2 Heads Are Better Than One



Quinoa Stuffed Cabbage

   
Somehow both Dan and I ended up picking cabbage for the St. Patrick's Day boiled dinner.  After our corned beef and cabbage, I was left with an extra head of cabbage to use up. 

   My Mom used to make the most fantastic galumpkis, otherwise known as stuffed cabbage.  I didn't have any ground beef in the house so I decided to get creative and substitute the stuffing. 

   After checking out the Betty Crocker recipe for Cabbage Rolls, I modified it to a meatless meal that would be a good vehicle to use up cabbage.   It turned out fantastic.  Mom enjoyed one for lunch the next day.

First, I boiled up a batch of quinoa. Here's how:
  *Heat 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups water to boiling. 
  *Reduce heat to low.
  *Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. 
  *Makes 3 to 4 cups quinoa. 

Since I wasn't using beef I shortened the recipe.
   *Boil the cabbage leaves.
   *Stir boiled quinoa, 1/2 can crushed tomatoes, garlic, onion, salt and pepper.

   *Fill cabbage with stuffing and tuck the leaves under.
   * Pour the other half can of sauce over the whole pan
   *Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes


Stuffing the Cabbage Leaves



Cabbage Rolls
from: Betty Crocker's Cookbook

Cabbage leaves will separate easily if you first remove the core from the head of the cabbage and let the cabbage stand in cold water for 10 minutes.

12 cabbage leaves
1 pound of lean ground beef
1/2 cup uncooked instant rice
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 medium onion chopped (1/2 cup)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 can (4 ounces)  mushroom pieces and stems, undrained
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water

1. Cover cabbage leaves with boiling water. Cover and let stand about 10 minutes or until leaves are limp. Remove leaves; drain.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Mix beef, rice, 1/2 cup of tomato sauce, salt, pepper, onion, garlic and mushrooms.
4. Place about 1/3 of the beef mixture at stem end of each leaf. Roll leaf around beef mixture, tucking in sides. Place cabbage rolls, seam sides down, in ungreased square baking dish, 8 x 8 x 2 inches.
5. Mix remaining tomato sauce, sugar and lemon juice; pour over cabbage rolls.
6. Cover and bake about 45 minutes or until beef mixture is no longer pink in center.
7. Remove cabbage rolls to platter. Pour liquid in baking dish into 10-quart saucepan. Mix cornstarch and water; stir into liquid. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Pour sauce over cabbage rolls.

Hummus is Yummus

Homemade Hummus

   I don't know about you, but I enjoy a good hummus.  Unlike my misadventures in falafel making the hummus recipe turned out quite well.  I omitted the tahini due to allergies and served it with raw vegetables, Greek olives and the ill-fated falafel.  It's a great way to get more carrots and broccoli into my diet.
    Chickpeas are a good source of protein. It's actually pretty simple to make and doesn't take a lot of exotic ingredients. I used a food processor instead of a blender. I recommend this recipe for a weekday meal, snack time, a party or company meal or anyone with kids around who like to dip. 

Hummus
from Eat Cheap, but Eat Well by Charles Mattocks

1 14.5 ounce can chickpeas, drained
1/3 cup lemon juice (or juice of 2 medium lemons)
3 tablespoons tahini
1 clove garlic, halved
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Add chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt and cumin to a blender. Process until the mixture is smooth, adding a little water if the hummus is too thick. Transfer to a small serving dish and drizzle a little olive oil on top. Garnish with chopped parsley.  This makes 2 cups of hummus.

Easter Eggplant

    There's a joke in my house.  Every time I buy an eggplant, my husband says, "How long before I throw this one in the garbage?"  A few years back I got into the habit of buying eggplants and never getting around to cooking them.  In fact, I did that with a lot of food.  Now I try to cook around what I have, not what I am in the mood for that day. So, naturally he was skeptical when I bought two eggplants this week.  I am happy to report that the latest eggplants did not rot in vain and actually make it to the dinner table in a delicious dish I will add to our recipe binder. This recipe does take awhile, but it produced a big batch.  I was tempted to skip the extra step of letting the eggplant sit, but as soon as I salted it, my neighbor pulled up to deliver eggs.  She has her own chickens and her eggs are the best. By the time we were done chatting I only had 15 minutes left on the eggplant prep and I still had to prep the other ingredients. The timing worked out perfectly.  Next time I will have to freeze some so I have it on hand.  We just ate it for lunches and never tucked away any in the freezer.

