Early Spring: Green Garlic, Peas N' Potatoes

[Buttered English Pea Salad with Romaine lettuce, Shallots and Roasted Garlic]

and

[Vegan Potato and Leek Soup with Roasted Garlic]



Hello loves,
It's basically spring-- I have been digging in the garden for AJ and the little borage sprouts have already come up, the earth worms are abundant, the daffodils have already begun to daffodil (!) the tulips are as tall as my hand--- it is happening. The world is thawing out. I am so thankful.

Now that I am gardening with AJ I feel the push for spring but also can tell you, unless you have a green house nothing is mature enough to harvest yet. We just planted our peas, lettuce, garbanzos and parsley, just last week!

But in the spirit of spring, this post deals with all of the fruits of spring: onions, garlic, lettuce and peas! And potatoes are a keeper crop, so you have them all year basically, this is a very seasonal dinner.

This post is 100% vegan (if you use non-dairy butter for the peas, and leave off the recommended goat cheese garnish) 100% gluten free and 100% vegetarian...though, if you want, which I will recommend at the bottom, both dishes would benefit from a sprinkling of crispy bacon, chopped into tiny pieces...just saying, for all you omnivores out there.

P.s. (all photos by ME!!! And not with my iPhone either, woot!!)


For Roasted Garlic (both dishes):
2 heads of garlic, whole, wrapped loosely in aluminum foil

For the Leek and Potato Soup:
Olive oil
1 large leek, white through light green section sliced into half moons, rinsed thoroughly
1 medium yellow onion, diced
5 peeled russet potatoes, roughly chopped
2 cups of veggie stock
2 raw garlic cloves, minced
About 5 roasted garlic cloves, minced
1-2 cups of unsweetened almond milk
Salt and pepper to taste
*Optional Garnish: Caramelized (green park of) leeks, sliced thinly (see below for preparation)




For the English Pea Salad:
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
5 cloves of roasted garlic, chopped 
Salt, to taste
1½ cups fresh or frozen green peas
1-1/2 of a head of Romaine lettuce (about 2 cups, prepped, washed, cored, and torn into large pieces
 Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
*Optional Garnish: crumbled chevre


To begin, preheat oven to 375 degrees, place aluminum foil wrapped garlic heads in oven. Let bake for 30-45 minutes. You'll smell the amazing smell wafting in your kitchen and you'll know when it is ready.

Next, prep your ingredients for your soup-- I am making an extra big batch in these photos, so ignore the discrepancy between the amount of potatoes I listed and the amount of potatoes depicted-- my potatoes went south super fast (that is why they were on sale, dangit) so I decided to throw them all in....

You must must MUST thoroughly wash your leeks, the best way to do this is by chopping them and placing them in a bowl of cold water to bathe for about 10 minutes--- agitate the water with your hands and then let them sit, drain them with a colander after. Leeks tend to get dirt throughout their green stalk and in between their layers, so this is really the only way to wash them completely.

Saute the diced yellow onion, and chopped potatoes over medium high heat for about 5-10 minutes, until the onions are clear and the potatoes start to get some color on them. Stir frequently.

Add the veggie stock (so that the ingredients are covered), and raw garlic and turn the heat to medium. Allow the potatoes and onions to simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are so soft that you can stick a fork in them easily.

Once the potatoes are soft, add the washed and drained leeks and let simmer for another 5-7 minutes on medium low-- you don't want to cook them so hard that the leeks lose their beautiful color but you do want to infuse their flavor in your soup.

Oh yeah, and then AJ got home!

While the leeks are simmering, take the butter (if you are using vegan butter, ignore my 'god-awful' dairy butter, hehe) and melt gently in a saute pan. Add the sliced shallots and all them to turn golden brown over medium heat. About 5 minutes.

At this point, your garlic is likely done. Unwrap and you will find lovely, roasted garlic adorably shriveled up in its skin. Let cool before you peel and chop or you will burn yourself (as I did, even this time)

In a pot of boiling water, blanch your peas.

***Blanching: plunge any vegetable, this time peas-- into a pot of boiling water for 2-5 minutes until they are a vibrant color and softened. Then immediately plunge them in a bowl of ice water ("shock them") and then drain.

While the peas are in their blanching process, cut up roasted garlic cloves for your pea salad and your potato soup.

Add garlic (5 cloves) to the golden brown shallots and butter. Let melt into the buttery mixture on medium low heat for about 3-5 minutes. Then remove from heat.

Plunge peas into ice bath, and then drain.

Mix peas with torn lettuce, butter-shallot-garlic mixture in a salad bowl.

Garnish with goat cheese if you so desire.

Meanwhile, your potato soup is nearly ready to be blended now. Add cloves of roasted garlic and blend about 1/2 of the contents of your soup, adding almond milk to taste and create the consistency that you like. I prefer a creamy-blended potato broth with chunks of potato and leek. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.

In a saute pan over medium high heat, drizzle olive oil and add the green leeks. Saute until then begin to brown. Add as a garnish on top of your soup. Serve with crusty bread if you so desire.

*You can also add finely chopped or crumbled bacon to either of these dishes to make them more complete for omnivores' tastes :) If you do that, I would begin your bacon as you blanch the peas so that it is ready by the time you serve your food.

Serve the salad at room temperature.

