Take THAT, Rachel Ray!

Some months back I taught a cooking class, and as one woman was leaving she said, "You should be on TV.  You're like Rachel Ray, just not annoying."  Gave me quite a chuckle.  Yes, I'm "bubbly" and "perky", but I  use less hand gestures to articulte my point.  But then Forbes just listed her as earning $25 million, so I can get more animated if you want me to!!  America sure seems to like it.

Anyway, Rachel often refers to heself as "The Burger Queen."  I've watched her cook lots of delicious burgers.  But I've never seen her make one without meat.  I'm sure she has, but I've never seen one.  I, on the other hand, have been searching to create the perfect vegetarian burger for the past year.  I've been pretty successful, but I never stop with one.  My "guinea pigs" are the chef students at Bauman (shhhhh...don't tell them; they think I've thoroughly thought these through before I cook for them, and I've pulled it off for months!), and they have voraciously enjoyed every one I've ever rmade.  I take into consideration all the allergies, intoerances and preferences I have to deal with:  no gluten, no dairy, no soy, and no meat.  No biggie for a girl like me!

My latest, and possibly greatest, is my Black Bean and Millet Veggie Burger.

I think I'm starting to figure out the essential mix of  beans, grains and eggs.  My firiend Bill is great at deconstructing a recipe and then is able to recreate new versions of it.  This is something I admire about him so much, because it is something I admittedly am  not great at. I just don't take the time to think that much (yes, it's a problem....and not just with cooking!).  But I'm starting to get the hang of it though.

For this one I cooked black beans and millet (millet is a tiny, little gluten free grain). I toasted the millet in a saucepan for a few minutes and then added boiling water, cover and simmer about 10 minutes until water is absorbed, just like with any other rice.  I chopped up some colorful, in season veggies to mix in - red bell peppers, red onion and fresh corn...

Take about 3/4 of your beans and mash in a bowl with some lime juice, cumin, coriander, chipotle chili powder, salt & pepper.  Put the remaining beans in a food processor with an egg, and puree it.  Add the puree, cooked millet, chopped veggies and a little cilantro to the mashed beans.  Now it's time to play with your food.  Form the bean mixture into patties and coat in cornmeal. 

Fire up a cast iron skillet coated with olive oil and cook those babies up!  Just about 4 minutes per side.

I whipped up a little spicy sauce of Sirracha and Greek yogurt; if you're putting these on a bun, that's a yummy condiment!  We had a some cilantro lime rice and a frisee salad instead.  Soooooo good!  I think I will call myself the Veggie Burger Queen.....take THAT, Rachel Ray!

What's your favorite veggie burger??

Black Bean Burgers

Makes 6

3 1/2  cups cooked black beans, divided

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup cooked millet

1 small red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup diced red onion

1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn

1/2 cup goat cheddar

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 egg

cornmeal

2 tablespoons olive oil

• Place 2 1/2 cups of cooked beans in a large bowl and add lime juice, cumin, coriander, chile powder and salt.  Give it a rough mash with a fork or paotato masher.
• Add cooked millet, bell pepper, onion, corn, cheese and cilantro, mixing to combine well.
• Take remaining cup of cooked beans and place in the bowl of a food processor with one egg and puree.  Add this puree to the bean and veggie mixture.
• Form bean mixture into patties and coat both sides with cornmeal.  Let set for 10 minutes or so.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet and cook burgers 4 minutes per side or until cooked through.

Yum it up!!  Yeah, yeah, yeah there's a little bit of cheese in there!!  I did it for THEM. :)

Kidding Around

I have been really blessed since I made the choice to leave my corporate life and enter the world of cooking.  I have met some wonderful people along the way.  There are the people in my cooking classes who bring laughter and joy into my home; the "culinary guru" that I was lucky to spend some time with, who inspired the "intuitive" cook in me to look at the "science" side of cooking; the students at Bauman who teach me as much as (if not more than) I try to teach them; my social media "whiz kid" who refuses to let me believe "I'm too old for that stuff," and then there's Lisa, of Farm Girl Nursery.

