Kichadee

My cousin, Bri P., introduced this recipe to me. She says it is one of her staple foods. It was tasty and hearty. Here is my version.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked brown rice (about 1 cup uncooked)
• 2 cups cooked red lentils (about 3/4 c. to 1 c. uncooked)
• 2-3 c. finely chopped sweet potato
• 2-3 c. finely chopped kale (if you want it less chewy pull it off the stem first)
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1/4 c. butter or ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds
• 1 tsp. fennel seeds
• 1 tsp. cumin powder
• 1 tsp. coriander powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

1.  Get the rice and red lentils cooking in separate pots, according to the directions on their packaging. 
2. Brown spice seeds in the butter or ghee for a few minutes. Add the powdered spices. Then add all the veggies and stir till combines. Saute with the lid on, occasionally stirring, until veggies are soft and cooked through. 
3. Combine the cooked rice, cooked lentils, into the veggie mixture. Add salt and lemon juice and mix well. Let sit 10 minutes and then serve.

Notes about this recipe:

• You can also add fennel powder in with the spices, I just couldn't find it at my grocery store.
• If you want to try making your own ghee use 1/4 lb butter, unsweetened and unsalted. Heat over medium heat until fat separates on top and bottom. Continue at a gentle boil until a large mid portion is clear (about 20 min.) Strain with superfine mesh into a mason jar.
• With the spices you can go up to 2 Tb. depending on how spicy/flavorful you want it.

Vegetarian Taco Salad

(Picture from Eating Well.)

This recipe was sent in by Vanessa H. She found it at Eating Well. 

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (see Tip) or frozen, thawed
• 4 large tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups cooked long-grain brown rice (see Tip)
• 1 15-ounce can black, kidney or pinto beans, rinsed
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup prepared salsa
• 2 cups shredded iceberg or romaine lettuce
• 1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese
• 2 1/2 cups coarsely crumbled tortilla chips
• Lime wedges for garnish

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and corn; cook, stirring, until the onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Coarsely chop 1 tomato. Add it to the pan along with rice, beans, chili powder, 1 teaspoon oregano and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the tomato cooks down, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.
2. Coarsely chop the remaining 3 tomatoes. Combine with cilantro, salsa and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon oregano in a medium bowl.
3. Toss lettuce in a large bowl with the bean mixture, half the fresh salsa and 2/3 cup cheese. Serve sprinkled with tortilla chips and the remaining cheese, passing lime wedges and the remaining fresh salsa at the table.

Notes about this recipe:

Don't stir the lettuce directly into the salad, spoon some of the salad onto a bed of lettuce on each plate. Don't want soggy lettuce in your leftovers!

Orange Cashew Rice

This recipe comes from Vanessa B. She found it at Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1/2 cup roasted cashew pieces
• 1/4 cup chopped yellow peppers
• 1/4 cup chopped red peppers
• 3 green onions, minced
• 1 (8-ounce) can mandarin orange segments, drained well

Directions:

For the rice, in a 2-quart saucepan, bring the water, orange juice, orange zest, olive oil and salt to a boil. Stir in the rice. Cover the saucepan and lower the heat to a gentle simmer, simmering the rice for 25-30 minutes, until the rice is cooked through and the liquid has totally evaporated. Let stand, covered, off the heat for 5-10 minutes.

Scrape the rice into a large bowl. Add the cashew pieces, peppers and green onions. Season with salt and pepper and add the drained orange segments to the rice, folding them in gently to prevent the oranges from breaking.

Serves 4

If you don’t have basmati rice on hand, you can try substituting long grain white rice since it has the same basic rice-to-liquid ratio. Also, if your cashews are untoasted/unroasted, simply scatter them in a skillet and toast them for a few minutes on the stovetop for a few minutes until golden.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I used long grain rice and thought it turned out great.

Bean and Veggie Sliders

I found this recipe at Martha Stewart's website. Great alternative for a meat-free sandwich, and I loved that they were sized small enough to fit on rolls.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked kidney beans
• 1 cup steamed jasmine or basmati rice
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot
• 1/3 cup shredded broccoli
• 2 tablespoons grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 recipe flavor base
  
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 12 small whole-wheat rolls, split
• Garnishes: Chili Mayonnaise (see below), lettuce, mango, red onion, and cilantro
• For the Chili Mayonnaise: Stir together 3/4 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 teaspoon Asian chili paste (such as sambal oelek), and a dash of toasted-sesame oil.

Directions:

1. Pulse beans in a food processor until mixture resembles ground meat. Pulse in rice. Stir bean mixture in a bowl with carrot, broccoli, ginger, cilantro, and flavor base. Form into twelve 2 1/2-inch round patties (1/4 cup each). Cook in hot oil over medium-high heat until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Sandwich in rolls, adding garnishes.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I used black beans instead (needed to use them up). Still turned out yummy, but I'm looking forward to trying it with the kidney beans next time.
2. I used brown rice.
3. The ginger was REALLY strong, so next time I would do maybe 3/4 Tb.
4. I used mini sandwich thins instead of rolls.
5. I did not try the Chili mayonnaise.
6. Yummy when made fresh but not good as left-overs. If you don't think you will finish off all 12 in one meal then I would 1/2 the recipe.

Veggie Fried Rice

This is a super recipe for using veggies that are about to go bad.

Ingredients:

• A little bit of olive oil
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1/2 cup cooked sweet potatoes, diced (as best you can....they are a bit mushy)
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
• 3 mushrooms, sliced
• 5 green onions, sliced
• About 3 cups cooked brown rice (or any rice)
• 1/2 c. frozen peas
• 1/2 c. frozen corn
  
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 Tb. soy sauce

Directions:

First put a tiny bit of olive oil in a large frying pan and scramble the egg. Once cooked, remove it and set aside in a small bowl.

Then saute the sweet potato and carrot in a little more olive oil, about 5-7 min. Then add mushrooms, green onions and cook till just soft. Add rice, ginger, soy sauce, a little more olive oil, frozen peas and corn. Add the egg back into the pan.

Fry until the rice starts to brown and get a bit crispy.

Notes about this recipe:

1. All of the ingredients are up to you. Use what you have, add more if you like it, don't add it if you don't like it.

2. If you prefer you can fry it until the rice is warm. That's if you don't like it a bit crispy.