Vegetarian Green Chili recipe

Vegetarian green chili was the request for dinner the other night. Chili is very popular at my house. But I rarely make it the same way twice. It might be red or green made with white beans or black beans. I have made it with pork, beef, bison, turkey and chicken, but I like the challenge of creating a truly satisfying vegetarian chili. Somewhere a Texan is not very happy about that.

For this version of vegetarian green chili I knew I wanted to use Green Pepper Tabasco sauce which is made with jalapeños. Fresh jalapeños can vary greatly in heat, but the jalapeño version of Tabasco is always consistent. In addition I used many other green ingredients, some traditional like roasted chiles and tomatillos and one very non-traditional ingredient, spinach. I know that might sound strange, but it's really good. The slightly sour edge of spinach and tomatillos cuts through the starchy sweetness of the white beans. This recipe is a keeper and I know I will be making it again. By they way, when you buy tomatillos, choose the small or medium ones, not the large ones, which can be spongy and almost hollow.

I don't know about you, but I get very carried away when it comes to chili toppings. I usually set out little bowls with sour cream or plain yogurt, shredded cheese (queso fresco this time), chopped green or red onions, chopped cilantro and lime wedges. What do you like to put on top of your chili? Did I miss anything good? With the chili I serve cornbread, tortillas or tortilla chips.

Vegetarian Green Chili 

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 pound white beans
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pound tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 cups vegetable broth (or chicken if you prefer)
8 ounces (2 small cans) chopped mild green chiles, drained (such as Hatch or Ortega)
1 cup water
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves and stems, chopped
1 bunch fresh spinach, chopped
1 Tablespoon Green Pepper Tabasco

Instructions

Cook the white beans according to package instructions. Drain and mash about 1 cup of the beans. Set aside.

Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat, when hot, add the oil. Add garlic and onion and cook, stirring often, until golden about 7 - 10 minutes. To the onions add the cumin, give it a stir then add the tomatillos, salt, sugar, broth, green chiles, and water; heat to boiling over high heat.  Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes, covered.  Stir in beans the beans, cilantro, spinach and Tabasco sauce; simmer until greens are wilted.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I created this recipe on behalf of Tabasco and I was compensated for it. The choice to post it here, was my own.

Julia Child's Ratatouille Recipe

Next month will be the celebration of Julia Child's 100th birthday. Her publisher is marking the occasion with Julia Child Restaurant Week, weekly recipe reprints and a charming new book called Bon Appetit: The Delicious Life of Julia Child. 

It's sometimes hard to imagine that Julia Child has been gone for almost eight years. Her statuesque frame, her distinctive high pitched voice and sense of humor are impossible to forget.

Keeping the memory alive and introducing Julia Child to a whole new audience is Bon Appetit: The Delicious Life of Julia Child. It's one of those illustrated children's books that adults will adore. It's filled with joyful images, funny anecdotes and a range of recipes from easy and accessible like Mayonnaise to more advanced like a Gallantine and Bouillabaisse. The colorful images and cheery text manage to entertain and educate in equal measure. I've just seen some sample pages, but I was thoroughly charmed. If you have a budding chef in your family this is a great book to share with them. But any fan of Julia Child will want this too. It's worth it for the tales of Julia Child's childhood pranks and illustrated recipes alone. 

I don't know all the details of the Julia Child Restaurant Week August 7-15, but I can point you to the listing of restaurants. Find one in your area, then stay tuned! 

As a participant in JC100, I'm very happy to share with you Julia Child's recipe for Ratatouille. I have made this recipe the wrong way for ages. The secret is in cooking each ingredient separately so they retain their own flavor and texture. This recipe came back in fashion thanks to the adorable Pixar film, Ratatouille and Thomas Keller's elegantly revamped recipe (also known as confit byaldi) which featured overlapping layers of vegetables. 