Last summer a woman named Karen Pavone, came to one of my cooking classes and asked if I minded her taking pictures, interviewing me a little bit and writing about my class.  Wishing I had spent a little more time doing my hair and makeup, I sheepishly agreed.   I began following her wonderful blog (and not just the post about me!) highlighting the farm to table movement in Marin & Sonoma County.  After a story she did on school gardens, we chatted about how I wanted to get involved in teaching kids not just about growing fresh veggies, but how to cook them in a way that they would actually eat them.  And she introduced me to Lisa Marvier, who at the time was just fixin' to open a farm/nursery.

Lisa and I met for the first time on a sunny April afternoon.  We walked through the farm, her sweet store where she sells books, starters and seeds, and I met all the farm animals: horses, ponies, chickens, roosters, goats, pigs.  My favorite remains the two little pigs that think they're dogs - they come when she calls them, just like her three pups. Although the new baby goats do tug at my heart.  Then she and I sat down to talk....and talk and talk.  We were kindred spirits from the get-go (so lucky when you find people like that in your life) and shared the same vision of teaching people how to eat and be healthy.  And we agreed that a great place to start was with kids.  And The Farm Girl Nursery Kids' Camp was formalized.  Lisa had been thinking about it for a while (she's got so many ideas jumping around in that head of hers!), but we decided to add a cooking class to the mix.

Today was our second camp together, possibly the last of the summer (though I think she's trying to figure out how to squeeze one more in while the weather's good).  The kids started the day learning from a bee keeper and a woman who raises chickens, and then after a bit of zip lining (yes, zip lining!) I take them into the gardens and we harvest fruit and veggies for lunch.  The little ones stay out on the porch to whip up a batch of ice cream (old-school style...with the ice, rock salt and a good old fashioned crank handle!), and the bigger kids come into the kitchen with me to cook.

My older little helpers, after a lesson on knife safety and under close supervision, chopped cucumbers, squash, tomatoes and basil for our quinoa pasta salad.  The younger ones, stripped rosemary sprigs to create skewers and scooped melon balls to create kebabs of watermelon and berries from the farm (great with the ice cream).  After showing them all how to quickly and easily to strip the kale leaves off the stem, I took on the task of making kale chips (big hit with my Kitchen Crew!).

Then it was time to eat!  It's so wonderful to see kids eat good stuff!  It's much easier to do it if they have a hand in growing it, picking it, and cooking it.  Give it a try.  My nephews aren't huge vegetable fans, and I never knew them to eat zucchini in their lives......until they grew some one year.  They were so proud that they couldn't wait to learn how to cook it.  No matter if you have a big yard or a balcony, you can grow something to eat.  Just look at these happy faces..... that's all the inspiration you need.

 

Cheezie Kale Chips
Serve 6-8

2 bunches dino (aka Lacinato) kale, rinsed, stemmed and ripped into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon salt

• Preheat oven to 325°.
• Place kale on 2 parchment paper lined baking sheets.
• Divide olive oil between the two sheets, and toss to coat.
• Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and salt.
• Bake 15-20 minutes until crispy.  Check occasionally to be sure they don't burn.

Yum It up! 
And see, no cheese; I used nutritional yeast to give the cheesy flavor.  Well, yes that was a little feta on the quinoa pasta salad, but Lisa made me do it!! :)

Curry up!

Ever had one of those nights when you have popcorn for dinner??  You just don't have the energy or patience for anything more.  That's the kind of week I had last week, and I think this week is going to be just as busy.  Can't complain about that, busy is good, but really....popcorn??  I can do better than that.

I taught a One Pot Dinners cooking class last week and it was a timely reminder of the dishes I've created for those nights when you just want to get a good, healthy dinner in your belly as quickly as possible.  This one meets all the criteria:  it comes together quickly, it tastes fantastic, and it's filled with all the seasonal veggies you can get your hands on.  You can easily add cooked chicken to this, but I'm in a plant-based state of mind, so I've added garbanzo beans and rice to give myself the benefits of a complete protein.  Feel free to add whatever veggie you like; this is my favorite blend because of all of the colors (looks pretty, and we eat with our eyes first, right?).  The more colors you add to your food, the more nutrients you get, as each color is a specific powerhouse of vitamins and minerals.

