Oscar Night Vegetarian Steamed Dumplings and Egg Drop Soup

1 Comment February 29, 2012 Lauren

Growing up, Oscar night was always very exciting. My Mom would let my sisters and me stay up to watch the show, and we’d ooh and ahh over the actresses’ dresses, and root for our favorite movies and directors to win. Know this: I am no less excited now by the big show than I was back then. I don’t think I’ve missed a broadcast since those days. It’s my Superbowl.

For the past three or four years, I’ve had a lot of fun trying to see as many of the best picture nominees on the big screen as possible. This is, of course, more difficult now that there are NINE, but trying to keep up with what’s still out in theaters (often movies are re-released before the Academy Awards) is a blast- I see a lot of movies I may not have chosen to otherwise (ahem, Moneyball).

Since the Oscar night tradish starts with watching the red carpet broadcasts and snarkily panning sub-par dresses, I uncorked a bottle of wine, ogled Gwyneth’s Tom Ford-designed dress and CAPE (cape!!), and made these:

VEGETARIAN STEAMED DUMPLINGS

adapted, to the T, from Alton Brown

Ingredients:

1/2 pound firm tofu (I used Nasoya sprouted tofu)
1/2 c grated carrot (about half a large carrot)
1/2 cup shredded cabbage (I used bagged angel hair cole slaw cabbage)
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 large scallion, finely chopped (2 tbsp)
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
1 tbsp reduced- sodium soy sauce (Kikkoman is delicious)
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 lightly beaten egg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
wonton wrappers (package of 35-40)
bowl of water and pastry brush
non-stick canola oil spray Read More

Sweet Potato & Red Lentil Bisque (My New Favorite Soup) (v, gf)

2 Comments January 31, 2012 Lauren

INSTANT CLASSIC. INSTANT FAVORITE. This soup was not only delicious, but bursting with nutritous ingredients and very easy to make. I haven’t fallen for a recipe this quickly in a while, and this soup definitely earned a spot on the staple list for the Cruse household. Added bonus: my husband loved it as much as I did! He’s not so big on vegetarian dishes, but he devoured his bowl and remarked several times that he really liked it (I deal in compliments, you know). We had it as a warming side to roast turkey breast sandwiches (bonus recipe below!).
The smooth and creamy texture and subtle sweet and spicy flavors will really knock your socks off. If you’ve been wanting to make a healthier root vegetable soup and you like delicate Thai-style flavors, do yourself a favor and try this one.

And if you make it, let me know what you think!!

SWEET POTATO AND RED LENTIL BISQUE

(adapted from Oprah.com)

Ingredients:

1 lb sweet potatoes (about 2 medium), peeled and roughly chopped
1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 cup red lentils (available in the Bob’s Red Mill display at your grocery store- the bag I bought cost $6 and had about 4 cups dry lentils)
4 cups chicken broth (I used 4 c water and 3 tsp Maggi chicken boullion)
1 tsp Sriracha (to your taste, can always add more like this girl)
1 tsp Thai red curry paste (Thai Kitchen brand is avaialble in the Asian section of most major grocery stores)
1 tsp brown sugar
1 can light coconut milk
cracked black pepper
cilantro (optional garnish)

cilantro, red lentils, coconut milk

Directions:

Add broth, sweet potatoes, onion, lentils, Sriracha, curry paste, and brown sugar to a stock pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the mixture is boiling, reduce heat and cover; simmer for 25 minutes.

bubbling away

Uncover the soup and let sit for 10 minutes to cool- you want soup to be cool enough to run through your food processor. Too hot, and the heat could damage the processor and/or the steam could force lid off/cause general problems. Just let it cool.

batch 1, pre-blending

Stir in coconut milk and process in batches until smooth. This is seriously the easiest soup… I just can’t get over it! Combine batches in a large bowl, and give soup a good stir before serving. Generously crack black pepper over top, and serve with cilantro and additional Sriracha.

So good! Let me know how it goes when you make it, and anything you change in your home version.

Bonus recipe!!!! Roasted turkey breast for sandwiches:

Make sure the turkey breast you buy is thawed. You’ll need 3 carrots, 3 stalks of celery, butter, and an onion.

Preheat oven to 350, and grab a roasting pan. Salt and pepper rinsed and dried turkey breast all over, even in the cavity. Melt 1/4-1/2 stick butter (you could use canola oil instead), and brush all over breast. Cut up the veggies, and stuff the cavity with a mix of them, placing remaining veggies around turkey in the roasting pan. You can put a little water or broth in the bottom of the pan if you like (I don’t).

Tent some foil over the breast, and place in the oven; roast for 2 hours, until the timer in the turkey pops up, or until a meat thermometer stuck into the turkey reads 170 degrees. Let sit 20 minutes, then carve into slices to put on sandwiches! Et voila!

bless-ed leftovers

Quickie: Kimchi Fried Rice (veg, gf)

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burrito Filling (v, gf)

4 Comments January 23, 2012 Lauren

I came across this wonderful recipe on one lovely life, a really sweet little blog. It had been a long day and I had a mish-mash of seemingly unrelated ingredients in my pantry; the opportunity to use some sweet potatoes that had been hanging out in the potato bin since Christmas (! ugh, SO lazy) seemed like a good one. Plus, this is a mix and roast recipe that creates leftovers. Doubly good!

I tend to go for highly seasoned foods, and have been trying to cut out meat where I can- I feel so much lighter and more energetic when I turn down the meat content and up the veggies. This recipe fit the fast and meatless bill perfectly! Here it is:

SWEET POTATO AND BLACK BEAN BURRITO FILLING

(adapted from One Lovely Life)

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato, diced. I left the skin on to retain more nutrients. You may peel if your heart so desires.
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 Tbsp taco seasoning (I used Ortega reduced sodium). Amount will depend on taste and how large your veggies are. You may use homemade seasoning if you’re an overachiever.
3 tbsp canola oil. *you may use another oil, but I like to use a neutral oil with highly flavorful seasonings and high roasting temps.
1 (14.5oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
Tortillas or tortilla chips
Any toppings you’d like to add. I opted for Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde and Chobani plain, nonfat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream.

Directions: Preheat the oven to 375. Dice your sweet potato and onion; try to keep the dice of each fairly similar in size. This makes for a prettier dish and even roasting.

In a large bowl, toss all ingredients. Stir to coat well with oil and seasoning. Spread mixture out on a large baking sheet.
Roast for 30 minutes, stirring 15 minutes in, adding more olive oil if necessary. I used the 3 tbsp of oil as to avoid this.
Toss black beans and roasted vegetables and serve with chips or in tortillas. Trader Joe’s baked blue corn tortilla chips were DELISH with this filling, and added visual interest; the salsa verde, creamy white yogurt and blue chips made quite a pretty bowl of chow. The subtle sweetness of the roasted onions and sweet potato, paired with the smoky seasoning and black beans gives an unexpected punch of flavor. Top with what you wish, and enjoy! Here are my leftovers at work the next day: