Sunday, July 17, 2011

Plant-strong Pot Luck-The Food

Have you ever heard the phrase "embarrassment of riches?"

Well, presenting the food from our Plant-strong Pot Luck feels like just that.

I'm doing it anyway. 'Cause what kind of blogger would I be if I held back on you?

So here it is, complete with recipes or links to recipes where available.
Everyone was raving about Quinn's corn chowder, inspired by this recipe from Clean Food by Terry Walters.
I'm in love with these pickled vegetables. They are not overly acidic, but they are FULL of crunch and variety. Fennel, celery, carrot, kalamata olive, peppers, oh my! I woke up the next morning and ate it for breakfast on top of some homemade whole wheat bread and a schmear of black bean dip. Contributed by The Healthy Librarian over at http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/.

Great Antipasto Salad
based on a recipe from World's Healthiest Food, created by George Mateljan

Printable Recipe
2 cups carrots cut into thick strips/chunks
1-1/2 cups thickly sliced celery
1 cup fresh sliced fennel bulb
about 2+ whole roasted red peppers sliced
1/2 cup quartered & then cut-up artichoke hearts, water-packed & drained
2 Tbsp or more rinsed and quartered Kalamata olives
2 Tbsp capers, rinsed

Dressing
1-1/2 tsp dried Italian mixed herbs (oregano, parsley & basil--use fresh if you have it--but you'll need more)
2 medium cloves garlic, pressed
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Press garlic and let sit for 5 minutes.

Bring water to boil in steamer and add carrots and steam for 4 minutes. Add celery and fennel and steam for just 1 more minute. Remove from heat and place in a bowl with capers and olives.

Whisk all dressing ingredients together.

Toss with vegetables and marinate for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Optional: Serve on pieces of whole-grain (sourdough is best) bread as an appetizer

Scott, aka "Mr. Belhorn" arrived with a refrigerator's worth of produce chopped up and mixed into a salad. I'm not sure if there is a recipe for that.
Liz brought this really unassuming salad and it was one of the highlights of the meal.
Farro and White Bean Salad
(inspired from a recipe in Redbook magazine - so random!)
1.5 cups vegetable broth
3/4 cups farro
1 (15 oz.) can of white beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup fennel, chopped (include the fronds as well as the bulb)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp of freshly ground pepper
3 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
1.5 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp water
1 cup sprouts
1/2 cup toasted cashews
Bring broth and farro to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes until al dente. Drain any excess broth. Transfer to a large bowl.
Add white beans, fennel, raisins, red pepper, carrots, onion, salt, and pepper.
In a small bowl whisk together vinegar, honey, and water. Add to salad and toss to mix.
Top with sprouts and cashews.

Really delicious stuffed peppers.

Vegan Stuffed Peppers
adapted from The Vegan Table - Colleen Patrick-Goudreau


6 bell peppers (red, orange, yellow)
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (14 ounces) fire roasted diced tomatoes
1/2 cup raw almonds, chopped or slivered
21/2 cups cooked rice - example: combination long grain brown rice and Trader Joe's Basmati Rice Medley
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons golden raisins
3 tablespoons ground almonds

Preheat oven to 375. Halve peppers lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Place peppers cut side up in a baking pan with 1 cup of water. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake until peppers are soft and easily pierced with a fork but still have their shape.

Heat a few tablespoons of vegetable stock in a large soup pot.  Saute onions and garlic for 5 minutes over medium heat until onion becomes translucent.  Add tomatoes and chopped almonds and saute for another minute or two. Remove pan from heat and stir in rice,mint, parsley, basil and raisins.  Spoon mixture into the peppers.

Bake stuffed peppers uncovered in pan with water(so they don't burn) for 15 minutes, sprinkle ground almonds on top, return to oven and bake another 15 minutes.  Garnish with fresh herbs.

Chris-Anna, who loves Chef Aj's Disappearing Lasagna so much that I keep telling her to write Chef Aj and just let her know it, made it for the first time.
These tomato, sweet potato, polenta vegetable stacks that Jane prepared are the kind of food you would eat in a fine restaurant. Gorgeous to look at with a taste to match. Perfection. But I think we'll be waiting for an Engine 2 cookbook before we see this recipe!
Toby reminded me that I really need to be making Vietnamese/Thai Spring Rolls more often. I simply adore them. And her slightly spicy homemade Peanut Sauce was divine. This isn't our dear Toby, but here's a recipe and video on how to prepare Spring Rolls that really helps to watch before you go for it at home. The demonstrator makes a really beautiful roll and gives me the confidence I need to do this myself.

Printable Recipe

Thai Spring Rolls

Rice roll wrappers found in Asian market or Whole Foods
julienned carrots
julienned cucumbers
bean sprouts
cilantro leaves
basil leaves
lettuce
optional: prepared thin rice noodles
any other veggies that you like

Soak the rice roll wrapper in a shallow dish in water (it doesn't need to be hot). When the paper is pliable, transfer to another plate. Place veggies in the middle. Wrap like an egg roll. Dip in the sauce recipe below. Enjoy!

Toby's Peanut Dipping Sauce
(adjust flavors to your taste)
1 Large clove garlic, peeled
1 Inch chunk fresh ginger, trimmed and cut into eighths (use fine grater if mixing ingredients by hand)
1/3 to 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup nonhydrogenated, unsalted peanut butter (you can use part almond butter since almonds are healthier)
2 Tablespoons sweet white miso
About 1 tablespoon shoyu
3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice or lemon juice
Chili oil or ground cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
1-2 T maple syrup (I used one squirt of Nu Naturals liquid stevia)
Mix everything by hand or in blender for a creamier consistency.
Sindy prepared Terry Walter's recipe for Pan Seared Tofu with Ginger Lime Glaze from Clean Start. You can get that recipe here from a blogger who posted it, without permission, I'm pretty sure, but there it is. I was jonesing to try this ever since my friend Jessica e-mailed me and asked if I had ever made it. Well, now I know why she took time out of her busy day to alert me to it. It was even better as leftovers for dinner the next night, served with Toby's peanut sauce and Jane's Thai Slaw (below). I lucked out and had an Asian feast!
And last but certainly not least, Jane's Thai Slaw. Yum-o! So yum-o in fact, that I have it on the menu for dinner this coming up Friday night.

Thai Slaw
Inspired by the a recipe from the Vegan Daily Companion . We experienced this recipe in Tuscon on March 30, 2011 -- I mark the date because it changed the way I view and consume cabbage. I could really eat this for every meal � every single meal!
1 and � cup salsa
� cup natural peanut butter
1 tablespoon maple syrup (or less � to taste)
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon tamari
2 teaspoons minced ginger (or more- to taste)
2-3 shakes of red pepper flakes (optional)
� head of green cabbage, finely shredded
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 red pepper, julienned
� cup peanuts, coarsely chopped
In a saucepan combine salsa, peanut butter, maple syrup, water, tamari, ginger and red pepper flakes.
Over medium heat, warm all ingredients until uniformly blended into a sauce.
Pour sauce over cabbage and toss.
Add red peppers, cilantro and chopped peanuts and serve.
This is great served the next day - it marinates well!?

Dessert coming up in my next post!

Are you inspired to host a Plant-strong Pot Luck of your own?

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