Julia Child's Ratatouille

For 6-8 people

1 pound eggplant

1 pound zucchini

1 teaspoon salt

4-6 Tablespoon olive oil, divided

1/2 pound (about 1 1/2 cups) thinly sliced yellow onions

2 sliced green peppers (about 1 cup) 

2 cloves mashed garlic

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 pound firm, ripe, red tomatoes, peeled, seeded and juiced (about 1 1/2 cups pulp)

3 Tablespoons minced parsley

Salt and pepper

Peel the eggplant and cut into lengthwise slices 3/8" think, about 3" long and 1" wide. Scrub the zucchini, slice off the two ends and cut into slices about the same size as the eggplant. Place the vegetables in a bowl and toss with 1 tsp. salt. Let stand for 30 minutes. Drain and dry each slice in a towel.

One layer at a time, saute the eggplant and then the zucchini in 4 Tbsp. hot olive oil in a 10-12" skillet for about a minute on each side to brown very lightly. Remove to a side dish.

In the same skillet, cook the onions and peppers (add an additional 2 Tbsp. of olive oil if needed) for about 10 minutes, until tender but not browned. Stir in the garlic and season with salt & pepper to taste.

Slice tomato pulp into 3/8" strips. Lay them over the onions and peppers. Season with salt & pepper. Cover the skillet and cook over low heat for 5 minutes or until tomatoes have begun to render their juice. Uncover, taste the tomatoes with the juices, raise heat and boil for several minutes until juice has almost entirely evaporated.

Place a third of the tomato mixture in the bottom of a 2 1/2 quart casserole (about 2 1/2" deep). Sprinkle 1 Tbsp. fresh, minced parsley over tomatoes. Arrange half of the eggplant and zucchini on top, then half the remaining tomatoes and parsley. Put in the rest of the eggplant and zucchini and finish with the remaining tomatoes and parsley.

Cover the casserole and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Uncover, tip the casserole and baste with the rendered juices. Correct seasoning if necessary. Raise heat slightly and cook uncovered about 15 minutes more, basting several times, until juices have evaporated leaving a spoonful or two of flavored olive oil. Be careful of your heat; do not let the vegetables scorch in the bottom of the casserole. Set aside uncovered. Reheat slowly at serving time, or serve cold. 

Excerpted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Copyright © 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

Brussels Sprouts and Miso Dressing Recipe

Add to my list of New Year's resolutions, use more condiments and ingredients lurking in the fridge. My refrigerator is packed with Chinese sauces, jams and jellies, and various sauces and mustards. Sometimes I barely have room for anything else! So I am trying to use the things I probably used once and then forgot about.

First up, miso. I love the salty savory rich flavor of miso, which is a fermented soy bean paste that is like pure umami. You've probably had miso in soup at a Japanese restaurant. I especially like white or shiro miso which also has some sweet buttery notes. I've used it in soup and salad dressings and found that it complements many vegetables. In David Chang's cookbook Momofuku Cooking at Home is a recipe for miso butter sauce which is more like paste, that he was inspired to make after eating miso butter ramen in Japan. He adds a touch of sherry vinegar. In my recipe I make an olive oil based dressing with a touch of buttery white miso. The finished dish tastes much richer than it is.

If you are looking for more ways to use miso, this dressing is a good start. Try using it on other vegetables; I think it would be particularly good on spinach, kale, carrots or cauliflower. You could also use it on salad. Let me know if you have any other tips for using miso!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Creamy Miso Dressing
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound brussels sprouts
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 Tablespoons white miso
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon water
3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Make dressing by whisking together the miso, olive oil, water, mustard and lemon juice. Taste for seasonings and adjust as you like. The dressing can be kept in the refrigerator for several days, just bring to room temperature and whisk again before serving.

Trim the stem ends of the Brussels sprouts, cut each in half lengthwise, then toss them in a bowl with the olive oil and salt until they are well coated. Transfer sprouts to a roasting pan or rimmed sheet pan (line with tin foil for easier cleaning) and roast for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice so they cook evenly. Brussels sprouts should be beginning to brown on the outside and tender on the inside. Place the sprouts in a serving bowl or platter and drizzle with the dressing.

Enjoy!

Quinoa Stuffed Poblano Pepper Recipe

I've been cooking more vegetarian and even vegan recipes lately. One reason is the Meatless Monday effort sponsored by the John Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Health. The idea is to help reduce meat consumption by 15% in order to improve both the health of individuals and the health of the planet. But it also has a lot to do with challenging myself to try new things.