Some of my most popular cooking classes are the ethnic ones.  The flavors are always deep and well balanced, but most importantly to me, is that some of these other cultures, like Thai and Indian (my two most popular classes) seem to focus more on vegetables, legumes and grains, than on animal proteins.  I dig that!  And I like to share those recipes with as many people as possible.  So here you go....my Veggie Green Curry:

Start out by heating up a little coconut oil in a skillet.  This gives a nice background of flavor, and coconut oil is a type of fat that is quickly converted to energy and not stored in the body as fat, so it actually helps boost your metabolism (I'll take it!).  Once it's melted, add a little Thai Kitchen green curry paste, garlic and ginger, and just let those flavors hang out and get to know each other.  Then add some tamari (it's a wheat free soy sauce, better flavor) and a can (or two, if you like a lot of sauce) of coconut milk.  Use the real thing, not a "light" version.  When we make something low fat or "light", we have to add things to it to replace the fat that was taken out (fat adds flavor; don't be afraid of fat).  Often sugar replaces the fat in lighter versions, and you should be more concerned about your sugar intake than your fat intake.  Sugar is the enemy of good health, people.

Once you get that up to a good simmer, add the beans and veggies.  Just add the veggies that need to be cooked.  A little tip: the smaller you cut them, the quicker they'll cook and the sooner you'll be eating!  In this recipe, I hold off on adding the shredded carrot and the tomatoes, because they don't need any real cooking time.  Cover and simmer until the vegetables are cooked (I like mine still a little crisp, so about 5 or so minutes does it).  Stir in the carrot, tomatoes, and basil and serve over rice.  I like to stir the cooked rice right into the skillet so everything gets a chance to swim in the fragrant sauce for a while.  Viola!  A healthy, delicious meal with little to no effort.....got to love that!  AND only one pot to clean...bonus!!

Veggie  Green Curry                                                                                                                        Serves 4

2 tablespoons coconut oil

2 tablespoons Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 14-oz can coconut milk

2 teaspoons tamari

1 14 oz can garbanzo beans, drained

1 bunch broccoli, cut in small florets

1 red bell pepper, julienne cut

1 cup thin green beans

1 carrot, shredded

1 tomato, chopped

½ cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped

Salt & pepper to taste

2 cups cooked brown rice

·         In a skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat.  Add curry paste, garlic and ginger; cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

·         Stir in the coconut milk and tamari. 

·         Add the garbanzo beans, broccoli, bell pepper and green beans, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. 

·         Stir in carrot, tomato and basil.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

·         Serve over rice.

A beautiful day in The Valley!

I took a beautiful drive, top down, up to my friend Chris's house in Napa this afternoon.  I never get tired of that drive through the farmlands and vineyards.  Wind  in my hair, sunshine on my skin....doesn't get much better than that!

Chris's place is a little oasis, set in the middle of 12 acres of vineyard that make you crave a sweet glass of wine and a good book the moment you arrive!  In addition there are gorgeous flowers in every color of the rainbow and fruit and walnut trees begging to be picked (if you can get to it before the birds do!).  And then the topper (for someone like me!)... raised bed after raised bed of plump, juicy, ready to pick veggies.  I was lucky enough to come home home with a bag full of fresh, ripe goodies:

First to be picked were the tomatoes and cucumbers, so I had a gazpacho idea forming immediately.  Hot day; good idea.  Then the big, fat, sweet pepper...oh yeah, this is gonna be good!

Couldn't be easier.  I had no real plan when I started making the gazpacho; it was a taste as you go and figure it out kind of experience.  Taste buds ended up happy!!

I busted out the food processor to make this easy.  Individually I processed the tomatoes and cucumbers until finely chopped, like this:

Then I processed the pepper, a leek, shallot, a couple scallions, and garlic and added it to the mix.  I didn't have an onion, so I made do with all the things in the same family, but if you're going to the store anyway, use one medium onion.  Now for seasoning.  Here's where tasting as you go happens.  I added some vinegar, Worcestershire, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper.  A little olive oil and veg broth loosens it up to a nice chunky soup quality.  One more taste and a teaspoon of maple syrup balances it all out.  Seriously, give it a try!  So quick and easy.  But know that the longer it sits, the better it gets, so control yourself; leave some leftovers.

