Simple Potato Soup

This is the soup that my family eats every year on Christmas Eve or sometimes on New Year’s Eve. It’s a super-simple soup with very few ingredients, and part of the fun is adding garnishes to your own bowl at the table. If you want to forego the garnishes, though, it’s still delicious and warming – especially with a bit of green salad and a hunk of crusty bread.

By the way, I’m sorry my posting has been so sporadic this semester. I’m hoping to get back to regular posting now, but we’ll see how this next semester goes!

Simple Potato Soup
Makes 4 – 6 Servings

1 large leek, washed and sliced (white and green parts) – about 1½ cups
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 large baking potatoes, scrubbed and chopped (unpeeled if you like) – about 3 cups
4 cups vegetable broth
½ cup soymilk or cream (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Optional Garnishes:
shredded cheddar cheese
sliced green onions
fresh (or dried) dill
sour cream or plain yogurt

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat and add the leek, stirring until the green parts are wilted and the white parts are translucent and separated (about 10 minutes).
2. Add the potatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft enough to be mashed easily.
3. Blend with an immersion blender or potato masher until smooth.
4. Add cream or milk (if using) and salt and pepper.
5. Garnish as desired.

Sweet Potato Fries with Sriracha Mayo

Nothing is easier to make than a batch of oven fries. Cut up potatoes, put them in the oven, take them out of the oven. Voíla!

In this recipe, the sweet potatoes are tossed in a bit of oil and spice to add a subtle spice to the sweet flavour of the potato, and they are served (if you like) with a super-simple spicy mayo dip (because if you aren’t going to deep-fry your potatoes, you should at least serve them with mayo, right?).

We like to eat these as a side dish with all manner of entrees, from burgers to baked tofu to chili. It’s a fun and simple way to enjoy what is, in my humble opinion, one of the best winter vegetables out there.

Sweet Potato Oven Fries
Serves 4

1 large sweet potato, about 1 lb.
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ teaspoon chili powder

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Cut potatoes into long, thin strips. Try to make them as even as possible so that they will all finish cooking at the same time.
3. In a large bowl, toss together the potatoes, oil, and chili powder.
4. Bake on a cookie sheet for 20 – 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes. (20 minutes should be long enough for them to cook through, 30 minutes should make them a bit crispy on the outside. Test a few with a fork to make sure they are done).

Sriracha Mayo
Makes ½ cup

½ cup mayo or vegan mayo (I really like vegenaise)
½ Tablespoon sriracha hot sauce
2 Tablespoons fresh chives (optional)

1. In a small bowl, mix together all of the ingredients.
2. Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to about 5 days.

Ethiopian Lentils and Crepes

This week, I solved two of my long-standing culinary dilemmas. First, what to put in dinner crepes besides sauteed veggies and cheese, and second, how to enjoy Ethiopian food at home without the traditional flatbread injera, which is so central to Ethiopian cuisine. When the problems are posed together like that, the answer is simple of course: serve Ethiopian dishes in crepes!

I tried it this week and it was delicious! The crepes stood in beautifully for injera and the lentils made a scrumptious filling for dinner crepes. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of making crepes, this particular lentil dish is also really good with couscous or even served on rolls like sloppy joes.

Savoury Crepes
Makes 16 crepes, Serves 8

3 eggs (ener-G egg replacer also works well here)
1½ cups soymilk or milk
2 Tablespoons oil
1½ cups whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon salt

1. Using an electric mixer or blender, mix the eggs (or egg replacer) and milk until frothy.
2. Add the flour and salt and mix to combine well.
3. Let chill for at least 1½ hour before using.
4. After chilling, lightly grease a medium pan and heat over medium-high heat.
5. When the pan is heated, pour in about ½ cup of batter and tilt the pan until the batter covers the bottom.
6. Cook until the edges are solid and the crepe begins to bubble, about 1 minute.
7. Flip and cook the other side about 30 seconds. Set aside and repeat, greasing the pan between every three crepes or so.

