vegetarian – Page 18 – Trust in Kim: an ad-free recipe blog!

Cauliflower and Cannelini Bean Soup

Continuing my love affair with cauliflower, I wanted to make a soup that was creamy and dairy-free. Rather than using potato to add creaminess and thickness, I pureed a can of cannelini beans. Adding the beans for protein also made it into a soup I could use as my main dish for lunch.

Roasting cauliflower brings out its sweetness; if you’ve never roasted a cauliflower before, you’re going to want to give this a try, and you might become as addicted to it as I am.

I crisped some sage leafs as a garnish when I first served it, but for a subsequent serving fried up a little chorizo and arranged it on top. Now I think a combination would probably be perfection.

What you need:

1 large cauliflower

1 garlic bulb

1 can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

1 leek

4 cups chicken stock

2 teaspoons fresh sage, plus more for garnishing

olive oil

salt and pepper

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. As soon as you’ve turned it on you can toss in a bulb of garlic. Just slice off the end, wrap it in foil and throw it in the oven.

2. Cut the cauliflower into florets and then cut the larger ones in half if you need to. Roast for 25-40 minutes, or until the cauliflower has browned slightly.

3. While the cauliflower and garlic are roasting, heat the broth in a large pot.

4. Drain the cannelini beans and add them to the broth, and then add the sage.

5. Chop the leeks into rounds, rinse them, then add them to the broth. Bring this to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes.

6. When the cauliflower is ready, add it to the broth. The garlic should be ready when the cauliflower is done, so unwrap it from the foil and squeeze it into the pot as well. Let this simmer for about 10 minutes.

7. Remove the pot from the heat and puree the soup for several minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

8. For the garnish, heat a little olive oil in a small frying pan. Add several sage leaves and fry them until they have crisped. They can turn brown pretty quickly, so keep an eye on them and remove them from the pan while they are still green. Arrange on top of each serving of soup.

This soup freezes well, so you can make a big batch to save for a rainy day. It’ll warm you right up.

Portobello-Poached Egg

I had a spare portobello mushroom from a dinner I made last night, and I wanted to find way to eat it on salad, so I made this up. It is not a poached egg on top of a mushroom, but instead I cooked the egg right inside the mushroom cap. I made it soft-cooked so the egg yolk would ooze all over the salad. And it was good. Really good. I was even patting myself on the back as I was eating this one.

I served this one on top of this salad with Glory dressing, and it made my salad into a meal.

What you need:

1 large portobello mushroom

1 small egg

olive oil for the pan

salt and pepper

What you do:

1. Remove the stem from the mushroom.

2. Heat a frying pan to medium, then add a little olive oil. Put the mushroom into the pan, hollow side down.

3. Flip the mushroom over after a few minutes, then let the mushroom cook for a few more minutes. If the pan is getting dry, just splash in a little water and put a lid on it.

4. When the mushroom seems done, crack the egg into the hollow of the mushroom. Put a little water in the pan, then put a lid on it and let it sit for a minute. Check it to see if the egg looks cooked, making sure the egg yolk stays runny, but the white is cooked.

5. Serve it right away on top of a green salad and grate on a little fresh salt and pepper.

You could serve it with a piece of bread to soak up some of the yolk and dressing.

Green Salad with Beets and Mango

Here’s a simple salad with some tasty toppings and the amazing Glory dressing. Easy, light, and scrumptious!

What you need:

mixed salad greens

a beet, finely grated

a mango

Glory dressing

plus anything else you’d like; nuts would be great, maybe some toasted pumpkin seeds

What you do:

1. Make the dressing ahead of time.

2. Put lots of salad greens on each plate, then toss with a little dressing.

3. Grate the beet right onto the salad until it looks like enough

4. Cut some slices of mango and place them on top. Enjoy!

Whitewater Glory Salad Dressing

Yum! A friend recommended the Whitewater cookbook to me, so while waiting to get it out of the library, I did a search online. I found this salad dressing recipe and made it up for my salad tonight. I love the creaminess of it, and recall tasting a dressing like it once before in a restaurant, but couldn’t figure out how to replicate it. I know that not everyone has nutritional yeast sitting around, but if you buy it you can also put it on popcorn (recipe to come!)

I find making salad dressing to be so easy, even one like this that requires a blender. I like knowing exactly what is in the dressing, and I can add more or less of some ingredients if I want. It always tastes better than the store-bought ones, doesn’t have preservatives in it, and is way cheaper.

What you need (for a half recipe):

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon tahini

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup vegetable oil

What you do:

1. Put all the ingredients except the oil into a blender and give it a good mix. I used an immersion blender, so feel free to do the same.

2. In a steady slow stream, add the oil until it is all blended in.

Ready to go, although it’s great if you can let it sit a bit, or keep it in the fridge overnight. A jar of it should last a few weeks in the fridge.

Honey-Ginger-Lemon Healer

When my sweetheart was suffering from bronchitis, and everyone else around me seemed to be getting sick, I concocted this hot drink. It soothes a sore throat, with the honey acting as an anti-inflammatory, fighting infection and tasting great. Ginger has antibacterial and pain-killing properties, and warms you up. The lemon has vitamin C and boosts the immune system. Black pepper can help ease a sore throat and is an appetizer. The warmth of a hot drink itself makes you feel good, and drinking liquids is important, and since this is so yummy you should have no problem getting it down. You can also add whiskey, which will numb your throat a bit, and might make you sleepy so you can get the rest you need when you’re sick.

