduce heat to medium-low and add spices. I don't remember the measurements but it was about 2:2:1 for cumin to garlic powder to coriander. I just sprinkled them on there. Then the chili pepper and cayenne pepper is to your own taste. Depends on how hot you like it!
4. Simmer for 30 minutes or so until the lentils and squash are soft.
5. Add the kale and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

This soup is very thick and hearty. Almost like a chili. I added some black pepper and crumbled goat cheese on top. I suspect cheddar would be fantastic as well.

Yup, that is me eating in front of my computer. Not as much of a regular affair as it used to be (a positive thing I think).

I have quite the lineup of food photos for you. I don't think this one post a week deal is nearly enough to handle them. Hopefully I will be able to post some more as the term comes to an end and the Holidays begin!

Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken cacciatore is one of my favourite dishes. I have never been 100% sure what it is exactly but as long as it is a stew with chicken and tomatoes I put it into the cacciatore category. This past weekend I was at my Nonna and Tatone's (Italian Grandparent's) house for dinner and I had mentioned that I had made some cacciatore. "Cacciatore? What made it a cacciatore?" They were interested to see how "Americanized" my version was. I told them how I did it and they nodded in semi-approval. At this point I was really interested as to what authentic cacciatore was. So I asked.

Cacciatore in Italian means "hunter" and chicken cacciatore means a chicken dish prepared hunter style. This dates back to when hunters would go out for days on end to hunt for meat. Their meals would consist of meat cooked with whatever vegetables they could gather and of course, wine. I would say my recipe is quite authentic in this case...minus the hunting part. This makes me happy. I just wish my Grandparent's could have given it a taste, as I thought it was delicious.

This recipe is very easy, so some of the quantities are vague becuase I just threw stuff in. There is a lot of wiggle room here. As long as you use quality ingredients you will get quality results. This is especially true when it comes to the tomatoes.

Chicken Cacciatore

3 ripe plum tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
cm of chili pepper
2 cloves of garlic
2 small leeks
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
1 small chinese eggplant
roasted red peppers (I used about 1/3 of a ziploc bag full - about 3 Shepard peppers) *
red wine

To remove skin and seeds from tomato:
Bring a pot of water to a boil, leaving enough room for tomatoes. Make very shallow slices all around the tomato to make a cross shape. Add tomatoes to boiling water. Boil until skin starts to peel back, a minute or two. The riper the tomatoes are, the quicker this will happen. Remove from water and allow to cool. Peel off the skin and cut off the tough stem areas.

Cut into quarters. Remove seeds and put into a fine strainer over a bowl. Cut remaining tomato flesh into bite sized pieces. Once all the tomatoes have been seeded, move the fleshy seeds around in the strainer to remove all the juices. Add these juices to the diced tomatoes.

Heat olive oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add pieces of chicken breast and cook for 5-8 minutes until almost cooked through.

Add chili pepper and garlic and saute for 3 minutes. Add leeks, carrots, celery, and eggplant.

Cook until vegetables are beginning to brown. Add tomatoes and roasted red pepper.

Once simmering, add a splash of red wine and stir.
Allow sauce to simmer for about 20 minutes, until desired consistency is reached.

almost there...

This can be served on it's own or with any kind of bread or pasta. I had it on couscous with Asiago cheese on top. Delizioso! (yes I had to use an online translator for that)

Salad Two Ways

Salads are a big part of my daily life. I usually have one, sometimes two. So easy to make, and when made properly can be a balanced healthy meal. Today I had two salads; two very different salads.

The first I had for lunch and mostly contained some fresh baby leaf and head lettuce from our backyard garden. We have so much lettuce sprouting right now. Most of it isn't mature, but can still be used in it's infant stage. I also picked a baby radish. They aren't very big yet but this little guy was mostly out of the soil so I thought I would just pick it. Chives (right) and sorrel (left) also came from the backyard herb garden.

Green Garden Salad:

fresh lettuce
2 chives, chopped
1 baby raddish
1/4 avocado, chopped
5 leaves sorrel, chopped
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 tsp olive oil
balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste

I tossed this salad and sprinkled a bit of nutritional yeast on top. I am really liking this stuff as a topper to dishes.

For dinner I had planned on eating a can of tuna, but wanted to do something different then just eat it straight from the can (my normal fare). I finely chopped up some veggies, tossed in some lemon juice, seasoned, and served in radicchio leaf boats.

Zesty Tuna Salad

1/2 can flaked tuna
1/4 orange bell pepper, chopped
3 tbsp chopped onion
1/4 avocado, chopped
1 piece celery, chopped
6 hot pepper rings (the jarred ones), chopped
dill to taste
1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (to taste)
3-4 radicchio leaves

After mixing all the salad ingredients together I let this marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours. I only did this because I had to go out, but I imagine it did the salad good. I then scooped the salad into the radicchio leaves. It makes it easier to eat if you sort of wrap them up and eat them like little tacos.

My day (or should I say evening) was also filled with baking. I managed to finish two batches, and both were a success. I will post about these delicious treats tomorrow.

