This photo was taken just before I sprinkled on the cheese and put it in the oven. Aren't the vegetables' bright colors beautiful?

Every week Weight Watchers distributes a leaflet that contains healthy eating tips, exercise ideas and recipes. Last week the recipe was for a variation of this vegetarian casserole. Since I had barley in my pantry and had no idea what to do with it, I figured this was a fortuitous sign.

Before assembling the casserole I cooked the barley on the brown rice setting of my rice cooker. If you’re a barley novice, I’d just follow the package directions. Pearled barley works well here. I also added kidney beans to my version, and I’m glad I did. They gave the dish a Tex-Mex flair as well as some extra heartiness. I love Swiss chard, but you can substitute baby spinach if you prefer.

Wow! This was so good I’m going to put it on a semi-regular Meatless Monday rotation. Leftovers were even better the next night.

2 t. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups Swiss chard, coarsely chopped*
2 cups frozen corn, thawed and drained
1 cup dark kidney or black beans
1 14-1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes with chilies (I used Rotel)
2 cups cooked barley
1/4 t. cumin
1/4 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. salt
pepper to taste
1/2 cup sharp, low-fat shredded cheddar cheese

*remove tough stems from chard with a knife before chopping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet and sauté onion until translucent. Add garlic and Swiss chard and cook until chard is tender, about 5 minutes. Add corn, beans, tomatoes, barley, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper and heat through.

Coat a 3-quart baking dish with nonstick spray and spread barley mixture evenly into dish. Sprinkle with cheese and bake until cheese melts, about 25 minutes.

Serves 6

print recipe only

I’ve been experimenting with quinoa so much lately that I’ve almost emptied my large bag of Costco quinoa. This high-quality source of complete protein has been a revelation, one which I will henceforth be unable to abandon as a mere culinary trend.

Where has quinoa been all my life? I certainly didn’t eat it when I was growing up in Sacramento, California. Indeed, quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) didn’t appear on my radar screen until several years ago, when a vegetarian Weight Watcher member mentioned it at our meeting. I was hesitant, obviously, because it’s taken me these two years to finally give it a try. As I said, it will be a kitchen staple from now on.

Here is a meatless (since it is a complete protein, there’s no need for meat!) adaptation from Bon Appetit, which I only slightly tinkered with. Believe it or not, I simplified it, which, when you read the list of ingredients, may seem implausible. Yes, the list is long, but take a good look–it’s mostly spices.

If you opt for the full 1/2 t. cayenne, you’ll be in for a very spicy treat. For a tamer version, cut it down or out altogether. The remaining combination of spices is absolutely brilliant. I’ve made this twice already, it was so good!

Stew

2 T. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. sweet paprika
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. ground coriander
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. turmeric
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/4 to 1/2 t. cayenne pepper (I used 1/2 t. but beware, that makes this dish pretty fabulously hot)
1 cup water
1 14-1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 T. fresh lemon juice
3 cups peeled butternut squash, cut into 1-in. cubes
2 cups peeled carrots, cut into 3/4-in. cubes

Quinoa

1 cup quinoa (I buy pre-rinsed quinoa at Costco)
1 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
1/2 c.onion, finely chopped
1/4 c. carrots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. turmeric
2 c. water
1/2 c. chopped cilantro

For the stew: heat oil in a large pot and add onion; saute until soft, about 5 min. Add garlic and cook 1 min. Mix in paprika, salt, pepper, coriander, cumin, turmeric, ginger and cayenne pepper.

Add water, tomatoes and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add squash and carrots. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 min. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (You can prepare this a day ahead and reheat it.)

For the quinoa: Rinse quinoa and drain. Melt butter with oil in a large saucepan; add onion and carrot. Cover and cook until vegetables being to brown, about 10 min. Add garlic, salt and turmeric. Cook 1 min. Add quinoa and cook another 1 min. Add 2 cups water; bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 15 min.

If you’ve refrigerated the stew, re-heat it and stir in half of the cilantro. Spoon quinoa onto a platter, forming a well in the center. Spoon the stew into the center and sprinkle with remaining cilantro.

Serves 4

print recipe only

Banish bland Meatless Mondays with spicy quinoa!

