Summer Cooking
I was talking with my wife the other day about how terrifying it was even to consider abandoning animal-based protein food. It took us almost three years to reset everything. It was a long time, but the gradual change was natural with no forcing anything. I do not miss a pork chop, the staple of Polish cuisine. I just don't think about it, like it doesn't exist. I am not against it, not for it. I am in a neutral position with no pull or push forces affecting my cravings. But this comfortable position is possible because of the new tastes, recipes, and products that changed our eating habits. So I thought, why not share some of them? Perhaps I will get a few comments and suggestions and learn something new.
Basic Pasta Sauce
Let's start with a base pasta sauce. The original recipe included shrimp, but soon, I realized that it was perfectly balanced without them, or even better, with mushrooms filling the missing shellfish void.
Ingredients (all organic)
One large onion, red or yellow, very finely chopped
Two cloves of garlic, minced
One small jalapeno pepper, finely sliced, seeds removed
A small piece of ginger. When I see a good quality, organic ginger, I buy a big pack, mince it in the food processor and place it in the freezer. Now, I have access to ginger every time I need it.
Half (200 ml) of a can of coconut milk
Three (or more) tablespoons of tomato puree
Spices: half a teaspoon each: turmeric, garam masala, coriander, and cumin. Salt and pepper to taste. A dash of hot pepper flakes.
A handful of chopped basil leaves.
Two cups of organic mushrooms. White or brown crimini, or portabello, sliced. The sauce will be fine without mushrooms if you don't have them in your pantry.
Preparation
Add onions, hot pepper flakes, and chopped jalapeno to a large, deep skillet. Saute the onions in one tablespoon of olive oil for a few minutes. Add mushrooms to the onions, or if you have time, saute them in a separate skillet in olive oil, but doing everything in one pan is fine. I use olive oil, but I guess another type of oil will be fine.
Add garlic, and keep steering until most of the water evaporate. Add spices and mix it well. Let the spices heat up to build flavours. Add tomato puree, and keep steering. It should resemble a thick, reddish, brownish mix. Add coconut milk, cover and lower the heat and simmer for a few minutes. Finally, add chopped basil and salt to taste.
Serve with organic pasta. We love it over a healthy serving of farfalle, but penne is fine too. Once on the plate, sprinkle with more basil. I use frozen organic basil.
Cauliflower Gulash
When I was about ten years old, we drove through Budapest on our way to the Adriatic Sea. I don't remember much from visiting the Hungarian capital except for a taste of a very spicy dish with sliced potatoes floating in a lot of oil and the overarching scent of sweet paprika. Recently, we dined in a Hungarian restaurant in Warsaw. I suppose it was my quest to relive some of my memories. It wasn't the same, but still very tasty, although, at the time, I was not a plant-based eater... but that's a whole different story.
When I saw a video posted on Andrew Bernard's channel with Gulash in the title, I could not resist. However, I decided to make some modifications.
Ingredients (all organic)
One large onion. Red or yellow. Half finely chopped and half thinly sliced.
Six large size potatoes, peeled and sliced into half-inch disks.
One cauliflower cut into small chunks or a pack of frozen cauliflower florets.
Two or three garlic cloves minced.
Two cups of veggie stock. In my case, I am using two vegetable bullion cubes dissolved in one and a half cups of water.
Two tablespoons of tomato puree.
A handful of chopped Italian parsley.
Half (200 ml) of a can of coconut milk
Two tablespoons of flour, I use oat flour.
Spices: one teaspoon each: sweet paprika, smoked paprika. Also, in a separate set: half a teaspoon of sweet paprika and a similar amount of dry thyme. I suppose fresh thyme would be even better.
A good dash of hot pepper flakes.
Preparation
This dish requires four burners on your stove, so plan and have everything ready.
In a large, deep skillet, saute the finely chopped onions with hot pepper flakes in one tablespoon of olive oil for a few minutes. Add garlic, and keep steering until most of the water evaporate. Add spices and mix it well. Let the spices heat up to build flavours.
Meanwhile, add sliced potatoes to a pot filled with salted water. Remember, after peeling and slicing potatoes, keep them in cold water. Then rinse, add new water and a dash of salt. So bring potatoes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. They should be almost done but not overcooked.
Place another skillet, add one spoonful of olive oil and fry the sliced half of the onion. Keep an eye on them, do not burn the onions but nicely saute for 5 - 8 minutes, then add paprika and thyme.
Let's return to the large pan with chopped onions. After the spices are nicely incorporated, add flour and mix everything well. Then, add the tomato puree and veggie stock - one and a half to two cups of liquid. Mix well, paying attention that the flour is incorporated into the sauce. Reduce heat, and add chopped Italian parsley.
Meanwhile, steam the cauliflower. It takes about 10 to 12 minutes.
Putting everything together
Add the cauliflower to the large skillet with simmering sauce. Mix and remove from the heat.
Drain potatoes—when done—and add to the skillet with spiced onions, mix well. And take off the heat.
So the sauce should be spicy, not crazy hot, but spicy enough to balance the potatoes. Overall, you are looking for a paprika taste to lead the experience. And, as I said before, timing is everything. It is easy to overcook cauliflower or potatoes.
Kale with Potatoes
I love kale. It is a new thing. Honestly, I was unaware of this magnificent plant for over fifty years. So no surprise that I am trying to make up for the lost time. In a few recipes that I have, the stems had to be taken out, and I wouldn't say I liked it. So this one uses everything. I was afraid that serving potatoes with rice would not work, but it does work, and my wife and son are now asking for this dish every week. I also plan to test if I can substitute yellow potatoes with sweet potatoes. By the way, in The Plant Based Athlete, by Matt Frazier and Robert Cheeke, kale scores 1,000 nutrition points, the highest on the list.
Ingredients (all organic)
One bunch of kale, chopped. Everything, including stems.
One large onion, chopped.
Ten or twelve small potatoes, cut into small cubes, 0.5 x 0.5 inches.
Three cloves of garlic, minced.
Spices: half a teaspoon (each) of coriander, cumin, pepper, and turmeric. Salt to taste. Also, add some hot chilli flakes to the onion.
A veggie bouillon cube dissolved in half of a cup of water.
Preparation
Add three spoons of olive oil to a large deep skillet. Add chopped onion, chilli flakes and saute over medium heat. Add spices and mix it well. Let the spices heat up to build flavours.
Add potatoes, and mix well. Add veggie bullion, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are almost done.
Lastly, add chopped kale. It may feel that there is too much kale, but keep adding and steering until everything is incorporated. The idea is not to heat kale for too long, just enough that steams are softer, as the leaves will be good in one or two minutes.
Serve with rice. I like white rice with this dish, but brown will work fine.
Happy cooking, everyone!
Find out why I got sick and how "incurable" became "curable."
