Recipe Series: A Month of Lunches #4
Post by Olivia Martino and Paula Jahn, Registered Dietitians and Co-owners, Nourish Northwest
This post wraps up our month of lunches series. In case this is the first post you’ve seen, for the past four Mondays we have shared a recipe that we have prepared once and ate for lunch all week. Having a healthy lunch already made everyday of the month has been amazing. We have been able to eat healthier, save money and have more time throughout the day. I can’t recommend doing this enough. Even if you are just preparing several sandwiches or one big salad, doing it ahead of time is bound to set you up for success.
For our last recipe we chose one that goes well with the changing seasons. September started out rainy and the temperature is now creeping into the upper 80s. We made a lunch that works well with both of these extremes. The warming spices paired with the summer vegetables are the perfect combo for this indecisive season. We are also teaching our Curry in a Hurry cooking class this Thursday if you are interested in learning more about this versatile dish.
Summer Vegetable Curry
From 101cookbooks.com
Prep time: 30 min – Cook time: 10 min
Ingredients
1 14-ounce can coconut milk*
4 medium shallots, chopped
2 tablespoons green curry paste, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 pound waxy potatoes, washed and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/4 pound yellow (or green) beans
1/4 pound Romanesco florets (or broccoli)
8 ounces extra firm tofu, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
kernels from 1 ear of corn
1 lime, halved or quartered
fresh coriander seeds (or chopped cilantro)
Preparation
Spoon a few tablespoons of thick coconut cream from the top of the coconut milk, place it in a large pot over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.
Add 2/3 of the shallots and saute until they soften a bit, 2-3 minutes. Stir in the curry paste and salt, and cook for another minute or two. Have a taste, and decide if you want to adjust the flavor – adding more curry paste or salt if needed.
Squeeze some lime juice over remaining shallots and set aside.
Add the rest of the coconut milk to the pot along with the potatoes, cover, and simmer until they are just starting to get tender throughout – about 10-15 minutes. At this point add the yellow beans, romanesco, and tofu. Let simmer for a couple of minutes, the potatoes should be completely tender by this point. Add the corn and remove from heat.
Serve each bowl topped with a sprinkling of the remaining shallots, fresh coriander seeds and feathery sprigs (or chopped cilantro), and more lime juice, to taste.
Serves 4.
*You have some options here. I’ve cooked this with full-fat coconut milk, low-fat coconut milk, and another time with a blend of full-fat coconut milk + broth (half of each)….all are good. Full fat tastes quite decadent here, very rich. Although I normally don’t buy lite coconut milk, I had a can on hand and used it – it was ok(!) for this curry. Or for a lighter broth without using “light” coconut milk, you can simply thin full-fat coconut milk to the consistency you like with some great-tasting broth – this also works great.
Thai Green Curry Paste
2 green hot chilies (Thai chilies)
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped shallots
1 teaspoon chopped galangal
1/2 teaspoon chopped lime rind
(pref. makrut lime)
1 tablespoon chopped lemongrass
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
1/4 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon toasted coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
If you have a good-sized mortar and pestle, put the green chilies in the mortar and pound, add the garlic and pound. Now add the shallots and pound – continue down the ingredient list pounding away. Alternately, give it all a whirl in a food processor.
Recipe Series: A Month of Lunches #3
Post by Olivia Martino and Paula Jahn, Registered Dietitians and Owners, Nourish Northwest
It’s week three of our lunch recipe series and we are getting sophisticated. (No more rice and beans this week). We made crepes! This thin French pancake is surprisingly easy to make and meets our criteria for large batch cooking. Crepes freeze well and can be the wrap for many different fillings. This week, we made gluten-free buckwheat crepes, but the recipe is the exact same proportions if you want to make them with regular wheat flour or a combination of flours. We sautéed up a bunch of wild mushrooms and fennel and topped it with a good slice of brie cheese. The flavors worked so well with the earthy buckwheat crepe. Another good combination for fall is pears, sautéed red onion, toasted walnuts and chèvre. Get creative!