Happy Chopping

Almond Bread Results...and a Big Red Cabbage Salad

Yesterday I tried to find a way to use the almond flour that cost me an arm and a leg. I found a recipe for gluten free bread on this website, www.elanaspantry.com. There are tons of baked goods on this website that are gluten free. Almond flour is often used in gluten free recipes so this was a good place to look. I varied a bit from the recipe since I didn't have arrowroot powder. I used whole-wheat flour instead. The repercussions of this were just a more dense bread I think. I also used maple syrup instead of agave, and white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar.

It tasted delicious while still warm. It made about 14 thin slices. This bread is low-carb, high-protein and high in good fats. This makes it a very hearty bread that I am not too sure I could handle for use in sandwhiches.

Today I had some warmed up with natural peanut butter and it was still delicious.

I also made a big red cabbage salad yesterday. I really like red cabbage. You can buy a head and make 2-3 dishes out of it. Very economical. Inspired by the cabbage salads on www.101cookbooks.com I decided to make one. I chopped up half of the red cabbage into thin strips and bite sized pieces, added 2 carrots shredded with a peeler, 4 radishes sliced and chopped into thin strips, 1/2 a white onion chopped finely, 4 pieces of celery chopped up thinly, and some mushrooms sliced thinly. The thinner and smaller the veggies, the better it turns out.

The dressing is the fun part for this salad. Cabbage salad to me means Asian flavours. With my newly acquired sesame oil I winged a dressing based on some of the ones on 101cookbooks. I juiced 2 limes, added about a tbsp of olive oil and about a tsp of sesame oil. I added some finely chopped ginger, scallions and salt and pepper. It is best to whip it up in a bowl or give it a shake in a jar. I usually make dressings by eye and taste it, adjusting it to my liking. I recommend you do the same; overtime you get better at it. Side note: very little sesame oil is needed to give a good asian flavour, you want olive oil to be the main oil. If you don't get enough lime juice, substitute in some white vinegar and red wine vinegar (about a 2:1 ratio). You want to end up somewhere between a 1:1 and 2:1 ratio of acidic component to oil.

I only made enough dressing for about half of the salad that I made, but you get the idea.

A great crunchy addition (as if there isn't already enough crunch) is toasted peanuts. I recommend buying raw peanuts, chopping them up, and then toasting them on a dry pan on medium-high heat. They burn fairly easily so keep them moving. These will taste so much better than purchased roasted peanuts. Add some of these on top of this salad to add a nutty flavour.

Today I had some leftover salad without peanuts (they were all gone...). Still delicious.

I also had something else for lunch. Now I'm going to start off by recognizing that I eat weird foods sometimes and enjoy weird combination of foods. The other day, Jenna looked in our pantry and said, "Who's sardines are all those?" looking at a stack of about 6 cans of sardines. "Mine..." I replied wearily. To answer her next questions, yes I do eat them and yes I do like them. They are delicious and full of omega-3's! Eating them for lunch today made me think of this so I thought I would share my wacky lunch with you becuase this is the weirdest it has gotten on the sardine front, for me anyway.

Sardines canned in tomato sauce, on Ryvita rye crackers, topped with sliced pickles and hot peppers. Loved it, but I can't say that everyone will.

Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup

I love making soups. I made them all the time while in school. They are not as time consuming as people think, and you can make a ton at once. They are so nutrient dense and can be very filling. Most of my soups consist of a broth, a ton of chunky vegetables, some spices, and is served over rice, pasta, or potato. I have never been a fan of very liquidy soups. Usually my soups turn into stews after being refrigerated overnight. Last weekend on Viva, on one of many cooking shows I watched, the woman made a pureed soup. It started off chunky, but then she took a hand blender to it and reached the consistency that she liked. I liked this idea a lot.

In a big pot I heated about 2 tbsp of olive oil and then sauteed 1/4 large onion for about 3 minutes. I then added a few stalks of celery chopped, 2 carrots chopped, and one sweet potato chopped. I heated this for about 5 minutes, to soften the celery and carrot. This is then when I added 1 big clove of garlic chopped, and some fresh chopped ginger.

The size of the pieces of vegetables will be to your taste, but it is easiest when blending the soup to use smaller pieces; they will also cook faster that way. After the garlic and ginger were fragrant I added a can of diced tomatoes, plus a full can of water. You could use broth instead and add more if a lighter soup is what you like. The soup was brought to a simmer and then removed from the heat. This is where the hand blender came into action. I blended up the chunks of vegetables until it got to a consistency I liked. There were still some chunks but the broth became much thicker, from the blended vegetables. The soup was put back on the heat, and returned to simmering.

Once the soup was simmering, I added probably about a cup of red lentils (maybe more, I'm not to sure) that had been rinsed well. I left this simmering for about 20 minutes covered until the lentils were soft. During this time I added about 1/2 tsp of cumin and some salt and pepper. The soup was mild in flavour, and there was room for some more seasoning. I will probably double the cumin next time I make this.

The soup got very thick after being refrigerated but was still delicious. I also garnished with some scallions.

From baking on the weekend I have so many finely ground almonds, also referred to as almond flour. At 15 dollars a pound, I want to put this stuff to good use. Today I will be attempting to make a protein packed bread with it. Anyone have any other ideas of what to do with almond flour? (No more cookies though please, lol)