When it comes to cooking, I love a good challenge. Cooking with less meat or none at all inspires me. I do better with fewer ingredients than more ingredients. In a way, it forces you to be creative and think outside the box. Or in this case, the refrigerator. You know the saying, necessity is the mother of invention? It always reminds me of my experiences as a babysitter back when I was a teenager. At some point while babysitting either I, or the kids I was watching would get hungry. It was sometimes a challenge for me to come up with something tasty to eat based on whatever I could find in an unfamiliar kitchen.

Stuffed peppers are an acquired taste. I like them, but my dad doesn't. I know this because when I was growing up we only ate them when he was out of town. If you like the earthy flavor of roasted peppers and quinoa, you will like this dish. It combines a number of vegetables with quinoa and nuts to give you lots of flavors and textures in each bite. The filling is basically a quinoa pilaf, so feel free to swap out the chard for another leafy green or change up the nuts. I used Roland red quinoa but I didn't think that it tasted much different from white quinoa. Originally I thought I would top it with cheese but upon tasting it, I didn't feel like it needed it. I also think you could make this without the sauce if you prefer. You know the drill, make this recipe yours.


Quinoa Stuffed Poblano PeppersMakes 4 servings as a side dish, or 2 entree serving

Ingredients

2 poblano peppers, cut in half, seeds removed
1 cup water
1/2 cup white or red quinoa
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 cups swiss chard leaves, shredded
1/4 cup pistachios, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes, crushed and liquid

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine water and quinoa in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low. Cover; cook for 15 to 18 minutes or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat.

Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil. Saute mushrooms, onion and garlic, stirring frequently for 8 minutes or onion is tender. Stir in chard and let it wilt. Add cooked quinoa and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into peppers. Add the tomatoes and liquid to a baking pan large enough to hold the peppers. Tuck the peppers into the sauce and bake for about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Quinoa Salad with Arugula, Asparagus & Avocado Recipe

Ah, Spring! We are enjoying a warm spell right now and the fresh produce reflects the change of seasons with earthy root vegetables giving way to tender bright greens. I am so happy to have sunshine and bright green asparagus to eat! I recently discovered how delicious asparagus is when served raw, in salads. The trick is to shave it thinly with the sharpest vegetable peeler you have, then dress it with oil, lemon and salt so it wilts, just slightly. Asparagus is like the poster child for Spring.



I had eaten quinoa, but never tried cooking it until just recently when I received some samples of it--red, white and black--from Roland Food. Reading about quinoa I discovered while it has the texture of grain, it's actually a fruit. It's also gluten-free. It is very bitter unless thoroughly soaked and rinsed. Fortunately quinoa from Roland Food is already soaked saving me the bother.


Quinoa comes from the Andes, a staple in Peru, Chile and Bolivia where it has been cultivated since at least 3,000 BCE. It is high in protein, calcium and iron and the white variety has a sweet flavor. Most importantly, it has all the nine essential amino acids making it a complete protein. I tried toasting the quinoa, but I like the milder sweeter flavor for this recipe. It has a fluffier almost creamy texture that works well with the strong flavor of the leafy arugula. I really like the addition of dill, but you could easily leave it out or use parsley if you prefer. You could also use a slightly different mix of vegetables.

Note: If you don't plan on serving this salad right away, reserve the arugula and toss it in the salad right before serving.

Quinoa Salad with Arugula, Asparagus and Avocadomakes 2-4 servings

Ingredients

1/2  cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 cup water
5 asparagus spears, shaved thin (use a vegetable peeler)
1 handful fresh baby arugula, roughly chopped
1 green onion, chopped
2  Tablespoons lemon juice, fresh squeezed
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
2 Tablespoons fresh dill, chopped (optional)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

In a medium saucepan combine quinoa and water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 12- 15 minutes or until liquid is completely absorbed. Meanwhile In a mixing bowl, make the dressing by whisking together lemon juice and oil. Add avocado, green onion and arugula to the dressing.

Transfer quinoa to a medium bowl and allow to cool. Add quinoa to dressing and vegetable mixture; toss with fresh dill and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature.
Enjoy!