Basic Savory Crepe Recipe
1 cup flour (buckwheat, unbleached all-purpose or combination)
1 cup whole milk (unsweetened soy or almond work well, too)
2 large eggs
6 1/2 Tbs water
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
1 additional Tbs butter
Preparation
1. In a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients together except extra butter. Process for 10 seconds in short bursts until well-combined.
2. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 48 hours. Take batter out of refrigerator 20 minutes before using.
3. Heat a non-stick skillet or well-seasoned cast iron pan over medium heat and add 1 tsp butter. When butter stops crackling, pour 3-4 Tbs of batter in pan and quickly swirl pan to create a thin coat of batter on the pan. If the pan is too hot, the batter will cook too fast. Reduce heat and try again.
4. Cook until slightly brown, about 30-60 seconds.
5. Flip loosened crepe with a thin spatula or your fingers and cook for another 30 seconds.
6. Either fill crepe with desired filling, or set aside to cool for freezing.
7. Cooked crepes will keep well in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for 5 days. To freeze, layer with parchment paper between each crepe and store in gallon-sized zip top bag.
Recipe Series: A Month of Lunches #2
Post by Olivia Martino and Paula Jahn, Registered Dietitians and Owners, Nourish Northwest
Making sure you get protein in your lunch can be a challenge when you are trying to step away from the traditional cold cut sandwich. This week we wanted to make something that would be a quick and easy protein punch, that would hold up well throughout the week. These vegan lentil meatballs do the trick. And because we are going with the strategy of cooking once and eating several times, we also needed to create a veggie dish that would hold up just as well.
The first thing that always pops into our head when faced with this challenge is our favorite massaged kale salad. While we have made this salad quite possibly hundreds of times, we never get sick of it. We often teach this one in our cooking classes and without fail, our clients tell us that this becomes a staple in their household. This salad is simple and delicious and many a non-kale eater have been converted by it. Not only does it hold up well, it gets better throughout the week. The dressing continues to make the kale easier to digest and the golden raisins soak up the lemon juice, becoming plump and bursting with flavor. It also lends the perfect balance of salty, sweet and tangy.
Massaged Kale Salad
Adapted from glutenfreegirl.com
Ingredients
1 large bunch lacinato kale
zest and juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon fish sauce or 1 Tbsp Tamari
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup golden raisins
¼ cup toasted pine nuts, sunflower seeds, almonds or any other nut
1/3 cup grated Pecorino cheese
Preparation
CUTTING THE KALE. With a sharp knife, cut the kale leaves away from the stems. Pile 4 of the halves on top of each other. Roll them up to make a shape like a cigar. Cut into the “cigar” at 1-inch intervals. This will leave you with ribbons of kale. (This technique is known as chiffonade.) Repeat with the remaining kale. Put it into a large bowl.
MAKING THE DRESSING. Combine the lemon zest, juice, fish sauce or tamari, and pepper in a small bowl. While whisking, drizzle in the olive oil. When the dressing is fully combined, taste it. Season to taste.
FINISHING THE SALAD. Add the golden raisins and pine nuts to the salad. Toss. Drizzle 1/3 of the dressing along the sides of the bowl, so it moves slowly into the kale. Toss the salad with your hands, massaging the dressing into the kale ribbons as you go. If you need it, drizzle in more of the dressing until you feel the salad is fully dressed.
Top with the grated cheese and serve.
Lentil Meatballs
Adapted from cookieandkate.com
Ingredients
1 cup dried brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 bay leaf
2 cups vegetable broth (or water)
8 ounces cremini mushrooms (or white mushrooms), sliced
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup red wine
1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce (optional)
2 eggs (or flax eggs if you want this to be vegan*)
sea salt and pepper to taste
* To make a flax egg, dissolve 1 Tbsp of ground flax meal in 3 Tbsp water and let sit for at least 15 minutes.
