Food For my Students/How to introduce a fast food nation to plant based goodness!

October 10, 2012

 

 

Tonight I made food for the Weight Management class I teach at our local Community College.  We will watch the DVD called "Sweet Fire" http://www.marytoscano.com/sweetfire/about/ and while my students are watching, they will be treated to some plant based food.

 

Whether they change their diet to a plant based diet or not, I want my students to understand the amazing nutrients found in a plant based diet.  I want them to taste and experience delicious nutritious food that is enjoyable and makes them feel amazing.

 

I made a hummus based on my friend, Laurie's recipe (I think Laurie may have one of the best names around and she spells it so well!).  You can see her blog at laurieslittlekitchen.blogspot.com/

 

The hummus is in the lump/pile on the side of the plate and it tastes much much better than it looks in this photo!

In addition to the hummus, I will be serving my students a simple quinoa salad.  I cooked 5 cups of quinoa, rinsing it first, then roasting it a bit over an open flame in my big heavy skillet.  I added about a cup of chopped raw cashews, a can of kidney beans, a cup of chopped parsley, a couple big handfuls of chopped spinach, two chopped carrots, and a pint of orange cherry tomatoes sliced in half.  I dressed the salad with a simple vinaigrette of olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, dried oregano, dried dill, and some dried thyme.  That will sit overnight and all the deliciousness will mix and soak in.

Here's how I made the hummus.  Remember that I made a huge batch, so reduce the amount of each item if you want less.

3 cans of garbanzo beans
5 - 6 cloves of garlic
juice from 4 - 5 lemons
4 tablespoons of olive oil
3/4 cup of tahini
salt
pepper
two huge handfuls of spinach
a cup or so of chopped parsley
1/2 cup or more of sun dried tomatoes soaked in hot water for at least 20 minutes
the liquid from the tomatoes
3 tsp paprika

25 years ago I was given a cuisinart as a wedding gift.  This has been one of the best kitchen tools I have ever owned! 

Throw the lemon juice and garlic into the cuisinart and blend a bit.  Then add everything else but the tomato liquid.  As the cuisinart is doing magic, add the tomato liquid bit by bit until the desired consistency is met!

This has got to be the best hummus I have ever made and oh so simple.  Thanks Laurie for the amazing inspiration!



 

 

Monday October 8

 

Today was a busy day full of working out, teaching yoga, spending time with a good friend at her lovely oceanside paradise, and then all the duties of home. By the time I got to dinner I really didn't want to cook. I was grateful I spent as many hours in the kitchen yesterday as I did. 

 

 Yesterday was one of those special days where I had no plans and could simply stay at home and move at my own pace.  I cooked my little heart out.  I made a savory pot of "crockpot" beans with a combination of "turtle" beans I grew and dried out of my garden and some black beans from the market.  I turned these bad boys into amazing enchiladas and used  The Happy Herbivore's enchilada sauce recipe. (http://happyherbivore.com/)  I also made a vegan Jambalaya from the newest edition of The Vegetarian Times.  Last but not least was a healthy delicious yam and green soup inspired by Anna Thomas.

 

Tonight I'm going to share the Jambalaya recipe because it is the perfect food for a cool Fall evening - rice, roasted veggies, tomatoes, and the perfect blend of spices.

 

Well, it just doesn't look nearly as DELICIOUS as it was!  Really.

 

One of the things that makes this dish so special is a combination of root vegetables roasted in the oven.  I cut up carrots, little new potatoes, and yams, tossed them with some olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasted at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes.

 

Here are the chopped up root veggies prior to roasting.  I always use parchment paper under my roasted vegetables for easier pan clean up!

 

 

And here's my bowl of second serving of Jambalaya! Really, I almost hid the left overs at the back of the frig so my family couldn't have any.  Almost.

 

Roasted Winter Vegetable Jamhalaya

Serves 6 (unless you are me and then it serves one really well!)

 

1 cup of long grain brown rice

2 large carrots, diced - about 1 cup

2 medium parsnips, diced - about 1 cup

1 small sweet potato, diced - about 1 cup

2 yukon gold potatoes, diced - about 1 cup

3 tbsp olive oil, divided

1/2 tsp salt, divided

1 small onion, diced - about 1 cup

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp tomato paste

3 cups low sodium vegetable broth

1 cup chopped canned tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped parsley

 

What I did instead:

1/2 cup long grain brown rice and 1/2 cup red Bhutanese rice

carrots, new potatoes, and yams but no parsnips

probably more than 1/2 tsp of salt

maybe 3 tsp of tomato paste

1 cup plus of home grown fresh roma tomatoes

I completely forgot the parsley even though I had a bag of it in my frig!

I added one chopped "sausage" to the dish (Tofurky brand)

 

 

1.  Soak rice overnight in a bowl of water. (I imagine you could skip this step but I think it made the rice much easier to cook)

2.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Drain rice.  Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.  (I used parchment paper and skipped the "coating" part)

3.  Toss together the root vegetables with some of the olive oil, salt, and some pepper.  Spread on the prepared pan.  Roast the vegetables for 20 - 30 minutes until they are browned. (I actually roasted the vegetables the day before I made the jambalaya - they stored well in the frig until I was ready to use them)

4.  Combine onion, remaining oil, paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and remaining salt and cook over medium low heat for 5 - 8 minutes or so.  Add rice and cook for a minute or so, stirring to mix the rice with the onion/spice mix.  Add tomato paste, broth, chopped "sausage" and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes or so.  (You should be able to tell when it is getting done because all the liquid begins to disappear)

5.  Stir the roasted vegetables into the rice just before the rice seems to be cooked. Simmer maybe 10 minutes more or so.

6.  You are supposed to remove from the heat and let the dish sit for 10 minutes or so - probably to soak up the goodness of everything, but I couldn't wait!  Then apparently you add the fresh parsely which I forgot because I was so eager to eat the damn stuff!

 

My suggestion would be to toss a huge green salad full of all the Fall goodness you just purchased at the Farmer's Market with some sunflower seeds and kidney or garbanzo beans while the jambalaya is cooking.

 

I would definitely double the recipe next time!  Enjoy!