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.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! As my gift to you I have a protein packed warm soup based off of a recipe on www.101cookbooks.com, New Year Noodle Soup. Before I get into the delicious details, I'd just like to say I had a fantastic new years eve weekend, and I hope you did too. I am not big into celebrating new years, but I am big into having some good fun at a cottage for a weekend. The weather was not on our side but that didn't stop us. While we didn't get to snowboard or toboggan, we did have a snowball fight. You can't complain about a good snowball fight.

I am also not much of a new years resolution type. I often make resolutions as the year goes on at random times based on how I am feeling. However, this year I have made a few.

1. Kick my sugar dependency that was achieved over the Holidays.
Too many squares, cookies, chocolate, cocktails, you name it.

2. Eat more local food.
Last term I was so busy with school I didn't get to visit the farmer's market as often as I would have liked. I will be heading there tomorrow before it closes for a week and a half (the Hamilton farmer's market is moving to its long awaited new location!). I hope to buy most of my produce that is grown locally, or at least in Ontario (I cannot give up bananas and citrus fruits though). We will see what goods I come home with tomorrow.

3. Train for and complete a sprint triathlon...pending getting my hands on a road bike.
In 2009 I did a tri-a-tri and had such a great time. My swim needs some work in order to complete a sprint triathlon and I definitely cannot get away with using my mountain bike in the increased distance.

4. Read more books.
The picture of my newly acquired stack speaks for itself.

5. Appreciate every day.
Not every day is the greatest day of your life, but without an appreciation for every day you live, good or bad, it is a day wasted. I don't want to waste a day.

6. Travel somewhere beautiful.
Hopefully I find the funds and the time to get away for a week or at least a long weekend. I want to visit a mountain or a coast. Something in North America would suffice.

I hope to achieve most of these and I think it is pretty reasonable. On kicking my sugar habit and starting to eat a little more normal I made a soup. I moved back to my own house today and had an empty refrigerator and a full pantry. Therefore this soup contains no fresh ingredients. But I wouldn't let that put you off, it is extremely nutritious.

Protein Packed Egg Noodle Soup adapted from 101cookbooks.com

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried chili flakes
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 L vegetable stock
1 cup lentils
1 can chickpeas
1 3/4 cup edamame
1/3 package frozen chopped spinach
4 cups whole-wheat egg noodles

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add chili flakes and heat for 1 minute.

new measuring spoons and cutting board :)

2. Add cumin, tumeric and pepper and heat until fragrant. Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil.

3. Add lentils and cook for 20 minutes. Add chickpeas, edamame, and spinach. Simmer until lentils are soft.
4. Add egg noodles and simmer until cooked.

This soup was thick and delicious. Did I use chopsticks? No, but I wanted to have as many newly acquired kitchen stuff in my pictures in this post. While I haven't actually calculated the nutritional information, I imagine there is more than enough protein in this soup. I know it has kept me full for about 4 hours already, and that says something.

Vegetable and Chickpea Soup

Better late than never is what I say. Actually, that saying is totally not me as I don't like to be late for anything. But in this case, posting this recipe later than I anticipated is much better than never posting it at all. This was my first soup of the fall/winter season and it was quite a success. I still have some in the freezer which will be much needed in the month to come I am sure.

It all starts with a pot.

I love this pot. Not only because it was a fantastic deal at the time but it was the first pot/pan I ever bought for myself. It consistently provides me with fantastic soups, stews and sauces. Obviously due to the pot itself.

Then you need some ingredients. This is what I used (I ended up not using the stewed tomatoes and also added kale and spinach).

You have to use your muscles a bit and chop until you cannot chop anymore. I hate chopping carrots SO much. I especially hate chopping baby carrots, but I needed to use them up.

Let the soup making begin!


Vegetable and Chickpea Soup:

1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 onion, chopped
carrots, chopped
2 small zucchini, chopped
2 cartons of vegetable broth
1 can of chickpeas
potatoes, cut up into bite sized pieces
1 stalk of kale, chopped
chopped spinach (I used frozen nuggets - about 8-10)
3 bay leaves
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp rosemary
pepper to taste

1. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute for a few minutes.
2. Add the carrots and zucchini and saute until soft. The zucchini could also be added later so they maintain some structure but I like it when they are mushy in the soup.
3. Add vegetable broth and chickpeas. Once the broth begins to boil reduce to medium-low so the soup is simmering and add the potatoes and the spices. Cover.
4. Simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes and then add the kale and spinach. Cover.
5. Simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes until the potatoes are soft.

This soup made some delicious lunches all week!

It was especially good with some aged white cheddar on top. It was great to kick off soup-season with a win and I look forward to some more successful creations.

The "Ultimate Veggie Burger"

Burgers are a really exciting food. They scream "summertime" and can pretty much be made out of anything! I have had this recipe from 101 cookbooks bookmarked for a while, but decided to make it the other day when I had some cooked chickpeas on hand.

The recipe is for the Ultimate Veggie Burger. This is only the second veggie burger I have ever made but it was the best, and I think it might be for some time. It was hearty, meaty, and can be eaten with a variety of toppings. I left out some items from the original recipe and used half the amount of eggs it called for. The recipe suggest you make thick burgers that can be cut in half and used to sandwhich the toppings, but I just made patties to my liking and did not half them.

Ultimate Veggie Burger, modified from 101cookbooks.com

2.5 cups cooked chickpeas
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 onion, chopped
lemon zest to your liking (I will add some juice next time too)
1 cup whole-wheat bread crumbs
1 tbsp olive oil

I first mashed the chickpeas, eggs, and salt in the food processor until thick but still a little chunky. Then I stirred in the onion, lemon zest and bread crumbs until evenly mixed. This mixture is really easy to form patties. I could make 6 decent patties from this recipe.
Heat olive oil in the pan on medium-low. Add the patties and cover, cooking for 7-10 minutes or until brown. Flip and cook for another 7 to 10 minutes on the other side. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of the patties you create.

The ways to enjoy these burgers are endless. I topped mine with tomato, onion, Parmesan cheese and hot pepper the first day. The next day (btw these make good leftovers) I topped it with avocado, onion, Parmesan cheese and hot pepper. Delicious!

I would love to make a nice yogurt-based sauce to go with this burger and could see that happening in the near future. I will definitely be making these again and will continue to experiment with other alternative burger recipes!

Tomorrow is the celebration of my parents 25th wedding anniversary where some of my baking efforts will be showcased. Should be a great day!