This post marks the beginning of a foray into recipes with quinoa, an ancient grain from the Andes. Quinoa is unique because it contains a balanced set of essential amino acids which, unlike other grains such as wheat or rice, makes it a complete protein. Thus it is an excellent choice for Meatless Mondays.

The following recipe is adapted from epicurious.com. This was my first try at quinoa, so I sought the least complicated recipe I could find. We discovered when we ate it that it was also completely satisfying and delicious.

A note of caution: read the label on the bag of quinoa you purchase. If it hasn’t been thoroughly washed, rinse it several times in a sieve, as it contains a bitter outer protective coating.

The poodle points do not reflect the optional feta cheese, but I highly recommend crumbling some on top of each serving.

1 T. vegetable oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 t. chili powder
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 cups water
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
feta cheese (optional)

Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan  and add onions and red pepper; sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.

Stir in chili powder, cumin, quinoa and salt. Add water; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer until quinoa is almost tender, about 15 minutes. Add beans and 1/4 cup cilantro; cook uncovered until heated through and liquid is fully absorbed, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl; sprinkle with 1/4 cup cilantro and feta cheese, if desired.

Serves 4

print recipe only

It’s Christmas week and cookies are making the rounds everywhere. I’m not actually making any, but I certainly have seen and sampled my share. I love Italian fig cookies. Great with a cup of strong coffee. Italian cook Mary makes them every year and brings them to my Weight Watchers meeting in a plain brown bag. Feels somehow illicit!

In our family, this is also the time of year when our hesitation to eat well-marbled MEAT takes a pass. I just ordered a standing prime rib roast, per daughter Lizzie’s request. I’ve never cooked a rib roast, having always opted for leaner cuts. But it is Christmas, Lizzie reminds me, and moderation be damned.

However, there are ways to lessen the damage, when you consider all the lovely vegetables that are in season this time of year. Brussels sprouts have appeared in supermarkets attached to their stalks, and I’m roasting them along with the MEAT.

It’s important to not overcook Brussels sprouts, because overcooking releases a chemical called sinigrin, which causes a sulfurous odor that is very unpleasant and the cause, no doubt, of Brussels sprouts being way down on the vegetable popularity list. The same goes for cabbage, its botanical cousin.

In the past I’ve steamed and boiled Brussels sprouts, but I am now a roasting fan because cooking them without water makes it that much more difficult to overcook them.

This is a really easy recipe: Heat oven to 400 degrees.

If you buy sprouts on their stalk, cut them off and trim off any tough or yellowed outer leaves. Cut larger sprouts in half, place in a large bowl and toss with a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt (or Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, available at Penzey’s Spices) and pepper. Roast for 35 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice during cooking, until browned on all sides.

Ina Garten suggests sprinkling them generously with sea salt, almost like they’re french fries (fat chance they’ll remind anyone of french fries). I find that this works well, although I like to gild the lily by adding some grated Parmesan cheese just before serving.

Why had I neglected this recipe for so long? My guess is that my mother made stuffed peppers so often, and so badly, when I was young that I became “peppered out”. Along with tuna noodle casserole, they signified another of those 1950′s concoctions that housewives discovered in the red-and-white checkered “Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook” and then made with infuriating frequency.

My mom used green peppers exclusively, stuffed them raw with a ground beef/tomato/rice mixture and cooked them until they were soggy-soft. We loved them, but then what did we know? We also loved frozen tuna pot pies and Swanson Fried Chicken TV dinners. We had no appreciable taste.

One whole pepper is a pretty hefty serving!

This recipe is adapted from America’s Test Kitchen’s “Healthy Family Cookbook”.  The original recipe is more complicated, as is their usual method, and serves four.

Here’s what I did: rather than cook brown rice from scratch, I used the Whole Grain Brown version of Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice, which cooks in the microwave in 90 seconds. I also halved the recipe to serve just two. Leftovers would have been ice, but memories of Mom’s soggy peppers caused me to reconsider.

2 red bell peppers (with flat bottoms so they can stand up)
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1 t. olive oil
1 carrot, peeled and chopped fine
1/2 onion, chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 t. tomato paste
1 t. chili powder
4 oz. lean ground beef (you can use ground turkey)
1 tomato, cored, seeded and choped
2 T. chicken broth
1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese (or Mexican blend)
1 T. parsley, minced
1 T. lemon juice

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Trim 1/2 inch off the top of the bell peppers and remove the veins and seeds. Add 1 T. of salt to the water and add the peppers. Cook until they just begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Drain and place cut-side down on a paper towel.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the carrots and onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, chili powder and salt to taste and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in the beef and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink. Stir in the tomato and chicken broth and cook until the tomatoes begin to break down, about 2 minutes.

