Arwen - I'm not sure what kind of stuff you family likes to eat but here's a few of our favorites:
Tamale Pie (F)
You’ll be amazed how easy it is to make this impressive and delicious dinner. Although it doesn’t qualify as a (QF) dinner because the baking time is 30 minutes, it takes only about 20 minutes of actual hands-on time.
Filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups cooked pinto, kidney, or black beans, drained
1 cup diced tomatoes with juice (canned is fine)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Crust:
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
3 1/4 cups water
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
Topping:
1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (optional)
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Oil an 8-inch square baking pan.
Heat oil in medium-size pan. Stir in onion and sauté about 5 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, and cumin. Sauté 5 minutes more. Add beans, tomatoes, and corn. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Let mixture simmer uncovered while you prepare crust.
Whisk together cornmeal and water in medium-size pan. Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to boil. Reduce heat to low. Stir in sea salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened (about 10 minutes). Spread 2/3 of the mixture over bottom and up sides of the prepared baking pan. Pour bean mixture into crust. Top with remaining cornmeal mixture. (Don’t worry if beans are not covered completely.) Sprinkle with shredded cheese if desired. Bake 30 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before cutting.
Makes 6 servings
Freezing Instructions: Assemble pie and freeze unbaked. To reheat, thaw pie in refrigerator. Cover and bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake 15 minutes, or until heated through.
Shepherd’s Pie
This is one of my family’s very favorite dinners. Try it with other beans too.
Filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced
2 cups cabbage, broccoli, or kale, finely chopped
1/2 cup water, vegetable stock, or lentil cooking water
2 cups cooked lentils
1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
1 cup corn (fresh or frozen)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Crust:
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/3 to 1/2 cup milk (dairy or nondairy)
1 tablespoon miso
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Paprika
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and sauté 5 minutes until soft. Stir in garlic, carrots, and cabbage, broccoli, or kale. Add water and cover pan. Cook 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Stir in remaining filling ingredients. Cook 5 minutes, or until filling is hot. Pour filling into 2-quart casserole dish.
While filling cooks, prepare mashed potato crust. Place potatoes in medium pan with water just up to top of potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender (about 15 minutes). Drain potatoes and return them to the pot. Add miso. Begin mashing while adding milk a little at a time until potatoes are smooth. Stir in minced parsley. Spread potatoes evenly over filling. Sprinkle evenly with paprika. Bake uncovered 20 to 30 minutes until potatoes and filling are hot and edges are slightly golden.
Makes 6 servings
Note: 4 cups frozen mixed vegetables can be substituted for vegetables in this recipe.
Variation: Add 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes instead of the liquid in the filling.
Sesame-Tofu Quiche with Broccoli and Mushrooms
This quiche supplies lots of calcium and iron. The delicious nondairy filling is rich and creamy.
Sesame-Corn Crust:
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter or coconut oil, cut into small pieces
3 to 4 tablespoons cold water
Filling:
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chopped white mushrooms
2 cups chopped broccoli
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 pound firm tofu
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Pinch ground nutmeg
Topping:
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Mix cornmeal, flour, and sesame seeds together in food processor with metal blade or in a bowl. Cut in butter or coconut oil until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add water a tablespoon at a time until crust holds together when pressed in your hand. Roll out crust on floured board to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Arrange crust in pan and flute edges. Prick all over with fork and prebake 15 minutes.
While crust is baking, heat oil in skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and sauté 5 minutes or until soft. Add garlic, mushrooms, broccoli, and ginger. Cover and steam 5 to 10 minutes, or until broccoli is tender. Remove from heat.
In food processor or blender, puree tofu, nutritional yeast flakes, tahini, soy sauce, and nutmeg until smooth. Gently fold together broccoli mixture and tofu mixture. (I just do it in the skillet instead of dirtying another dish.) Place filling in prebaked crust. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake 30 minutes, or until edges are golden.
Makes 8 servings
Bean and Nut Loaf (F)
My children love this with oven fries. They dip both the loaf and the fries in ketchup.
2 tablespoons flaxseeds
1/4 cup water
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 cups cooked pinto or kidney beans, drained
2 carrots, shredded or minced
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh herbs or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried (thyme, oregano, basil, etc.)
