Author: PatagoniaLlami

For my non-meat eating friends, my sister, who has a prepared food business (organic, gluten free and some vegan), suggested a curry called Panang. It’s less soupy, less spicy and a tad sweeter than the Thai green and red curries, and lends itself to a vegetarian substitute for meat. At the beginning of fall, this curry with squash (acorn, butternut, and kabocha all work well) is a customer favorite. The easy way to make it at home is by using a ready-made curry paste (Mae Sri is my favorite) but I like to deconstruct and blend my own spices, so I’ve included my panang curry paste here. Also, if you want to make this dish vegan, you should blend your own spices, as most prepared panang curry pastes include shrimp paste, fish sauce (and sometimes MSG!). I made my curry on the thicker side to be more of a sauce for the veggies, so no accompanying rice, quinoa, udon noodle needed (unless you want).

Some of the ingredients are tough to find unless you have access to an Asian store, so I’ve listed substitutes on my blog (http://edamame2003.blogspot.com/2010/11/sides-of-november.html#more) – edamame2003


—edamame2003

Directions

1. Cut the stems off the peppers and empty out the seeds. Chop the peppers. Cover with water and microwave for about 30 seconds.
2. I juice the lemon grass and galangal so that I don’t have to strain the paste, but you can chop the lemon grass ends and galangal into small rounds and strain when done.
3. Toast the cumin and coriander seed until they ‘pop’ (about 3 minutes)
4. Place all the paste ingredients in a mortar or blender and blend into a smooth paste. If you didn’t juice the lemon grass and galangal (and there are pieces) you should strain the paste.
   
5. Cut the squash and kale into 2″ pieces
6. Heat the oil in a pan and add the paste (use only 1-2 Tablespoons if using the pre-made paste) and heat until it separates.
7. Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil, then lower to simmer. Add the almond butter to thicken and salt to taste.
8. You can either add the squash and let simmer in the curry for about 20 minutes or until the squash has softened or steam the squash separately and gently mix the curry with the vegetables when ready to serve.
9. Throw kale into the pot and cover for 5 minutes. The kale doesn’t need to steam for long, as it tastes best on the crispy side.
10. Turn off the heat and stir in the kale.

Directions

1. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour and 1 tsp salt together. Add diced butter and pulse until you have coarse crumbs.
2. With the motor running, pour the cold water through the spout until the dough just comes together. Pour out onto the counter and knead until it just comes into a ball. Flatten into a 1-2″ disc, cover with plastic and refrigerate at least one hour.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
4. In a large skillet with tall sides (called a sautoir), heat 2 Tbsp EVOO over medium heat. Add onions and cook 20 minutes until they are all translucent and beginning to brown, stirring occasionally.
5. Turn the heat to medium-low and add the sugar. Cook another 40 minutes until they are caramel colored (not browned). Add remaining 1/2 tsp salt and deglaze with the sherry to pull all the great fond from the bottom of the pan and to enhance the flavor. Remove from the skillet.
6. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out onto a lightly floured surface. You want to use as little flour as possible and work it as little as possible. With each roll of your rolling pin, turn the dough a quarter turn to promote the formation of a circle.
7. When the dough is 2-3″ larger than your tart pan, roll it onto the rolling pin and then out into the cooking sprayed-lightly floured pan.
8. First, lift the excess dough up while you push it down into the edges of the pan. then go back and press against the walls of the pan to secure it. Trim the excess dough by rolling the pin over the top to cut it off.
9. “Dock” the dough by pricking it several times with a fork. Line the pan with parchment paper (or foil) and fill it with beans. This will keep the tart in place as you pre-bake it (called blind baking).
10. Blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and then remove the parchment and beans. You can reuse the beans an infinite number of times to blind bake so save them!
11. Meanwhile, after the onions are done add the asparagus to the onion skillet, cover and cook 3-4 minutes until slightly softened. Remove from heat.
12. To assemble, brush the remaining 1/2 Tbsp EVOO over the crust. Then spread the onions evenly over top, and arrange the asparagus spears in a criss-cross line pattern. Place an olive in each “box.”
13. Bake 30 minutes. Let cool 5-10 minutes before removing from the pan, cutting and serving. This tart can be served hot or at room temperature.

Directions

1. In a large, deep saucepan or skillet, heat oil of medium heat and add onion. Saute until translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and cook for another 1-2 minutes until they begin to soften. Add jalapeño, curry powder, garam masala and allow to cook for another minute so that the spices can bloom and become fragrant. Add cubed sweet potatoes and stir to combine for 1-2 minutes.
2. Add in bay leaves, both cans of tomato sauce, lentils, and 3 cups of vegetable stock. Bring to boil, stir, and partially cover the pot, allowing for some steam to escape. Cook for 10-15 minutes, checking and stirring occasionally, and add additional cup of vegetable stock if lentils seem dry (I often have to add in about a cup of additional liquid). At about the 10-15 minute cooking mark, add in swiss chard (or kale) and cook another 15-20 minutes or until lentils and sweet potatoes are softened and cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, add in zest and juice and the cilantro. Taste, and add in a sprinkle of cayenne if desired.
3. Serve as is or with garlic naan. Serves 6 as main dish. Freezes well.