What you need:

a knob of ginger

black peppercorns

honey

fresh lemons

whiskey (optional)

What you do:

1. Slice the ginger and put it in a small pot with some water and 8-10 peppercorns. Let this boil for at least 10 minutes.

2. Boil some water.

3. Put about 1/3 cup of the ginger liquid into a mug.

4. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 a large lemon, or one whole small lemon. Pour this into the mug.

5. Add about a teaspoon of honey, or more to taste.

6. Add a shot of whiskey if you are using it. Top the mug up with the boiling water, give it a stir, and it’s ready to go.

Parmesan Rosemary Savoury Shortbread

I was looking for something to bring to a friend’s house to complement a glass of wine, and came across this tasty recipe. Unfortunately I didn’t know that this new friend was celiac, so she couldn’t eat any. So even though I seemed a little insensitive, the others who got to eat the leftovers were more than pleased to eat them up.

This is an Ina Garten/Barefoot Contessa recipe, with only a few little changes. I used rosemary instead of thyme, so feel free to substitute thyme if you wish. I also added some fleur de sel on top of the crackers, but if you need to have lower sodium content you can leave it out.

You need to refrigerate the dough for a little while, so it works great to make it a day or two in advance, then pull it out and bake it so you have some freshly baked crackers.

What you need:

1/2 cup unsalted butter (or add less salt)

1 cup freshly grated parmesan

1 – 1 & 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 & 1/4 cups flour

What you do:

1. Cream the butter. Mix in the parmesan, rosemary, salt and pepper on low speed.

2. Add the flour on low speed, mixing for one minute. You might need to add a teaspoon of water to hold it together a bit, but it will still be a bit of a crumbly mixture.

3. Turn the mixture out onto your counter top and knead it together, then form it into a 9 inch log. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to 4 days.

4. Preheat the oven to 350F, then cut the log into slices about 1 cm thick with a small sharp knife.

5. Place the slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet and top each slice with a little fleur de sel. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until they are just slightly browned.

6. Remove the shortbread from the pan and let them cool on a cooling rack. Keep any spares in an airtight container.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge

This one is a take on my usual chocolate fudge recipe. It’s so easy to make, and if you love the chocolate-peanut butter combo, you’re gonna love this.

What you need:

3 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter

2/3 cup evaporated milk

175 grams (6oz) semisweet chocolate chips

175 grams (6oz) peanut butter chips

1 7 0z jar marshmallow cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

What you do:

1. Coat a 9×13 inch pan with butter.

2. Place the sugar, butter and evaporated milk in a large saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil, then cook for 5 minutes on medium heat, stirring.

3. Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the marshmallow and vanilla.

4. Divide the mixture in half, placing one half in a bowl. Stir the chocolate chips into one half, and the peanut butter chips into the other half.

5. Pour the chocolate part into the bottom of the pan and smooth it out a bit with a spatula, then add the peanut butter mixture and spread it out over the top.

6. Allow to cool, and then refrigerate. Take it out of the fridge about 10 minutes before you cut it. I like to cut it into pretty small squares because it’s pretty sweet. And people can always have more than one piece.

Pickle Skewers

Here’s a yummy, pretty and easy party appetizer. There’s a mixture of sweet and salty pickles and olives, and a sweet grape to finish it off.

What you need:

pitted olives

sweet pickled onions

dill pickles, sliced into rounds

sweet grapes

wooden skewers

What you do:

Skewer everything starting with the grape. That way the last flavour will be sweet one.

How to Regrow Scallions Indoors

In the middle of winter it’s nice to be able to grow something. These photos show some scallions I bought and cut to cook with and then let them grow back. The brown part at the very base of the scallions in the bottom photo shows where I cut them; all of the green in new growth. This is about 10 days growth, but I’m going to let them grow a little more before I cut them again.

All you do is:

1. Put the cut scallions in a bowl, glass or vase with some water.

2. Rinse the bulbs and roots daily and add fresh water.

Wait for them to grow so you have more fresh scallions to cook with.

Sometimes I add a little sugar to the water. I’m not sure if this speeds up or helps the growing process in any way, but it doesn’t hurt. I’ll have to do a side by side test sometime to see if it makes a difference. Let me know what works for you!

Maple-Nut Granola

For breakfast I usually eat a bowl of fruit and homemade yogurt. It’s so delicious, but I find sometimes it’s not enough to get me through the morning. I haven’t made granola in ages, so I thought this would be a good time to rework an old recipe. I’ve used maple syrup for a little sweetness, and a bit of olive oil to make it nice and crunchy. I think the amount of sugar and fat are quite reasonable, especially when you look at the fat and sugar content of commercial granolas. The nuts themselves have a high fat content, but it’s a healthy fat, and one of the reasons why serving of granola should be small.

What you need:

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped

1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped

1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 300F.

2. Combine the oats, almonds, pecans, walnuts and salt in a large bowl. Add the oil,maple syrup and vanilla to this and combine thoroughly.

3. Spread this mixture evenly on a baking tray. Bake for 2o minutes.

4. Add the pumpkin seeds and coconut to the baking tray and combine with the other ingredients. I like to add these later in the cooking process so they don’t get too toasty.

5. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes. You will want to watch it towards the end of the cooking time, just in case your oven in running a little hot. The granola should be a golden colour, but not browned. I think it tastes burnt when it gets browned.

6. Allow to cool completely on the baking tray, then store in an airtight container.

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