3/4 cup breadcrumbs (about 1 1/2 slices of bread)
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Oil a loaf pan. Grind flaxseeds in coffee grinder or blender. Mix with water. Combine all ingredients (including flax mixture) together, mashing the beans as you mix. (A food processor works really well.) Press mixture into loaf pan. Bake for 70 minutes, or until dry and firm.
Makes 8 servings
Note: Oven Fries (page xxx), Roasted Root Vegetables (page xxx), Baked Potatoes (page xxx), or Basic Baked Brown Rice (page xxx) can be cooked along with the loaf.
Lentil Puree (Dahl)
We love this version of Indian dahl. It’s a delicious way to get lots of iron. If you want to be authentic, serve it with naan (Indian flatbread), but tortillas, lavash, and chaptis also work well.
1 cup lentils
1/2 strip kombu (optional)
3 cups water
1 tablespoon oil or ghee
1 onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Place lentils, kombu, and water in heavy-bottomed pan. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 45 to 60 minutes, or until lentils are tender. While lentils are cooking, heat skillet. Add oil or ghee, onion, chili powder, turmeric, cumin, and ginger. Sauté 10 minutes, or until onion is soft. Stir in tomatoes. Cook about 5 minutes. Pour cooked lentils and tomato mixture into food processor or blender and pulse to puree, leaving some texture. Serve with millet, quinoa, or brown rice, and/or flatbread.
Makes 6 servings
Seitan “Chicken” and Cashews (QF)
Look for chicken-style seitan near the tofu in the refrigerated section of your natural foods store. If you don’t have cashews, toasted walnuts or almonds are delicious in this dish too. If you have nut allergies, try sunflower or pumpkins seeds.
2 teaspoons oil
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 pound chicken-style seitan, cut into bite-size pieces
1 bell pepper, seeded and cut into bite-size pieces
2 carrots, sliced
1 cup chopped green cabbage
1 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup toasted (or dry-roasted) cashews
Sauce:
1/2 cup seitan broth, vegetable stock, or water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons arrowroot powder
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Warm oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Add seitan and brown on all sides. Add pepper and carrots. Reduce heat to medium-low and steam 5 minutes. Add cabbage and corn. Whisk sauce ingredients together and pour into skillet. Cover and cook 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat. Stir in cashews. Serve with brown rice or other cooked grain.
Makes 6 servings
Tortilla Soup
This hearty, delicious soup is a favorite with my family and friends. Although the ingredient list looks long, this is really a quick soup to make if you have cooked or canned beans on hand. Since my children don’t like spicy foods, I leave the Tabasco sauce out of the soup and put the bottle on the table so each person can spice his or her soup.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked pinto beans
2 cups cooked white beans
2 cups cooked black beans
4 1/2 cups water
2 cups or 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon Sea Veg Mix (page xxx) (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon miso
1 tablespoon tahini
2 teaspoons nutritional yeast flakes (optional)
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce or to taste
Sea salt, if necessary
Tortilla chips
Optional Toppings:
Minced fresh cilantro
Sliced black olives
Shredded Jack cheese
Heat oil in large soup pot over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook 10 minutes without stirring so they brown. Stir in garlic. Add beans, water, tomatoes, Sea Veg Mix, cumin, oregano, and chili powder. Heat until soup starts to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered about 30 minutes to let flavors combine. Remove 2 cups of soup and place in blender with miso and tahini. Puree and return to soup. Add Tabasco and sea salt to taste.
To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Insert tortilla chips into soup around edges of bowl. Top with cilantro, olives, and/or cheese if desired.
Makes 8 servings
Note: See the Bean and Legume Cooking Chart in the Appendix for instructions on cooking your own beans, or use beans you have cooked and frozen. Canned beans are also work well here; just use one can of each type of bean. You can also use just one or two types of beans or different ones than I suggest. Just make sure they add up to about 6 cups.
Man I miss the Bay Area!
I have started to bring my own. So I called last night and asked if I needed to bring something for dc and I to eat. She actually said she wasn't sure, she'd get back to me. Well, she's actually cooking a veg dish! Can you believe it? I can't. You'd think since 1/3 of her company is veg...., but hey, it's a good step, no?
Follow Mothering