Garden Gazpacho
Serves 4-6

1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 cucumber, roughly chopped
1 large banana pepper, roughly chopped
1 leek, white and light green part only, roughly chopped
2 scallions, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon chopped shallot
1 tablespoon chopped garlic (or too your taste)
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon grade B maple syrup
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch pepper
1 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

• Place chopped tomatoes in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely chopped.  Transfer to a large bowl.
• Place the chopped cucumber in the food processor and blend until finely chopped.  Add to tomatoes in bowl.
• Place the chopped pepper, leeks, scallions and garlic in the food processor and blend until finely chopped.  Transfer to the bowl with tomatoes and cucumber.
• Stir in the vinegar (you can use red or white wine vinegar), Worcestershire, maple syrup, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper.
• Add olive oil and vegetable broth, stirring to combine.  Place in refrigerator for 20-30 minutes and serve.

Yum it up...and look, no cheese!!

A New Me.....

A little while back I went on the "Rip Your Heart Out Diet."  Not heard of it?  Keep an eye out for my cookbook, coming soon.....it's a lot of empty pages- quick read!.  I've always heard women say "the best way to lose 10 pounds is to get the flu or get your heart broken."  I would've preferred the flu, but you get what you get.  So my heart was broken, and for the first time in my life, I couldn't eat.  Certainly don't recommend it; didn't intend for it to happen.  I just felt sick to my stomach and had absolutely no appetite.  Somehow, however, I managed to find the strength to work out- something as surprising to me as not eating!

I figured I may as well capitalize on the weight loss thing, and get back to my regular work out schedule.  As my appetite returned, I also decided it was time to get back to what I refer to as "mindful eating."

Mindful eating for me just means being equally aware of my wants and my needs when it comes to fueling my body, and focusing more on the "needs" part of the equation.  Yes, that's a glass of wine in front of me (I needed it!).  I haven't completely lost my mind!...my 80/20 rule still applies.  But when I cook for myself and my clients or when I'm teaching my cooking classes, I am re-focused on what we really need to fuel ourselves and to be healthy.  That's food's original purpose: give us the energy to do the things we need to do to survive (think hunter/gatherer days).  But often we turn it into an Olymic sport of over-eating huge portions of calorie-rich and nutrient-poor meals.  Pharmaceutical companies love this!  Me, not so much.

"Mindful eating"  in no way means that I still don't cook delicious meals.  You know I do!  My mission statement is "Teaching people that 'delicious' and 'nutritious' are not mutually exclusive."   It's possible to wow your taste buds and keep your body healthy and happy, too. 

In the past six weeks, I've dropped down to a size 6, something I haven't been since my college days (so I guess I can thank the heart-breaker for something), and the workouts have helped turn back the clock..... I taught a business development class today at Bauman College and shared my marketing materials with them.  One of the students said of a picture I have on my website and my marketing cards, "You need to update that picture; you look older in it than you do now."  I'll take that as a huge compliment, since that picture was taken only a year ago.

I'll be 48 next month, and I hear so many of my friends lament about how hard it is to stay in shape, or to get in shape (why do we wait so long to take care of ourselves?).  I see so many women my age give up and give into that idea.  I think they're wrong.  Granted, I started this weight loss in an unconventional way, but I believe that we can change and reshape our bodies through a combination of strength training and cardio, and mindful eating.  That's what I've been doing and it seems to be working just fine.

What changes have I made, you ask.  Well hold onto your seats for this one.... dairy has been extremely reduced (I KNOW, can you believe it???!  But me and a yummy Caprese Salad will never break up completely).  And I am focusing again  on more plant-based meals, with animal proteins used in limited quantities.  This is the best season to give that a try, by the way...such an abundance of delicious fresh fruits and veggies! Read The China Study or watch Forks over Knives, and you'll know why I like this path.  And keep reading my blog for some tasty reasons to believe that nutritious and delicious are NOT mutually exclusive.