Directions

1. Set 4 artichoke hearts aside for later. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine all chickpea meatball ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the mixture forms a rough paste – be careful not to over-process.
2. Scoop tablespoon-sized portions of the mixture and roll gently with your hands to form balls. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
3. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned on one side, then flip over and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
4. Prepare a large pot of boiling, salted water for your pasta.
5. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Cut your reserved artichoke hearts in half lengthwise and sear with the cut side down for about 5 minutes without turning or moving them. The artichokes are done when there is even browning on the cut side. Set aside.
6. Now is a good time to start cooking your pasta.
   
7. Add the minced shallot to the skillet and cook until just translucent, about 3 minutes.
8. Add your pesto to the skillet and gently nestle the meatballs into the sauce. Turn the meatballs once, then cover with a lid, reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 5 minutes.
9. Drain the pasta. I find it is easiest to toss the pasta with one large scoop of pesto first, instead of tossing all the pasta with all the sauce and meatballs. Then plate the pasta first, top with sauce and meatballs, then garnish with the seared artichokes and diced tomatoes. Enjoy!

The joy of risotto is that you can make it any which way—just use a good quality vegetable stock and flavor it with what you please: fresh peas when they’re in season (or frozen, when they’re not); mixed vegetables; red wine; and—a particular favorite of mine—saffron and lemon, which I find to be just the right balance of sophisticated and nursery food. If you are cooking for a vegan, just leave out the butter and the grated Parmesan from their portion.

Timing is key, so risotto works best for the kind of party where you’re happy to be stirring the rice as your guests have drinks. There is little thinking involved, just rhythmic stirring—which somehow makes the process relaxed and cozy rather than frazzled. I chop my onion and prepare all of my ingredients before everyone arrives. I make the dessert in advance, prepare the salad (setting the dressing aside to add just before serving to prevent wilting leaves), and then, once everyone is happily gathered with a glass of wine in hand (myself included), I begin cooking. 
 —Skye | From My Dining Table

Directions

1. Drizzle the oil into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Roughly chop the onion, toss it into the pan, and set on a medium heat for 5 minutes or so, until the onion becomes translucent and soft.
2. Meanwhile, warm the stock in a second saucepan and bring it to the boil.
3. Add the rice to the onion and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes or so, making sure that all the rice is well coated in the oil. Then, just as the rice begins to stick to the bottom of the pan and make a soft, crackling sound, pour in the wine, stirring continuously for 5 to 10 minutes, until the rice has soaked up all the liquid.
4. Next, gradually add the boiling stock, ladle by ladle, stirring the rice all the while.
5. Cook for another 20 minutes, until the rice is done (the risotto should be creamy, but the rice should still have a slight bite to it). The key to a good risotto is to keep stirring: This stops the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan and gives it that lovely pudding-like consistency.
6. Once you have added all the stock, grate in the zest of the lemon. Then cut the lemon in half and squeeze in its juice.
7. Add the saffron and stir well, until the risotto becomes a deep yellow color.
8. Now, just before taking the pot off the heat, stir in the butter and grate in the Parmesan.
9. Add salt and pepper to taste and give it all one last big stir. Serve piping hot.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a loaf pan (glass is best).
2. Mix the flour, salt, spices, and baking soda well in a big bowl. As you chop the figs, add handfuls of pieces to the flour; they stick together in a clump if you pile them off to one side, but coated with the flour they’re not sticky. Add the nuts and mix.
3. Mix the squash, banana, coconut milk, eggs/ flax eggs, oil, honey, and ginger in a smaller bowl. Beat until everything is dissolved.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until everything is just combined. Place the batter in the loaf pan and smooth out the top.
5. Bake for 45-55 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. It will be fairly dark on top, but not burnt.

The ever wise philosopher Plato said necessity is the mother of invention. One day not too long ago, it was necessary for me to use up a relatively large bag of matcha powder, thus the birth of this recipe. Preventing food waste is a philosophy I strictly adhere to in my kitchen. Call me Plato.

This elevated twist on the beloved soft gingerbread cookie provides all the warmth of its predecessor yet provokes your tastebuds with matcha’s herbaceousness. It’s vegan, gluten-free, full of good fats and every other healthy hashtag out there. Happy baking —The Model Well Fed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl whisk together almond flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, 2 teaspoons of the matcha powder, baking soda and spices until well combined. In a separate bowl or blender thoroughly combine honey, avocado, olive oil and grated ginger. Stir in candied ginger. Stir the wet mixture into the dry. The dough should resemble a softer, stickier, grittier sugar cookie dough. It will feel greasy as well. If you can’t roll a ball of dough in your hands without it sticking everywhere and falling apart, add a few teaspoons of rice flour until it reaches the previously described consistency.
3. Combine the coarse sugar and remaining teaspoon of matcha powder in a small bowl. Scoop 1 tablespoon of the cookie dough and roll into a ball with your hands. Carefully roll the dough in the matcha-sugar mixture and place on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Take a flat-bottomed glass and press the dough balls into 1/3 inch disks.
4. Bake for 7-9 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool in the pan for 5 minutes then move them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy with a cup of jasmine tea, a good book and a blanket.