Mesir Wat (Ethiopian Red Lentil Puree)
Makes 8 Servings

¼ cup olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger or ½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon cayenne powder
½ lb. red lentils
3 cups water

1. Heat the oil in a large pot (the lentils will expand quite a bit; you need a bigger pot than you might think). Add onions and garlic and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add spices and stir to coat the onions. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Add the water and bring to a boil. When it is boiling, add the lentils and stir to prevent sticking. Simmer for 30 – 40 minutes, or until lentils are tender and mushy and the water is absorbed.
4. If desired, you can puree the mixture (an immersion blender works especially well for this).
5. Place about ½ cup of lentil mixture in each crepe just before eating and roll them up. Serve topped with yogurt and hot sauce, if desired.

Beet and Spinach Soup

It’s tempting (at least for me) to call any beet-based soup a borscht, but this one doesn’t quite fit the bill. For one thing, it is has fewer beets than a traditional borscht recipe, which allows the flavours of the other vegetables to shine through a bit more. For another, it has a great deal of spinach in it, which adds a contrasting texture and contributes to the iron content of the soup.

This is the perfect meal to make as fall sets in. Hearty and warming, it takes advantage of the winter vegetables that are starting to show up in markets and lets you enjoy a bit more spinach while it’s still around, too.

Beet and Spinach Soup
Makes 4 to 6 servings

1 small onion, finely diced (about ½ cup)
1 large carrot, finely diced (about ½ cup)
2 celery ribs, finely diced (about ½ cup)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 large beet, shredded (about 1 cup)
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed (or 4 cups fresh, finely chopped)
4 cups vegetable broth
1 Tablespoon dried dill
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
plain yogurt for garnish, optional (about 2 Tablespoons per serving)

1. In a large pot over medium heat, saute the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic in 1 Tablespoon of water (or oil, if you prefer). Cook until the onions and garlic are translucent.
2. Add beet, spinach, broth, dill, vinegar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then simmer 10 – 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary, and serve.

Parmesan-Tarragon Crusted Tofu

This recipe is one of my favourites for simple, healthy comfort food. It’s based on my mom’s recipe for “breadcrumb chicken,” which my whole family loves. When I asked her for the recipe so that I could make a vegetarian version, I couldn’t believe how simple it was!

The tofu comes out a little bit drier than chicken, so I like to marinate it before breading and I usually serve this dish with some kind of sauce. In fact, one of the things I like best about the recipe is that it can be made really sophisticated with one sauce (say, a romesco sauce or even a good-quality pasta sauce) or really low-key and fun with a something else (we use honey mustard dressing to bring out the potential “vegetarian chicken fingers” flavour of the dish). If you are serving this to kids (or fun-loving adults), you can cut the tofu with cookie cutters before breading to make it into fun shapes – like stars or hearts or even dinosaurs.

Parmesan-Tarragon Crusted Tofu
Serves 4 – 6

1 lb. firm or extra-firm tofu
2 cups vegetable broth or water
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon dried tarragon, crumbled
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. Cut tofu into 16  pieces. (I usually cut the whole block lengthwise to make the slices thinner. Then I cut each of those blocks in half, and use diagonal cuts to make each of the halves into 4 triangles. If you use cookie cutters, you may not get as many pieces out of a single block of tofu, but the fun is still worth it).
2. Mix broth (or water) and soy sauce in a resealable container and add tofu. Add more water to cover if necessary. Marinate for 2 hours, or overnight (whatever you have time for).
3. After the tofu has marinated, preheat the oven to 425F. Lightly oil a cookie sheet and set it aside.
4. Mix the breadcrumbs, parmesan, tarragon, and pepper in a shallow bowl.
5. Drain the tofu. Drag each piece through the breadcrumb mixture, making sure it is well coated on all sides.
6. Place breaded tofu on the cookie sheet, and bake for 10 minutes on each side (or until it is golden-brown).
7. Serve with desired sauce. (We usually eat this dish with a green salad and sweet potato fries or mashed potatoes).

Artichoke Heart and Sun-Dried Tomato Spread

Heading out on one last picnic before the weather turns cold? Or maybe you need something to munch on at work or school? Wherever you enjoy it, this easy spread makes a nice, healthy treat that works equally well as a sandwich spread or a dip.

