Quinoa Crockpot Casserole…

Oppressive heat and humidity during these summer months make me want to do ALAP (as little as possible) when it comes to standing around a hot stove. As a result of the recent blistering drought conditions in the northeast, I’ve been tapping into the most energy-efficient and convenient cooking method available to mankind – the crockpot. I have used a crockpot only a handful of times since owning one, but I am quickly changing that with some easy recipes. As previously stated, the crockpot is extremely energy efficient and emits very little heat when cooking so it is a great option for hot summer days when trying to keep indoor temp down.

I began searching online for a recipe that would cook while I was out that morning and would travel well for about an hour. I found a scrumptious recipe using quinoa, my favorite seed, and a bunch of veggies that sounded great. I adapted it a few different ways and swapped a few things according to my own preferences and this is what I came up with:

Quinoa Veggie Casserole

   2 C of rinsed quinoa

   4 C veggie broth

   1 C diced carrots

   1 C diced potato

   1 C diced butternut squash

1/2 C dried cranberries

1/3 C chopped almonds

1/2 C crumbled feta

   1 T chopped garlic

   1 T olive oil

1-2 chopped shallots  

   1 t sea salt

   1 t cinnamon

Add rinsed quinoa to crockpot, add oil and mix to coat

Add veggie broth

Add salt and cinnamon

Add garlic and shallot

Stir in almonds, potatoes, and carrots

Cover and cook on low for 2 hours

Check after 2 hours. Liquid should be mostly absorbed and you should be able to fluff quinoa with a fork.

Add cranberries, continue to cook.

Check after an additional 2 hours. If potatoes and carrots are soft, continue with the next step. Otherwise, cook until soft.

Fluff quinoa and add feta.

Replace lid and cook for another 15-20 minutes.

Stir before serving.

The crockpot employs an excellent cooking method that produces little heat and a lot of food at once. This dish in particular is has some unique flavor combinations and gave me a Moroccan/Persian cuisine vibe. It's another great gluten-free offering and simply remove the feta to make it vegan. This dish will please a variety of diets and serve a large crowd. I absolutely love it and I’ll be making it again soon!

Sweet Potato Enchiladas… Vegan and GF

While I do enjoy a diet that is primarily vegetarian, I have never been interested in pursuing a vegan diet and/or lifestyle. I add that qualifier “lifestyle” because I think someone who decides to be vegan in order to avoid animal products and “eat compassionately” should not only eat, but also live this way. A vegan should refrain from the use of a leather belt, a down comforter, conventional medications (bug dyes), refined sugar (animal bone char), general anesthesia (eggs), good old soap bars (tallow), most beer and wine (filtering processes), and the list goes on. To be truly vegan is a feat not to be taken lightly.

There’s much more to it than a diet, and I’ve know too many vegans who only follow a certain diet for health, but even that is subject to occasional non-vegan indulgences. I’ve watched a vegan order a plate of French fries when out at a restaurant because “I can’t even trust a salad.” – Great, healthy option there. Another acquaintance admits to being vegan “except for when it comes to dessert.” Oh please.

This is not to put down any vegan or variation of a vegan lifestyle because a complete, educated, and informed vegan will typically have an extremely healthy diet. This is simply my two cents on being vegan and what I’ve encountered, and I think it’s all or nothing. Veganism is not for me, but I’m happy if it is good for you. Just make sure you’re well informed and ready to discuss your diet and lifestyle choices at the drop of a hat!

That’s it. Go big or go home. Now onto the recipe that sparked my rant…

Sweet Potato Enchiladas… that also happen to be vegan and gluten free.