Stir the rice into the beef mixture and add all but 2 T. of the shredded cheese, the parsley and the lemon juice. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Divide the mixture between the two peppers and place them into an 8-inch square baking dish. Top with the remaining 2 T. cheese and bake until the cheese is browned and the filling is heated, about 30 minutes.

Serves: 2

print recipe only

I gilded the lily and doubled up on the tomatoes and zucchini.

I thought I had eaten nearly every configuration of tomatoes possible, but this simple one, from the folks who founded Earthbound Farm (think all those organic salad bags at the supermarket) was new to me, at least in this pasta rendition.

Zucchini and tomatoes go together like cookies and milk (OK, how about celery and carrots?). The most classic combination is ratatouille, which includes both of the aforementioned plus eggplant and bell peppers. I guess I just hadn’t thought of preparing these two alone with pasta, which was so fresh and summery and delicious, we’re going to eat it as many times as we can before the good tomatoes disappear.

Biggest plus: weeknight fast. While you’re eating it, I bet you’ll keep saying something like, “This tastes like it came from a really good restaurant.”  If you don’t say that then you made it wrong, in which case I want you to email me for virtual cooking lessons.

2 to 3 fresh tomatoes (about 2 cups) cut into 1/2″ cubes (or halved grape tomatoes)
3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup minced fresh basil (NOT optional)
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley (optional)
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional for you, mandatory at our place)
12 oz. spaghetti (I like linguine)
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper

Put tomatoes, 2 T. olive oil, basil, parsley and red pepper flakes into a medium bowl. Sprinkle with salt and allow to marinate for about an hour.

While pasta is cooking, heat remaining 1 T. olive oil in a nonstick skillet and add zucchini and garlic. Cook, shaking pan, until zucchini is crisp-tender and beginning to brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Season well with salt and black pepper.

Drain pasta and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add tomato and zucchini mixture and toss to combine. Add more salt and pepper if needed.

This can be served warm or at room temperature.

Serves: 4 generously

Note: I halved this recipe and used 6 oz. of dry pasta.

print recipe only

The original recipe included fresh green beans, and I’ve made it that way once. Although I like green beans, I preferred eggplant in this dish (hence the ratatouille similarity) and substituted it. If you’re more of a green bean lover, use them instead.

Stews are almost-soups. If you want, you can eat it with a spoon in front of the TV. At last, a bowl of goodies that won’t go straight to your waistline. OK, so I may be stretching it with the “goodies” moniker. Couldn’t fool you ice cream pros, could I?

How about thinking of this as healthy comfort food that takes little more effort than dialing up the pizza delivery?

Serve with a whole wheat roll as an entree, or alongside grilled chicken or fish

2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced (I used Vidalia)
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
12 tiny whole Yukon Gold potatoes
1 lb. eggplant, peeled and cut into chunks (or 1 lb. green beans)
1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
1 green bell pepper, sliced into strips
3 fresh thyme or oregano sprigs
3 small zucchini, cut into 1″ chunks
1 14-1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes (or 3 to 4 chopped fresh tomatoes) and their juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh basil
Grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven. Add onion and garlic and cook slowly until soft, about 10 minutes. Arrange potatoes on top of onions, then add the eggplant and peppers. Lightly salt layers. Add thyme sprigs. Add the zucchini and top with the tomatoes. Cover pot tightly. If you don’t have a tight-fitting lid, place a piece of aluminum foil over pot and then add lid.

Cook over very low heat for about 45 minutes, or until the vegetables are thoroughly cooked. Add water if there isn’t enough liquid. The vegetables should be “meltingly tender”.

Turn off heat and allow pot to cool slightly. Nancy says this dish is best just slightly warm, but I like it almost hot. Sprinkle with chopped basil and some grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.

As with most stews, this is even better the next day. The eggplant and zucchini will begin to break apart, but that’s their nature. Go with the flow and smile. You’re doing a good thing for body and soul.

Serves: 6

print recipe only

I used three kinds of beets, including golden and variegated. The beautiful colors are jewel-like.