The texture of the spread is similar to hummus, thanks to the white beans that provide its base, but the flavour is something else. The artichokes lend a creaminess that balance the rich flavour of the sundried tomatoes, while the garlic steps in with its own unique kick.

I especially liked this as a dip for veggies and pitas, and in veggie sandwiches (with cucumber, tomato, and spinach). I hope that you will enjoy it, too!

Artichoke Heart and Sun-Dried Tomato Spread
Makes 1½ cups

1 cup white beans (such as cannellini beans or navy beans)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
½ cup artichoke hearts
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor, and blend until creamy. (I like my Cuisinart immersion blender for things like this. It is a bit of an investment, but I got it as a gift a few years ago and I use it almost every day for blending dips, spreads, smoothies, and soups).
2. Serve with veggies or crackers, or as a spread in sandwiches.

Adapted from Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

Healthier Falafel

Sorry I’ve been away so long. It’s been a crazy few months around here, but I’m back now and I have a delicious falafel recipe ready and waiting for you.

So, I’ve been making falafel at home for years – or rather attempting it. Until now, the texture had never been quite right and I couldn’t figure out how to make a satisfyingly crispy falafel without deep frying. Those days are over. Today, I managed baked falafel that was perfectly crispy, soft on the inside and bursting with flavor, and I knew that I had to share my newly discovered tricks with you.

The first trick is to use a food processor, not a blender. Blenders tend to require a lot of liquid in order to blend the falafel, and this can lead to falafel that lacks texture and falls apart when you try to shape it. A food processor, on the other hand, chops the dry ingredients finely with very little liquid, leaving you with nicely textured falafel that is easy to work with.

The second trick is heat. The falafel is baked at a moderate heat for 10 minutes, to make sure it’s cooked through. Then, the heat is turned up to make the outsides crispy and brown. Just make sure you watch the oven closely while you’re cooking or you may end up with charred falafel instead.

We like to eat falafel stuffed into a pita with some combination of lettuce, red onion, tomato, cucumber and maybe even hummus or tahini, just like the falafel that’s served by street vendors everywhere. It’s also great as a side dish, with a grain salad (like this or this) and a green vegetable, as pictured below. However you serve it, it’s a delicious meal rich in protein and fibre, and it makes great leftovers. Enjoy!

Healthier Falafel
Makes 24 small falafels

2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas (or a 19oz. can of chickpeas, drained)
½ cup onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. turmeric
½ tsp. cumin
¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. water
1½ tsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup flour (for a gluten free version, use chickpea flour)
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a food processor, blend the chickpeas, onion, garlic, turmeric, cumin, and parsley until the chickpeas are finely chopped, the texture of coarse bread crumbs.
3. Add the water, lemon juice and oil and pulse a few more seconds, until well mixed.
4. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and mix with flour, adding 1 Tbsp. at a time until the mixture sticks together.
5. Form mixture into small balls, wetting your hands periodically to keep it from sticking to you. Press the balls  into patties and place on a cookie sheet.
6. Bake 10 minutes, and then turn the oven up to 450F. Bake 10 more minutes on each side, until nicely browned.

Classic Spinach Lasagna

Mmmm… lasagna! Another in a long repertoire of hearty winter meals that last all week long. This recipe makes about 12 servings, but it freezes well if you don’t think you can get through all of that in one go. This is my most basic version, but I believe that it could be made vegan or gluten free with slight alterations. To veganize, try replacing the ricotta with additional tofu and omitting the mozarella. To go gluten free, try replacing the pasta with thinly sliced eggplant.