Bon appetit!

Quick (30 minute) Korean Dinner

I made this dish so quickly, I barely remembered to take photos. I was so damn hungry (and so was AJ! He was asking when dinner would be ready the whole time!) But it is an easy one.

This dish is vegan and gluten free.

What you will need:

7 ounces of extra firm tofu, cut into rectangular pieces

1 cup of short grain/sushi rice, rinsed and drained

Sesame oil

1/2 of a white or yellow onion, cut into long thin strips

1 carrot, cut into nickel-thick rounds

1 cup of green cabbage, shaved or cut into strips

1 small zucchini, cut into quarters

1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

Tamari

1/3 of a cup of rice vinegar

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 tablespoon of sesame oil

Green onion, minced

Sesame seeds

Garnish:

kimchi, sriracha, chili-garlic paste

Preheat oven fo 350 degrees. Lightly drizzle olive oil on your tofu so that they are covered on each side with a fine layer or oil.

On a greased cookie sheet, lay your your tofu rectangles down and bake on each side for 12-15 minutes, until they are browned on the outside and soft on the inside.

While the tofu is baking, begin cooking your rice, 1 cup of sushi/short grain rice to 1 and 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for 20 minutes once boiling. Remove from heat after the 20 minutes is up, but leave covered and standing for another 10.

Saute the onions and carrots over medium high heat in sesame oil for 7 minutes, then add the cabbage, zucchini, pepper and garlic for another 5-7 minutes, until they are softened but not mushy. This is a "stir-fry" so high heat for a short period of time so that the veggies remain crunchy. Season with a splash of tamari. For the last few minutes before you serve, stir in the green onion and turn the veggies to low heat.

When the rice has stood for the 10 minutes after it simmered for 20 (so 30 minutes into your rice's process) uncover and add a whisked vinegar-sugar-sesame oil mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon gently (like making sticky sushi rice)

Serve in a bowl with a nest of rice, scoops of sauteed veggies and slices of baked tofu. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and offer kimchi or sriracha condiment.

Cheers! xoxoxo

Stuffed Bell Peppers with a Goat Cheese and Pear Salad

[ALLY! This is the dinner that Mike forgot about!! Rub these pictures in his face and gloat!]

Note:: This recipe is gluten free AND// This recipe is vegan if you leave out the Italian sausage and skip the parmesan cheese.

For this recipe, I cut the bell peppers lengthwise versus the tradition stuffed pepper in which you lop the top off and make it stand up, I did this because I was short on time. This meal was super satisfying, very hearty and very colorful.

You will need (for the peppers):

Olive oil

3 bell peppers (organic red bells are on sale this week!)

2 Italian sausages (I used sweet turkey Italian sausages)

1 cup of quinoa

1/2 of a yellow onion, diced

1 handful of baby tomatoes, quartered

1 cup of white beans, cooked and drained

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 tablespoon of marjoram

1/3 cup of shredded parmesan cheese

You will need (for the salad):

1 1/2 cups of baby spinach (or other salad greens, arugula would be great for this as well)

1 bosc pear, cut into slivers

1/3 of a cup of red onion, sliced thinly

1 sprinkling of chevre crumbles

1 tablespoon of olive oil (or walnut oil)

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a casserole dish with a thin layer of olive oil. Once the oven is preheated place the bell pepper halves in the casserole dish and let them bake for **10 minutes to soften them gently before you stuff them.

Prep the excess pepper tops into smaller, diced pieces and prep the other veggies for your filling.

Over medium high heat, cook your sausages with oil and a scant amount of water. Brown each side, adding a drizzle of water and cover to allow them to steam until they are cooked through.

Have I mentioned I drink my kombucha from a wine glass while I cook? I makes me feel like a grown-up.

Though this was not on the ingredient-list, I am heating up some leftover marinara I had in the fridge to drizzle onto the peppers when they are done. This is not necessary, but if you have access or are in need of using up something that is already in your refrigerator, gently heat up marinara over low heat.

While the sausages are cooking and your bell peppers are in the oven, start your quinoa: one cup of quinoa to two cups of water. Once boiling, cover and reduce to low heat for 15 minutes.

Today I was too busy to make my own beans (blush!!) But do take a minute to drain your beans (whether you made them yourself or got them out of a can)

Peel and mince your garlic.

Once your sausages are cooked thoroughly, remove them from the pan and allow them to cool on a plate. In their oil/drippings, saute the yellow onions over medium heat until they are translucent, about five minutes.

Add the beans and garlic and stir over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.

Add the baby tomatoes and diced bell pepper.

Stir them in over medium heat and let them soften for about five minutes.

Add your finished quinoa and turn the heat to low.

Add your marjoram.

Cut your sausage into half moons once it is cool enough to touch.

Stir your sausage into the quinoa mixture.

You are now ready to stuff your peppers!

Grate a 1/3 of a cup of parmesan cheese.

Then begin to stuff the peppers with spoonfuls of filling.

Sprinkle them with parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

While the peppers are cooking, put together your salad. Blend the balsamic and olive oil together and drizzle over the top.

I served my peppers over a ladle of marinara on the same beautiful plate as the salad. Include a steak knife for cutting when you serve!

xo

(PS. Mike, if you are reading this, you missed out! hehe)