Put This In Your Mouth

Beet Me Up!

A few years ago, right about the time when I became a vegan, I went to Seasons 52 with my parents. I ordered the vegetable plate, and I was delighted to see all of the vibrant and delicious vegetables. I studied the plate to see what my dinner would consist of that night, and I noticed a golden vegetable that I just couldn't put my finger on. I thought it was a potato, but I could tell by the mildly sweet taste and non-starchy texture that this was not a potato. I had no idea what this was, but it was so succulent and I had to figure it out. At the end of the meal, I asked the waiter, and he told me that I was eating beets. I had never tried beets before, and for some reason I thought I wouldn't like them. They tasted amazing compared to what I had imagined. 


Some time went by and I forgot about beets for a little bit. Then, a few months ago I was at Cafe 118 Degrees and had a beet juice that was magnificent. After that I had some delicious beets in a faro dish with white truffle oil at a fancy restaurant in St. Louis. Obviously this was a message that beets were supposed to be part of my life, so I started reading about all of the health benefits, and decided that I was going to learn to cook beets and make them a regular part of my diet. Please continue reading to find out more about cooking, buying, and storing beets....

Quick tips of buying beets:

*There are a few different types of beets; some are red, some are a gold color. I like both types, and I just decide which one I want depending on my mood. Red beets are sweeter in taste, and the golden beets have a mild sweetness.

*Buy the beets with the greens attached to ensure freshness. You also want to cook and save the greens. Nothing goes to waste except the stems!

*You can store beets wrapped in plastic. If you buy them fresh, they will store for over a week this way.

I have only cooked beets twice, and I am a big fan of roasting root veggies, so this is how I have had the most luck:

*Preheat oven to 400
*Use a few tablespoons olive oil, and a pinch of salt,  and coat the baking sheet.
*Cut off the bottoms of the beets, and cut the beet away from the greens
*Cut each beet in half
*Once the oven is preheated, place beets on pan face down.
*Place in the oven for 30 minutes
*About 15 minutes in, turn the beets
*Cook for the remainder
*Take beets out of the oven when finished
*Let them cool for about 15 minutes (you can prepare the beet greens at this time)
*Once cooled you should be able to easily peel the beet with your fingers, or if it freaks you out to get the red pigment all over your hands, then you can take a knife to the beet and peel it that way. Either way, you will get red pigment on you unless you wear gloves. It comes off easily.
*Then, cut to whatever shape you like (cubes, slices, stars, feet)!
****EAT!****

How to cook beet greens:
*You can really cook beet greens the same way you would cook any green (kale, spinach, chard)
*Cut the greens away from the beet
*Also, cut any rough stems away from the green. You don't have to be super picky about cutting the stems away. Just make sure anything too thick is discarded.
*Chop up the greens
*Heat a skillet with some olive oil, salt, and garlic
*Once sizzling, put in the greens and cook for about a minute or until your desired doneness .
*Add them to you favorite dish to get some heart healthy greens in your diet!

If you are interested in learning more, here is a link explaining some of the health benefits of beets.

You can eat the beets and greens just like that or you can add them to a dish. I think they would be great with anything! Some things that come to mind are beets with a side of quinoa and asparagus, beets and beet greens with Soba noodles and tofu, or beets over faro with other roasted root veggies. But, one of the best combos is the one that I made tonight.... Rising Moon Butternut Squash Ravioli with sauteed green onions, beet greens with roasted beets in an agave-olive oil-garlic-balsamic sauce! This dish was inspired by one that I had at Veg, a restaurant that I will blog about soon located in Sarasota. You will see the recipe this week!

Do you have a favorite beet recipe? How do you cook beets? Make a comment or Email Me, I'd love to hear from you!

Namaste!

Put This In Your Mouth

Brussel Sprouts: The Most Misunderstood Vegetable

Brussel Sprouts are delicious. They are little bite size cabbages that crunch in your mouth (if cooked right). I am sure that you heard a lot of awful things about them growing up, but don't be fooled by the bad reputation that they have. They are just so bad that they are awesome. They might even be too cool for you.

I once was fooled by the myth that brussel sprouts taste the inside of a trashcan until one day my friend made them for me. I remember thinking... great.... she made me this awesome dinner for my birthday, and I have already decided that I hate brussel sprouts without ever trying them. But, I'm open minded and I was newly vegan, so I was happy to try them. We were all sitting at the table, and I had my plate in front of me, grabbed the veggie with my fork, and I bit into my first brussel sprout. I instantly wanted more and I couldn't get over that it took me this long to give them a chance. She made me this recipe off of 101 cookbooks, and since then I have forever been buying, cooking, and loving brussel sprouts.

Why are brussel sprouts awesome? Well, besides tasting good, they have super healthy for you. They are high in fiber, help protect against cancer, and they are high in vitamin C which helps support immune function. They also help protect against rheumatic arthritis and birth defects. You can read more about it by clicking here.

There are a few ways to cook brussel sprouts, but I think they are best when they are cut into ribbons and pan fried to where they are a little crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I do not recommend frozen brussel sprouts, they always end up too soft and watery.

How to prepare a brussel sprout for cooking:
Cut off the ends and peel away any loose or discolored leaves. Wash well. They can be cooked whole or halved, but for this recipe they are best sliced.

Here is my basic brussel sprout recipe....

You will need:
20 brussel sprouts, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt
1/2 Tbls sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped

*In a bowl, coat the brussel sprouts in 1 Tbls Olive oil and some salt. Mix together
*Heat a large skillet to med heat with 1 Tbls olive oil. You do not want to make it too hot because you don't want the outside to cook too fast, but you do want to get the outside somewhat browned.
*Pour in the brussel sprouts until they are laid out flat on the surface.

