Brussels sprouts in gravy

What a delicious dish we had! I had found this recipe on a very good Indian cooking blog, and saved it as a favorite; tonight we finally made it, with some amendations I'll detail.

Note that the measurements here are double what the original recipe calls for.

Ingredients:

* Brussels sprouts: a whole small bag of sprouts, which I think was about 2 cups
* Yellow Onion: 2 finely chopped
* Tomatoes: 4, or 1 large (28 oz.) can of crushed tomatoes, plus a smaller can (15 oz.) of diced tomatoes
* Cashews: 2 tbsps
* 5 dried Thai (bird) chillies rather or 2 large red chillies, finely minced. You may wish to adjust to your own tastes - we love heat!
* Cardamom: 4 crushed
* Cloves: 4
* Bay leaf: 2
* Fennel seeds: 2 tsps
* Ginger garlic paste: 2 tsps. We used equal amounts of minced garlic and ginger.
* Garam Masala: 3-4 tsps
* Salt as required it definitely did need some, but we added afterward
* Sugar: 1 tsp
* Coriander (cilantro) leaves for garnishing

this sauce would be fantastic with greens or chickpeas (or both!), or with dry-fried tofu and some fresh spinach thrown in.

Directions

1. Wash the Brussels sprouts in running water and slit open the bulb ends like "X". This helps in steaming the bulbs evenly. Steam the Brussels sprouts for about 7 minutes in a idli cooker until half done or in the microwave for about 5 minutes - depending on the size and amount of sprouts.

2. Meanwhile, puree tomatoes, red chillies and cashew in a blender. If you are using canned tomatoes, skip the pureeing step, and just blend the Thai bird chillies or red chillies and the cashews until they're nice and smooth - throwing in some of the crushed tomato from the can to help.

3. Heat oil in a pan, then add bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, Fennel seeds and onions. Fry for about 3 minutes over medium heat and then add Ginger garlic paste and continue to cook, until the onion is light brown.

4. Now add the tomato puree, garam masala, sugar and salt and cook until raw smell goes off this took about 10 minutes for us.

5. Add the brussels sprouts and cook until the oil separates.

6. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with your choice of bread or rice. We chose to serve it with quinoa, which was just wonderful with it! After some relatively rich fare over Christmas, I think we are both ready for some light and healthy meals.

Rosemary-Lemon White Bean Dip

Rosemary-Lemon White Bean Dip
copied from the New York Times

Yield 2 cups

Time 10 minutes using precooked or canned beans

Mark Bittman
Ingredients

* 2 cups cooked white beans, like cannelini, drained but moist
* 1 to 3 cloves garlic, peeled (my note: I used one large garlic clove, and should have used less - although I love garlic, the taste was way too strong in this. Maybe it was the garlic.)
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
* 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
* 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
* Grated rind of 2 lemons

Method

* 1. Put the beans in the container of a food processor with 1 clove of garlic and a healthy pinch of salt. Turn the machine on, and add the 1/4 cup olive oil in a steady stream through the feed tube; process until the mixture is smooth. Taste, and add more garlic if you like; then, puree the mixture again.
* 2. Place the mixture in a bowl, and use a wooden spoon to beat in the rosemary, lemon zest and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Taste, and add more salt and pepper as needed. Use immediately, or refrigerate for as long as 3 days.

Garlicky Cream of Celery Soup

This was originally posted at Vegetarian Recipes Around the World by Shari Clayton Brownlee. I have made several changes.

6 servings

* 12 large celery stalks
* 2 T margarine, divided
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 8 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 T unbleached white flour
* 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
* water
* 2 tsp salt-free herb-and-spice seasoning mix (I didn't have this)
* 1/4 c mixed chopped fresh parsley and dill (I used dried)
* 1/4 c celery leaves
* 1 to 1-1/2 cups soymilk, as needed
* Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
* Chopped fresh dill or parsley for garnish

Trim 10 stalks of celery and cut into 1/2-inch dice.
Trim the remaining 2 stalks, cut them into 1/4-inch dice, and set aside.

Heat a tablespoon of the margarine in a large soup pot.
Add the onion and garlic and saute over moderate heat until the onion is lightly golden.
Sprinkle in the flour and stir it in until it disappears.
Add the 10 stalks of celery, the potatoes, and just enough water to cover.
Bring to a boil, then add the seasoning mix, fresh herbs, and celery leaves.
Simmer over low heat until the vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes. Remove from the heat.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the solid ingredients to the container of a food processor or blender and puree, in batches if necessary, until very smooth.
Stir back into the soup pot.
Return to very low heat and add enough soymilk to achieve a slightly thick consistency.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of margarine in a small skillet.
Add the reserved celery and saute over moderate heat until it is touched with golden spots.
Add to the soup, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve at once, or allow the soup to stand for an hour or so, then heat through as needed.
Garnish each serving with chopped dill or parsley.

The best hummus ever!

I've copied this from 101 Cookbooks, a wonderful blog - everything I've made from recipes found there is awesome. By the way, this makes a superb pizza base. I make the pizza crust from Vegan with a Vengeance all the time now, and even though Whole Foods has never bothered to restock the cornmeal crust I used to buy, I don't miss it. But if you spread this on the prepared crust, then top with onion, tomato chunks, green pepper, and bake - then top with cilantro and sprinkle with nutritional yeast - you will be happy, I promise!