Recipe Series: A Month of Lunches
Post by Paula Jahn and Olivia Martino, Registered Dietitians and Co-owners of Nourish Northwest
Welcome to our lunch blog series! We are always preaching to clients about the benefit of setting aside one day of the week to cook in mass quantities. Many people have trouble putting together a healthy, balanced lunch. Lunch can be a challenge–whether you’re working and find yourself ordering food out, or a stay at home parent, too busy feeding little mouths to worry about your own.
In this series, we will make 4 weeks of delicious, healthy lunches that are easy to make in large batches and that keep well for at least 5 days.
This Week: The Rice and Bean Bowl
We love the vegetarian bowl trend. Piling vegetables over rice (or quinoa) and beans and adding a zesty sauce is one of our favorite ways to eat. It’s nutritionally balanced, versatile, satisfying, and full of fiber and antioxidants. Plus, what can be more budget friendly than rice and beans?
We finally made it to Harlow last week and split the Betty Bowl. It was tasty! The Bye and Bye and the Sweet Hereafter make some great vegan/vegetarian bowls, too. Today, we took inspiration from the Betty Bowl and our neighbor across the street at the Whole Bowl. We tried our hand at their top secret Tali Sauce. There are many versions of this “crack sauce” circulating the internet. We adapted ours from some of those and thought it came pretty close.
Now that we have a ton of brown rice and pinto beans cooked, we can add different vegetables and dressings throughout the week and never get bored. Although, I think it will take us more than a week to tire of the imitation Tali Sauce.
Imitation Tali Sauce
1/4 cup almonds, peeled ( pour boiling water over raw almonds, cool, and slip skins off)
Juice 1 large lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water (more if needed)
1/4 cup garbanzo beans
2 garlic cloves
3 Tbs large flake nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
1/4 tsp each of curry powder, onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, cumin, cayenne
Pinch of salt
- Blend all the ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add more water, if needed, to achieve the desired consistency.
- Serve the sauce over rice bowls. Leftovers may be refrigerated for 1 week or frozen for 2 months.
Short Grain Brown Rice
Ingredients
2 cups short grain brown rice, rinsed
4 cups water
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Preparation
1. Bring all ingredients to a boil in a pot with a tight-fitting lid.
2. Reduce to a simmer, keeping the lid on.
3. Set timer for 40 minutes.
4. Test rice for doneness. All of the water absorbed and rice should be chewy. Put lid on again and continue to simmer if needed.
To assemble the bowls, we layered pinto beans, the cooked rice, sautéed onions and zucchini, red cabbage simmered in water and red wine vinegar, flaked nori and the sauce.
Happy Lunching!
Recipe: Minted Pea Soup
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Post by Olivia Martino, Registered Dietitian and Co-owner, Nourish Northwest
It’s Day 1 for my Summer Detox group and it’s getting pretty hot in Portland. During cleanses, I usually recommending eating a lot of soups because they are easy one-pot meals, are filling and can be packed with veggies. But since you never know what the weather is going to do throughout the day here, I wanted to provide a soup recipe that is good both cold and hot. This one does the trick and also makes use of the abundant mint growing in household gardens throughout the city right now. This simple, delicious soup is one of my favorites!
Minted Pea Soup
Serves: 6
Ingredients
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium bunch fresh spinach thoroughly washed & torn into pieces
2 Lbs. frozen peas
5 cups vegetable stock
1 cup packed fresh mint leaves
1 cup coconut milk
Salt & Pepper
Preparation
1. In a large, heavy saucepan, cook onion in olive oil with salt to taste over moderately low heat until softened. Add spinach and cook until just wilted. Add frozen peas and 3 cups of the stock and simmer, uncovered, until peas are tender, 5 – 10 minutes.
 2. Stir in mint and remaining 2 cups of stock and remove pan from heat. In batches in a blender, or using a hand-held puree tool, blend until very smooth and pour into a large bowl (using care when blending hot liquids.)
  3. Whisk in coconut and salt & pepper to taste.
 4. Serve warm or chill and serve cold.
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