                                                                                    Ingredients:

8        8" corn tortillas (Sonoma)

3-4     hefty sweet potatoes

2-3     carrots

2        shallots

1 t      minced garlic

1 can  black beans (Eden)

1-2 T   taco seas. (Simply Org)

1 T      coconut oil spread (Olivio)

1 C      fresh chopped cilantro

1 C      salsa (Muir Glen)

           Olive oil

           S+P

Set oven to 350 and start heating a large skillet on the stovetop

Chop shallots and add with garlic to heated, oiled skillet

Cut up sweet potatoes and carrots to even chunks for sautéing

Once shallots are browned, throw in the potatoes and carrots and more oil if needed

Cover and allow to cook on med-med hi, tossing mixture occasionally, until soft

While potato-carrot mixture is cooking…

Start a small saucepan on medium heat and throw in the can of black beans

Add coconut oil and taco seasoning and allow things to heat up

Mash about half of the beans to begin forming a sort of chunky paste in the pot

Once potatoes are golden and soft and the bean mixture is heated through, get ready to build…

Place four tortillas on counter or cutting board

Add a spoonful of the beans to each

Spread beans evenly to cover most of the tortilla, leaving an inch or so of an uncovered border

Add a large spoonful of the potato-carrot mixture to each tortilla

Add a healthy pinch of cilantro

Repeat with remaining four tortillas

Once everything is assembled, roll tortillas and place in a 9x13 casserole dish

Cover rolled tortillas with salsa

Place in oven for 20 minutes to warm everything back up and allow flavors to meld a bit

Yum! Veggie Enchiladas that are GF and Vegan!

Warning: These tortillas crack and can be a bit of a pain to build initially. However, once in the dish, covered with salsa, and cooked they are great. Let’s face it, they’re not your typical “wrap” you’ll find at the grocery store with all the chemicals and emulsifiers needed to make them nice and flexible. The Sonomas are made with the only ingredients needed to make traditional tortillas: corn, water, and lime.

Several techniques exist (all using oil) to make the tortillas more user friendly, but as long as I’m not using them for tacos, I don’t want to add the extra fat. 

You'll see in the pic of ingredients a few things not mentioned. I typically make a sweet mango rice along with the enchiladas that is superb and simple. It involves cooking some jasmine rice in mango coconut water and adding some fresh, diced champagne mango a few minutes before it's ready to serve. 

Cheers to a very healthy, vegan and gluten-free dish!

Seek and Ye Shall Find...

Here's to just a bit of success I had over the weekend.

Aimee and I have started to make stromboli on Sunday for lunch after church.  It's tasty, easy to make, and there's even some sentimental value in this meal as it was the first thing I ever made for her.  Naturally, (no pun intended) I made it my mission to find the best possible ingredients not only for taste and nutritional value, but also because it better be of good quality if it's something we're going to make a habit of eating. 

When I made this dish in college, I would use a prepared pizza crust from the tube, good ol' shredded mozz, and run-of-the-mill pepperoni.  Over the past few weeks I've experimented with a few different things, but now with fresh, whole wheat pizza dough made with unbleached and unbromated flour, fresh mozz, and the ingredient of the hour: uncured pepperoni.

I have been searching high and low for this last, prized piece to my rolled up puzzle, and I finally found it this weekend.  I know everyone will roll their eyes when I say Whole Foods was the last place I looked, but it was.  Of the local health food stores, my Whole Foods is the most inconvenient to get to, but after I had inquired at my usual places and come up empty-handed, I ended up at Whole Foods to be pleasantly surprised.  

I was looking for uncured pepperoni.  I was willing to settle for anything as long as it didn't have all the sodium preservatives (namely sodium nitrate), MSG, BHA, or BHT.  I came upon a fantastic option, although not ideal only because it's made with beef and pork, as opposed to turkey which typically has 50% less fat.  Despite that fact, I'm very happy and can eat my stromboli with a clear conscience.  The added bonus with this brand is that the beef and pork used to make this pepperoni is raised without hormones or antibiotics!

I'll be honest, when compared by taste in the strombolis, these two versions of pepperoni don't very much differ.  But I'm big on being educated about what I feed my body, and this new option allows me to feel much better. The fresh dough and cheese really make a difference in the taste, so that is highly recommended for those who desire to try it out:

Ingredients:

One ball of whole wheat pizza dough

Freshly Shredded Mozzerella

Uncured Pepperoni

Direx:

Allow the dough to get to room temperature.  Stretch out into a large rectangle on a lightly floured service, about the size of a cookie baking sheet pan.