Hummus en Fuego

A couple tips before you get started - rub the skins of the walnuts off a bit after you toast them, it's nothing I really pay too much attention to for a recipe like this, but the skins can be a bit bitter and tannic. And again, make the crushed red pepper oil a day or two ahead if possible.

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

3/4 cup walnuts, toasted
2 cups cooked (or canned) garbanzo beans, drained
1 medium clove garlic
juice of 1/2 a lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
1/2 cup hot water

1/4 cup oil-cured olives, chopped
a bit of chopped cilantro

Make the hot pepper oil a day or so ahead of time by heating the olive oil in a small saucepan for a couple minutes - until it is about as hot as you would need it to saute some onions, but not so hot that it smokes or smells acrid or burned. Turn off the heat and stir in the crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside and let cool, ideally for a day or two - to let the flavor really develop.

To make the hummus, give the walnuts a spin in the food processor, just until they are a sandy texture. Add most of the garbanzos, 1 or 2 tablespoons of the red chile oil (oil only, no flakes), garlic, and lemon juice. Now process until smooth. Drizzle in the water a bit at a time and puree more, until the hummus is creamy and billowy. I tend to let the food processor run for a minute or so at this point, it incorporates air into the puree and makes it a nice texture. Taste, adjust the seasoning - more salt, more lemon juice, etc.

Serve in a shallow bowl, drizzled with plenty of the remaining oil and red pepper flakes. I like to add any remaining garbanzo beans at this point as well as some olives and a bit of chopped cilantro for the final touch.

Makes roughly 2 1/2 cups..

Brown gravy

Copied here from Book of Yum, this recipe is a gluten-free option (and I like the idea of the added onion & garlic powder, etc. We love Bryanna's brown gravy, but it is not the healthiest thing, made with all purpose flour!

1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 1/2 cup water
2 tbsp Braggs GF liquid aminos
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp onion granules
1/4 tsp garlic granules (if desired)
1/8 tsp black pepper

Directions

Heat brown rice flour and nutritional yeast flakes in a dry nonstick frypan on a medium temperature, and let them lightly brown and release their fragrance. Take the pan off the heat and slowly add water, braggs, olive oil and seasonings, whisking continuously until mixture is silky smooth. Return to heat and stir until gravy reaches desired consistency.

Notes

Christmas day, 2008

I think we are both still full from yesterday! This meal could have served at least 6 people and left remnants - as it is, we now have tons of food left over. We need to freeze what we can. Everything was totally delicious, and we had a lovely, laid-back day. Warning about that chocolate pie, though: it makes a LOT and it's VERY filling. Next time we make it, I think we'll cut the recipe and just make 1/4 or 1/3 as much.

Breakfast

Pancakes with maple syrup
Soy eggnog

Lunch

Creamy garlicky celery soup
with
toasted baguette slices, along with 2 toppings - one, adapted from epicurious.com - walnut/sundried tomato/garlic spread, original calls for goat cheese but I mixed 1/2 and 1/2 Tofutti cream cheese/sour cream. and the other, rosemary lemon white bean dip

Dinner

Appetizer Samosas with chutney
Main course The wonderful 'not mutton' curry
naan
jasmine or basmati rice
Salad with a light vinaigrette
Dessert Millennium Chocolate Almond Midnight pie

I've put Daphne's picture here because she is very ill. The house is so quiet without her. She had (we think) a very bad reaction to some eardrops (with gentamycin) and has not eaten nor taken in water for 5 days. She is with the vet being hydrated but now cannot eat. With cats, not eating can quickly turn into lipidosis, which can be fatal. Our next step may be to get her into a veterinary hospital for enteral nutrition as a preventive measure. Daphne was a feral cat who I adopted from a no-kill shelter. She was rescued after wild foxes killed her kittens, and it took me nearly 2 years to accustom her to being groomed and loved. She is a loving, vocal cat now who does not hesitate to demand food (even at 3 a.m.!)

Update, 12/22/08: Daph is coming home tonight! She finally began to eat 3 days ago, is drinking, and able to stand with some measure of certainty, though still quite wobbly. She is so missed in this home! I hope she will be able to re-acclimate and claim her spaces, becoming more stable as she does so. It has been hard to think of her (perhaps feeling abandoned, certainly bewildered) in a small cage in a mobile vet's van for the entire last week.

I am not thinking of cost.

chimichurri sauce

copied from here

1 bunch parsley
1 bunch cilantro
4 cloves garlic
1 hot pepper, de-seeded
lemon zest & juice of 1/2 lemon
large pinch of salt
1 - 3 large glugs of olive oil
1 shallot, roughly chopped
water, if needed to thin things out

Whizzz up all ingredients in a blender. Taste and adjust seasonings & measurements if necessary. Done. Makes almost a cup of sauce.

fragrant jasmine rice

(adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites and copied here from http://everybodylikessandwiches.blogspot.com/)

2 c jasmine rice
1 t canola oil
2 T minced lemongrass (stiff outer leaves removed)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 small green chili, seeds removed, diced
1/2 t salt
1 c crushed pineapple, undrained
1 T fresh basil, chopped
2 1/2 c boiling water

Rinse rice and set aside to drain. In a medium saucepan, heat the oil and add in the lemongrass, garlic, shallots, chili and salt. Cook over medium heat until fragrant and soft, about 3 minutes. Add in the remaining ingredients. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and let sit covered for 5 minutes before serving.