Category: Vegan

Butter and Herb New Potatoes.

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New potatoes are those little guys you see in spring and summer. They’re not fully grown when they’re harvested, hence the “new.” At a farmer’s market on Saturday morning, I found a whole big basket full of baby marbled potatoes, so I took a few home to cook for dinner. A word to the wise about this recipe: the whole time the potatoes and shallots were browning, I was cursing myself for having no bacon in the house. If you’re lucky enough to have it on hand, USE IT! And don’t you dare feel any food guilt afterward: potatoes, shallots, bacon, butter–that’s the price you pay for authentic French flavor. Just enjoy it.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups new potatoes
garlic thyme olive oil
small shallot, diced
thyme
parsley
salt
pepper
pad of cold butter

DIRECTIONS

Wash potatoes thoroughly. Place in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, let boil for  2 minutes, then drain.

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add potatoes and shallot and cook until browned.

When browned to your liking, remove from heat. Sprinkle lightly with parsley and thyme, and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in butter until melted. Serve plain, or with sour cream.

Windowsill Herb Garden and Garlic Thyme Olive Oil.

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Fresh herbs look, smell, and taste amazing, so of course they’re always welcome in my kitchen. But they’re really something of a luxury, aren’t they? Not anymore! This week I made a trip out to Gethsemane Garden Center to realize the city girl’s dream of growing my own herbs at home. There were a ton of gorgeous fruit, vegetable, and herb plants to choose from, so I decided to start off with a few of my favorites. And since I don’t have garden or porch space in my new apartment, my herbs grow in pots on my living room windowsill (for now…who knows how long I can keep these alive…). Also, a quick and easy but totally luxurious and aromatic olive oil “recipe” using herbs from my garden!

Here’s my lovely mint, great for tea:
UPDATE: I just discovered that this is actually a lemon balm plant, which is similar to mint but has a more lemony scent. Still great for tea though!

Rosemary and thyme, the second half of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Scarborough Fair”:

And my favorites, the parsley and chives:

Now, let’s perk up that regular old olive oil and make it something special: Garlic Thyme Olive Oil.

INGREDIENTS:

Olive oil (Extra virgin is fine, but I like to use regular olive oil because it’s nicer to cook with)
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
3 cloves of garlic

DIRECTIONS:

Peel cloves of garlic. Rinse thyme and pat it dry. Let both garlic and thyme dry thoroughly, at least an hour (any water leftover can lead to spoilage).

Add washed and dried aromatics to a clean bottle and fill with olive oil. Let steep for 4 days, then remove thyme and garlic (again, to prevent spoilage). Use within 2 months. Great for sauteing veggies, making salad dressings, and dipping fresh-baked bread.

Red Lentil Soup.

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I’m always on the lookout for new healthy, yummy, and portable dishes to bring to work for lunch. This bright and fragrant spiced lentil soup is full of protein and iron, and it’s sure to hold you over until you get home for dinner! And the best part is, dried lentils are so much faster and easier to cook with than many of their fellow legumes, which require soaking overnight. Lentils only cook 20-30 minutes until they’re tender and ready to eat!

INGREDIENTS:

1 large onion, diced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups red lentils, picked clean and rinsed
8 cups water or stock (I used homemade chicken stock, but vegetable stock is just as good)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp turmeric
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

DIRECTIONS

In a dutch oven or large soup pot, saute the carrot and onion in olive oil until soft. Add garlic and cook another minute or two.

Add the washed lentils and water or stock. Then add the cumin, turmeric, coriander, ginger, bay leaves, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook 20 – 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender. Remove from heat.

A very yummy soup, even if one of your bay leaves is broken...

Discard bay leaves and puree in batches. Garnish with parsley and serve with crusty brown bread and butter.

Rick Bayless’ Mango Guacamole.

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I love Rick Bayless‘ style. Anyone who’s eaten at one of his restaurants or watched his show, Mexico: One Plate at a Time, can tell he knows his stuff when it comes to Mexican flavors and ingredients. So whenever I’m in the mood for Mexican, I look to him for ideas; that’s where this yummy twist on standard guac came from. The mango really brightens the dish, and the serrano chile adds a layer of flavor that goes so well with avocado. Definitely a go-to for guacamole lovers. Buen provecho!

INGREDIENTS

2 ripe avocados
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
1 tbsp lime juice
1 small ripe mango, diced
salt, pepper, diced red onion, cilantro to taste

DIRECTIONS

Cut avocado in half and remove the pit. Scoop the avocado flesh into a mixing bowl. Add salt and pepper and mash with a fork or potato masher.

Add mango, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, and serrano chile. Stir to combine. Garnish with more mango and cilantro and serve with tortilla chips.

Roasted Root Vegetable Soup.

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As I mentioned in my post on Irish Brown Bread, Irish cooking isn’t the most sophisticated of world cuisines. Their bread is one exception, and their soups are another. This five-step root vegetable puree is perfect for chilly weather and involves more waiting than actual preparation/tending — very low maintenance. It’s a yummy, healthy soup that will warm you from the inside out!

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INGREDIENTS

4 parsnips, peeled and sliced

4-6 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 onion, sliced

1 sweet potato, cubed

3 cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp dried thyme

3 tbsp olive oil, divided

2 large leeks, thoroughly washed and sliced (just the white and light green parts)

1 bay leaf

5-8 cups vegetable broth

salt and pepper

Just the Recipe link: Roasted Root Vegetable Soup

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, combine parsnips, carrots, onion, sweet potato, garlic, ginger, cumin, thyme, and 2 tbsp olive oil. Toss to coat. Spread a single layer onto foil-lined pans and roast until starting to caramelize.

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Heat the last tbsp of oil on medium low in a Dutch oven or other large pot and add leeks and bay leaf. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft.

Add the roasted veggies and broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Simmer until tender.

Remove bay leaf, puree in batches, and enjoy. “Enjoy” is best done with lots of buttered Irish Brown Bread!

Minestrone

Published on by KellyInTheKitchen2 Comments

I love any recipe with a mirepoix, and minestrone soup is no exception. A tasty Italian classic with a simple country elegance, minestrone is as easy as it is beautiful. It’s a fairly basic vegetable soup in a tomato broth,  but packs a vegetable punch and is a healthy way to warm up on a chilly day!


INGREDIENTS
1 large onion, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped (leaves included)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large potato, cubed
1 bunch Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves chopped
14 oz canned crushed tomato
5 cups vegetable broth
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
olive oil
herbs de Provence
salt
pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a large pot, heat oil on medium and add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic.

When onion is soft, stir in potato. Top mixture with chard and herbs de Provence and cover. Allow the chard to cook until beginning to soften.

Then add tomato and broth and stir. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

In a food processor, puree beans with 1/4 cup water until smooth. Stir bean puree and Parmesan cheese into soup and season with salt and pepper. Cook 10-15 minutes more.

Remove from heat and serve with bread or over pasta.