If you say you don’t like beets, you’ve probably only tasted the ones that come in a can or a jar. The difference between fresh and canned beets is profound, I think. Perhaps it will help to know that typical red garden beets are a close relative of sugar beets, which provide us with the white sugar that eventually ends up in much of the processed foods we hate to love. So don’t say you’re completely off beets. You probably eat some version of them every day!

Following is a recipe for roasted beets that you should try, because beets are healthful, because they’re unfairly maligned (due to the tinny flavor of the canned ones) and most of all because they are downright delicious.

Here’s what you do: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut greens away from beets, leaving about 1/4″ of stem. Scrub them well and place in a baking dish. Add 1/4″ of water to dish and cover tightly with foil. Roast small beets for approximately 30 to 40 minutes. Larger beets will take up to 60 minutes. Beets are done when a knife slips through them easily.

Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit. Then cut stems and slip off skins. You can serve them warm, at room temperature or cold. I cut them into chunks, drizzled them with light balsamic vinaigrette and served them with slivers of basil and chunks of goat cheese alongside a green salad. I roasted plenty of them, refrigerated whole extras and cut them up for salads for several days.

By the way, although beets are usually considered to be a winter vegetable, they’re best in the summer months when you can get the smallest, most tender ones at farmers’ markets.

Moosewood Restaurant is a famous vegetarian restaurant in Ithaca, New York. They’ve been publishing cookbooks, many of them award-winning, almost since they opened their doors in 1973.

No, my version isn’t completely vegetarian–I added shrimp. Can’t leave well-enough alone.

I added shrimp and sugar snap peas at the last minute.

Rice

1 14-oz. can artichoke hearts
1 1/2 cups brown rice
1 t. salt
1/2 t. saffron, crumbled

Vegetables

2 cups finely chopped onions
1 cup finely chopped celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 t. dried thyme (I used fresh)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 lb. asparagus, cut into 2″ pieces
1 1/2 cups frozen green peas
1 14-1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

First make the rice: drain the artichoke hearts, reserving the brine from the can. Quarter the artichoke hearts and set aside. Add water to the brine to make 2 1/2 cups liquid and combine it with the rice, salt and saffron in a heavy saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat and very gently simmer until rice is tender, about 40 to 45 minutes. You may have to add a bit more water if the rice is too dry. (I cooked my rice in a Japanese rice cooker. Easy and foolproof.)

When the rice has simmered for about 25 minutes, start the vegetables. Saute the onions, celery and garlic in the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the thyme, bell pepper and asparagus; cover and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the peas, tomatoes and reserved artichoke hearts. Stir gently, cover and continue to simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. I added a good splash of Frank’s Original Hot Sauce. You could also sprinkle on some crushed red pepper flakes.

To serve the paella, spread the rice on a large platter or bowl and top with the vegetables and their juices.

As pictured, you can add about 1/2 lb. of shrimp to this. Lay the shrimp atop the vegetables during the last few minutes of cooking time to steam them.

Serves: 6

print recipe only

I’m a big fan of broccoli, but I’ve always considered it to be “unroastable”. The flowery stalks, I thought, would come out burned while the stalks would still be uncooked.

Not so. Ina Garten introduced me to roasted broccoli via her “Back to Basics” cookbook, and I’m now hooked on it. Of course, Ina dresses it up with lots of flavors–garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, toasted pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and julienned fresh basil leaves.

I’ve simplified it just a bit. No pine nuts or basil (I think I’ll save those for later in the spring). I found the garlic, lemon rind, lemon juice and Parmesan to be quite enough. Fabulous, and such a nice change from plain old steamed broccoli. The oven heats up the kitchen on a cold day too!

1 large head broccoli
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thinly
Olive oil
kosher salt
Pepper
1 t. grated lemon rind
2 T. fresh lemon juice
Grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut broccoli into florets with about an inch of stalk attached to the florets. Place the broccoli in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Toss garlic slices on broccoli and spray well with olive oil (or drizzle oil over and toss). Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast for about 20 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender and the tips of the florets are browned.

Remove from oven and toss with lemon zest, lemon juice and grated Parmesan cheese. If you want to follow Ina’s recipe, add lots more olive oil, toasted pine nuts and julienned basil leaves.

print recipe only