Classic Spinach Lasagna
Serves 12

1 head garlic
1½ tsp. olive oil, divided
1 lb. lasagne noodles, preferably whole wheat
6 cups marinara sauce (2 – 750 ml jars)
2 cups ricotta cheese (1 pint or 500 ml)
1 cup medium-firm tofu, mashed
10 oz. spinach (thawed if frozen, stemmed and cooked if fresh)
3 roasted red peppers (1 – 16oz. jar), drained and chopped
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. oregano
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1½ cup mozzarella or aged white cheddar

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Cut the top off the bulb of garlic and peel away any loose layers. Rub with oil and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tsp. of oil to the water to prevent the pasta from sticking. Boil about 10 minutes, or until cooked, and set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together ricotta, tofu, spinach, herbs and peppers.
5. Assemble lasagne. Lightly oil a 9×13 pan. Spread 1 cup sauce in the bottom of the pan. Cover with noodles, and spread  with ½ the ricotta mixture, 1 cup sauce, and ½ cup mozzarella. Repeat with additional noodles, ricotta mixture, sauce and mozzarella. Cover with remaining noodles, sauce and mozzarella.
6. Cover and bake 45 minutes. Remove cover and bake ten more minutes  to let the cheese get bubbly.

Banana Flaxseed Freezer Waffles

Happy Valentine’s Day, friends! I don’t know about you, but I feel strongly that almost any holiday is a good excuse for brunch. Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, Sunday; all of these are key brunch-eating opportunities. That’s part of what makes this waffle recipe so fabulous – it makes enough waffles for you to eat on all the days, for at least a week, I’d say. I’m a big fan of making a big batch, eating way too many, and then freezing the rest for later. Wait until they are completely cool and then throw them in a freezer-grade zipper bag and they are ready to go in the freezer. Then toast them and eat them later.

This recipe is adapted (beyond recognition, I should think) from my trusty 1975 edition of the Joy of Cooking. I doubled the recipe, used whole wheat flour instead of white and quadrupled the egg replacers for big, fluffy vegan waffles. If you don’t have a waffle maker, you could make some pretty great pancakes from the same batter.

Banana Flaxseed Freezer Waffles

2 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 2 cups pulp)
2 Tbsp. ground flaxseed
½ cup canola or safflower oil
3½ cups whole wheat flour
1½ Tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
3 cups soymilk
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional – see tip below, if using)

1. In a large mixing bowl, mashed bananas until no large lumps remain.
2. Add flaxseeds, oil, flour, baking powder, salt and  soymilk. Mix well.
3. Fold in the walnuts, being careful not to overmix.
4. Bake in your waffle maker, following the manufacturer’s instructions.
5. If freezing, let cool completely and then freeze waffles in a freezer-grade zipper bag.

Tip: This simple method makes chopping walnuts super-easy. Place walnuts in a large zipper bag and seal it. Crush the walnuts into small pieces by rolling a sturdy rolling pin (or unopened wine bottle) over the bag. Done!

Pasta d’Hiver

I was craving some pasta primavera this week, just as the temperatures dropped and I finally had to break out my early-winter coat. Knowing that I couldn’t head to the farmer’s market for fresh spring vegetables, I did the next best thing and went to my freezer for peas, asparagus spears and broccoli to toss with pasta and some fine cheeses. If you didn’t manage to put up freezer vegetables for winter, don’t worry. Some commercial frozen vegetables are really high quality these days (I’m especially partial to the Europe’s Best and Trader Joe’s brands), and frozen vegetables are just as good for you as the fresh versions available in the spring. Frozen vegetables from local sources are also a great alternative to the fresh produce that is being flown in from farther and farther away at this time of year.

Rather than making a traditional cream sauce, I tossed the pasta here with cheese, butter and vegetables. It’s (slightly) lower in fat and I enjoy the texture and sharper taste.

Pasta d’Hiver
Serves 4 – 6

8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti
1½ cups frozen broccoli
1 cup frozen asparagus
1 cup frozen peas
3 Tbsp. butter
¾ cup Feta cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
½ tsp. freshly ground pepper
½ tsp. dried basil
¼ tsp. dried dill
¼ tsp. lemon zest (optional)

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the pasta, cooking until al dente, about 8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, snap the frozen asparagus into 1 inch pieces.
3. When the pasta is just about done, add the vegetables and cook until thawed and heated through, about 2 minutes.
4. Drain the pasta and vegetables and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Toss with butter, cheeses and spices, adjusting as necessary.