Here are just a few interesting quinoa recipes from fellow bloggers:

Stuffed Cabbage with Quinoa & Roasted Sweet Potatoes from Karina's Kitchen
Quinoa Pudding with Macerated Strawberries & Pistachios from Cannelle & Vanille
Quinoa Salad with Tomato, Feta and Parsley from The Perfect Pantry
Quinoa with Roasted Radishes & Pearl Onions from FatFree Vegan Kitchen
Warm & Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa from 101 Cookbooks
Quinoa Pilaf from Simply Recipes

Farro & Winter Vegetables Recipe

I'm finding it hard to drag myself to the farmers market this Winter. It's cold, it's wet, it's sometimes muddy, and let's face it, it's not like I'm going to find luscious peaches, cherries or tomatoes. My haul last weekend consisted of baby cauliflower, Tuscan kale, French radishes, baby carrots, broccolini and sauerkraut. Healthy and delicious, but hardly anything to get excited over. Of course everything I bought was fresher and possibly a bit tastier than what I could have found in the supermarket. The baby carrots I bought were real baby carrots, and not those fake machine rounded carrot nubs you find in little bags. Not quite as sweet as strawberries, but pretty darn tasty when roasted.

When I was shopping a dish started to come together in my mind, and the centerpiece was farro. Farro is often mistaken for spelt, it's actually "emmer wheat" and is rich in fiber, protein, and magnesium. Farro is just the Italian name for emmer wheat. The only time I ate farro in Italy was in Cetara along the Amalfi coast. It was served in a soup. Online I see lots of recipes for farro salad served cold, but I prefer it hot. It has a nice chewy texture that's very satisfying, but it's a little bland. The way to overcome that is to add lots of great flavors, colors and other textures to make a hearty and exciting main dish. I layer the flavors, adding a base of greens to the farro and then I top it with roasted vegetables. Farro is very easy to cook and very forgiving, just don't overcook it. I used semi-pearled farro from Roland that cooks in a mere 20 minutes.

The first time I made this dish I used loads of mushrooms. It was good, but somehow using mushrooms feels a bit like cheating when you're making a vegan meal. This version uses a mixture of "melted" kale cooked with onions, garlic and wine to add flavor to the farro. The toasted walnuts are really important, they add a crisp crunch and some great nutritional benefits as well. This dish is vegan and yet I promise you won't miss the meat one bit. Or the cheese. Or even the mushrooms!

This recipe is as flexible as can be. Change things up to suit your taste and the ingredients you have on hand. When it comes to the roasted vegetables you could swap out the broccolini and carrots for roasted baby turnips, brussels sprouts, parsnips or even baby leeks. Using two different vegetables adds nice variety and contrast, but you could use 3 or 4 vegetables too if you prefer. In place of the kale you could use any green you like such as spinach, savoy cabbage or chard. If you don't want to use wine, I think you could use a lesser amount of red wine or balsamic vinegar instead, or even lemon juice. Since vegetables are the main event, just be sure to use the tastiest, freshest ones you can find.

Note: if you can't find baby carrots just cut regular carrots into thin strips no more than 1/3 inch thick.

Farro & Winter Vegetablesserves 4

Ingredients

1 cup semi-pearled farro
1 bunch Tuscan kale chopped (stems trimmed off)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup red wine
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
16 broccolini stems
12 baby carrots (real baby carrots not bags of rounded nubs)
Olive oil for drizzling
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Simmer farro in 2 cups water in an partially covered medium saucepan over medium heat until cooked through but still al dente, about 20 minutes. Don't worry if there is a little water left in the pan when it's cooked.

Slice the carrots in half lengthwise. Place carrots and broccolini evenly on a baking sheet (I line mine with parchment). Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and roast until beginning to brown, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile heat a large skillet over medium heat, add oil then the onions and garlic, sprinkle with kosher salt and cook until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the chopped kale and 1/2 cup water, cover and cook for 5 minutes or until wilted. Remove lid and add the red wine and cook without the cover until almost, but not quite dry. Combine kale with farro and stir in the walnuts, season to taste with salt and pepper, and top with roasted vegetables.

Enjoy!