*Cook for about 5 minutes, and then they should start to look brown on the bottom.
*Once you see that they have started to brown, add in the garlic, sesame oil, stir together, cover and cook for another minute.
*Pour in a bowl and you are done!

You can eat them just like this, or add them to a pasta, a rice dish, quinoa, couscous, soba noodles, or just add some other delicious veggies to the mix. Tonight I made these and mixed them in with kale, tofu, leeks, and rice noodles.

Roasting brussel sprouts is also a good option. Here is a Barefoot Contessa recipe for that. 
I have also been wanting to try a veganized version recipe from the Momofuku cookbook by David Chang for Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Let me know if you make them and how they turn out! Enjoy!

I love Brussel Sprouts in my mouth!

Namaste.

Roasted Vegetable and Potato Salad

Hi Everyone! Happy Holidays!

Okay... so I know it's been almost a year since I have updated the blog, but I am back and back for good with a new format and everything. One thing that I can't stand is measuring out ingredients! It's too complicated and I make a mess of everything! I'm more of a dash of this.... a handful of that kind of girl... so that's what you can expect from now on. My recipes are pretty simple... that's how I roll... so you should be able to keep up. I'll try to be as exact as possible.

Moving on..... I know that Thanksgiving just ended, but being my second vegan Thanksgiving, I was looking to make some dishes that I can bring to the table every year. I'm not into fake meats... processed food in the shape of a turkey, or friend veggie protein to look like chicken... so you won't find that here. But, you will find some very healthy and delicious meals that can be served for any occasion.

One of my biggest inspirations is Heidi Swanson, of Super Natural Cooking. The recipe that I am posting is based on a potato salad that used off of her website. It turned out pretty awesome and was a big hit with everyone.

Here it is:

1 1/2 pounds red potatoes... quartered
1/2 pound baby carrots, halved
1/2 pound parsnips, cut in half, and chopped into pieces the size of about an inch
6 medium shallots, peeled and cut in half
about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 big pinches of sea salt
about 10 scallions, greens cut off, and halved

Dressing:
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 shallot, minced
2 teaspoons mustard
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup of olive oil

2 cups cooked rice mix (I used a red, white, wild rice mix)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F degrees.
In a large bowl toss the potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and shallots with the olive oil and 2 big pinches of salt. When everything is well coated, lay out on a baking sheet. Make sure that it is spread out pretty good so that it's a single layer. Coat the green onions in the bowl with the left over oil from the other ingredients. Place everything in the oven. The green onions will be finished first, so take them out after about 20 minutes. Continue to roast the veggies for about 30-40 more minutes, but keep checking since other veggies might finish before the others. For example, the carrots might finish and start to turn black... that is what you want to avoid. You want to let the veggies go until they are deeply golden and tender. You might want to flip the veggies once or twice along the way.

While the vegetables are roasting, start the dressing by pouring the red wine vinegar into a small bowl along with the chopped shallot. Then whisk in the mustard and salt, and olive oil. Make sure everything is mixed until smooth.

When they are done roasting, remove the vegetables from the oven. In the bowl that you cooked the rice, pour a splash of the vinaigrette and mix together. Transfer the rice to a serving platter as a bed for the vegetables. Turn everything out onto the platter and serve topped with the remaining roasted scallions. Then, drizzle the rest of the dressing over and throughout the dish.

Afterthoughts:

I can't take total credit for this recipe since it was based off of a Heidi Swanson original, but you can definitely make this your own. All of the recipes I post can be used as roadmaps to create your own personalized version. While I was indulging on the roasted vegetables I realized that I don't cook like that enough. Roasted vegetables are sweet and crispy, and I decided that I was going to roast veggies more often, so you can expect to see more of that. You can really make this dish for any occasion... and you can change up the veggies in this dish.....I think roasted brussel sprouts or sweet potatoes would have been a great addition or substitution! Let me know what you think!

Namaste-
Monica

Roasted Carrots and Red Peppers

Serves 6

12 Carrots
4 Red Bell Peppers
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons dried dill

Preheat oven to 400. While waiting for the oven to heat, peal carrots and slice into large diagonal chunks. Depending on the size of the carrot, you should cut only into two to three pieces per carrot. Toss in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Remove from bowl and place on a baking sheet in one layer.

Some people like to leave the red peppers whole while they are roasting in the oven, but I like to cut the top off and seed the red pepper before I roast it. Once you have prepared your red peppers, you may go ahead and use the same bowl to coat with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the red pepper on the same baking sheet if there is room. If not, use another one or something similar.

Roast in oven for about 25 minutes. When finished, you will notice that the the outside of the red pepper has started to blister and the carrots will begin to darken around the edges.

When finished, let cool and slice the red pepper. Then sprinkle the carrots and red peppers with the dill, and you're done!

Delights and Afterthoughts:
Roasting any type of vegetable and adding some seasonings really enhances the flavor and is a pleasant addition to any dish. The measurements that I listed above can be modified to your liking. For example, I usually just take the dried dill and just sprinkle over the veggies from the shaker. I don't usually measure the olive oil either. I just make sure everything is nicely coated enough to make a rub and cook in. But, it's up to you.

I originally made this as a side dish to go with the Baked Polenta with Herbs topped with Monica's Marsala Mushroom Marinara Sauce. It made a pleasant addition to the dish, but I think this would also make a great dish for holiday meals such as Thanksgiving. It can really go with anything. I hope you enjoy!