Ratatouille
from: Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook
I modified the recipe to what I had on hand.

2 eggplants
2 zucchini
2 green peppers- I used 1
2 red peppers- I threw in some canned red peppers at the end instead
4 onions- I think I used 1
6 tomatoes- I substituted 1 can Muir Glen Fire Roasted tomatoes, including liquid
6 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1/4 cup fresh basil- I used dried
1/4 cup fresh dill- I used dried
3 1/2 tsp sea salt
black pepper

Peel and cube eggplant. Toss with 2 tsp salt and cover for one hour.  Transfer to colander and rinse well. Pat dry.  This reduces the bitterness in eggplant. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  *Saute eggplant and vegetables in batches. Toss the herbs, garlic, sea salt and pepper into remaining liquid and cook until fragrant. Coat a roasting pan with olive oil.  Bake uncovered for an hour.  Serve over brown rice or as is.
* I skipped the sauteing of vegetables and spices and went straight to putting the vegetables and spices together to roast in the oven.  Afterwards, I added some roasted red peppers.  It was delicious.

Fal-Awful

Falafel- Take one, baked

I'm not sure when a became a falafel fan, but I decided to try to make my own.  Notice I used the word try.  I was afraid of the splattering oil of deep-frying, so the first time I baked it in the oven.  It was good, but very fragile and not at all like my favorite restaurant.  My second attempt I fried it since I thought that would make it more like the "real thing."  I mixed up the falafel and everything was going well until I dropped them into the hot oil.  The falafel balls just melted into the oil, completely losing any shape.  I scooped up the falafel mush and smeared it onto a spinach wrap with some kalamata olive spread.  It wasn't pretty, but it still tasted good.  I inquired at the restaurant and was told I may have had too much moisture since I used canned chickpeas instead of dried.  I guess there are no shortcuts on the road to good falafel.

Falafel
from: Eat Cheap, but Eat Well by Charles Mattocks

1 16 ounce bag dried chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Rinse the dried chickpeas and soak them in enough water to cover overnight, until softened. Drain and add to a saucepan with 2 cups fresh water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Drain and let cool.
2. In a food processor, combine the cooked chickpeas, onion, parsley, garlic, coriander, and cumin.   Add salt and pepper to taste; then add the baking powder. Blend into a smooth, thick paste. Form the mixture into small golf ball-size balls, flattening them slightly so they don't roll.
3.  Add enough canola oil to a large skillet to fry the falafel (about 2 inches) and set over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, carefully add the falafel balls and fry until crisp golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.  Alternatively, bake in oven at 475 degrees for 10 minutes on a greased cooking tray.

Lent-ils

    There are many reasons to add a meatless meal or two to your recipe stash be it religious, philosophical, health, or economic.  With the price of meat these days adding a meatless meal a week can be a way to trim the grocery bill.  I never thought I could live without protein at every meal and yet I have recently come to appreciate a good bowl of beans and rice.  I like the convenience of working with legumes.  There is no meat to thaw out or worry about spoiling.  A bag of beans or lentils takes up little room in my pantry and is always there when there is a snowstorm preventing a trip to the market.  My friend has told me that in Peru, lentils are eaten on Monday to bring prosperity.  It was a rainy day Monday, so I cooked up a batch of lentil soup. I had two recipes so I picked the one with the ingredients I had on hand and took some liberties with it.

Lentil and Spinach Soup
from: Vegan Kitchen by J. Bennett

2 diced onions                                                  
1 tsp minced garlic                                            
4 stalks celery                                                    
2 medium diced carrots                                      
1 1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups brown lentils, washed
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 cups chopped spinach

Saute vegetables and spices.  Add lentils and 2 quarts water. Bring to a boil. Simmer 15-25 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and spinach.  Discard bay leaf. Serve immediately.

Shorcut Lentil Soup
Well, that's the recipe version.  Here's what I did:

2 cups lentils (green since that's what I had)
1 box Pacific Foods vegetable broth (it was on sale this week)
1/4 cup dehydrated vegetable flakes (mix of carrots, peas, green bean..)
2 tsp each- dehydrated onion, garlic
1 1/2 tsp, basil
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 cup quinoa (I learned the hard way this stuff expands)

  I set the crockpot on high for 4 hours and dumped all the ingredients in filling it to the top with water. One hour before dinner I added 1/2 bag of frozen spinach.  The soup came out great and I was even asked what kind of meat was in it since it smelled so good.