Once stretched, cover with a layer of the mozz and about a dozen pepperonis evenly dispersed.

Throw a few torn up fresh basil leaves over this as well if desired.

Roll dough starting with one of the short sides of the rectangle.  When picking it up to place it on a lightly oiled or corn meal dusted cookie pan, give it a stretch so it is about as long as the pan. 

Place on the pan and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until dough is cooked through.

Now that I've made these qualitative changes in ingredients, I only wish stromboli was actually a healthy thing to eat so frequently...

Vital Vittles: Part 3.

Even during the winter months, my daily dinner menu occasionally benefits from some out-of-season, local produce.  I was able to snag a few things toward the end of summer to last me through the cold.  Canned, local organic tomatoes and frozen organic spinach.  Sure, it’s not as good as fresh, but it works. 

Here’s what I made with some of my preserved produce – it has become one of my favorite chicken dishes.  Ellie Krieger’s Garlic-sautéed chicken topped with a honey-balsamic tomato chutney and sautéed spinach.  Savory.

I have to face the fact that my palette isn’t as excited in winter, so this is a great way to carry some summer veggie love into the chilly months.  Check with the vendors at local markets to see if they offer any of there produce canned – it’s a great way to savor the summer when it’s cold outside.

Vital Vittles: Part 2.

Valentine's Day.  Aimee and I have decided to keep it small this year and do a few different activities over the span of a few days around the 14th.  Saturday, we went to a class in Lancaster to learn the secrets of making the perfect Whoopie pie.  Tomorrow we're going to a the soft opening at a new, local farm-to-fork restaurant (I can't wait and I'll be sure to write about it), but tonight I made dinner for the two of us.

I have been waiting to make a certain Tyler Florence version of Chicken Cordon Bleu, so I did.  I had never made this dish before, but I have been a fan of eating it for quite some time.  It's a fairly easy meal to prepare, but a bit time consuming.  This can be a very basic entree, but Tyler's interpretation utilizes some of the best ingredients available to spruce up the classic dish.  Truly high-quality ingredients can take any old meal to another level.

I pounded out a few organic chicken breasts to be very thin, layered on some prosciutto di parma, and sprinkled a healthy dose of freshly shredded Gruyere on top.  Once rolled up tight, the roulades get coated with some flour, egg, and whole wheat bread crumbs.  Bake for about 30 minutes at 350.  Done!

Some simple swaps for better ingredients can really transform a classic

We loved it.  The prosciutto was a fantastic substitute for the usual ham, and I'll take Gruyere over Swiss any day.  Give it a try!  The side was a simple favorite in the Reif house, blanched, organic green beans with sauteed shallot.  Who knew making such an easy dish could look and taste this good.

Vital Vittles: Part 1.

This is my first entry entitled "Vital Vittles."  I intend to post regularly something similar, or whenever I experience (at least partial) success in the kitchen... FYI.

I only cooked for one tonight, and I was ready for it.  As part of my last food purchasing escapade, I made a fantastic discovery while amongst the soups: Amy's Organic Chili.  Why is this fantastic?  In college, one of my staple meals I made for myself was nachos.  Classic college brain food, right?  The reason why I'm excited about this find is that it's a much better version of the chili I used back then.  I haven't made nachos for myself in years, since I began to realize how lousy that chili was for me.  Now, I have a justification for indulging in this entree every once in a while.  Hey, I never said every meal I eat is Jillian Michaels approved.

Now reincarnated as a healthier (I said healthier, because I know it's not exactly healthy!) form of an edible part of my past, here is the finished product.  I place some of Amy's chili on a bed of organic, blue corn tortilla chips, add some cheddar, spoon on a whipped combo of avocado, lime and Greek yogurt, and finish with some green onion.

Success.