We'll still yum it up!

Friends with Benefits

...no, not THAT kind., silly monkey!  I have a couple friends who fortunately are great at growing things that I don't, and even better, they love to share their bounty with me.  The other day my friend Chris dropped off a basket of peaches and peppers, and the next day my friend Randy gave me a bag filled with plums.  It's amazing to bite into a fresh, home-grown piece of fruit.  It tastes nothing like what you get at your supermarket.  When I was a kid, my grandparents had an orange tree in their backyard, and I ate as much as it would give. They were the sweetest, juiciest oranges I've ever eaten, and I've spent many years since trying to find one at the farmers' market that gives me that same rush of flavor.  It rarely happens, but perhaps it's just that reality is never as sweet as our memories.  But my love of home grown, just-picked produce comtinues to this day.

With more than enough of these to just eat as is, I set out to find a fun way to use them...and bring them together..... Stone Fruit Salsa!! 

Pretty simple, pretty delicious!  And all of the ingredients came from my garden, my friends' gardens or my fridge:
peaches, plums, basil, red onion, jalapeno pepper, lime juice, maple syrup (helps balance the heat of the pepper), salt and pepper.  No trip too the store.  Got to love that!  Grow, grow, grow stuff! Or at keast have friends that do!

This is going to grace grilled halibut fillets tonight, but would be equally delicious over chicken breasts, or as salsa likes to be used best, with a bowl of crispy chips.  Dig in!

Stone Fruit Salsa
Makes 2 cups

2 peaches, diced
1 plum, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1/3 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup chopped basil leaves
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon grade B maple syrup
Pinch salt and pepper

• Mix all ingredients in a bowl and let stand 20 minutes for flavors to combine,

Yum it up!

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchilada Bake

Three days a week I get to spend the day with these lovely ladies in the Natural Chef program at Bauman College.  It is one of the most rewarding, and fun, experiences for me.  As their kitchen manager, I boss them around a lot (but they secretly like it, I'm sure), I look out for them, I feed them, I learn from them, and hopefully, they from me.

At the beginning of the semester I had to cook lunch for them each day until they had taken the requisite classes that would allow them to enter the kitchen.  Now I am back to cooking for them as they begin their business classes.  I asked them the other day what they would like me to fix, and they almost unanimously said, "Can you make that enchilada dish you made back in March?"  Happy to not reinvent the wheel, I was eager to comply.  The students have various food allergies and intolerances, so coming up with dishes that are gluten-, dairy-, and soy-free is not always the easiest thing.  But this meets all those requirements, and well, it's dang good!  The recipe looks a little daunting (i.e long!), but it's really very easy....don't be afraid!

First I roast these veggie to make a tomatillo salsa: tomatillos, onions, garlic, jalapeno, and tomatoes. Pop these in the oven with the sweet potatoes (no, no pic of the sweet potatoes, they're not sexy).  Only takes about 25 minutes.  Remove the stem and seeds from the jalapeno, and the stems from the tomatoes, and puree in a food processor with a little olive oil.  Soooooo yummy!

While that's happening, roast a couple poblano or pasilla peppers over a flame or broil them if you don't have a gas stove.

When the sweet potatoes are done, scoop out the flesh and mash with a little lime juice, cumin and coriander.

Mash the beans with a little lime juice and salt.

Chop the poblano pepper into bite-sized pieces.

Get your salsa ready, and here we go.....

I like to lay the tortillas flat, rather than rolling- it's just easier, and I dig easier! 

Pour enough salsa to cover the bottom of an 11X7 baking dish. Lay 4 tortillas on top, then place half the sweet potato mixture, half the black bean mixture, and half the peppers on top of the tortillas.  Pour on a little more salsa to cover.  Top with 4 more tortillas and the remaining sweet potato, black beans and pepper.  Add a little more salsa, and then top with remaining 4 tortillas.  Cover the top with salsa.  Bake for about 25 minutes, and top with sliced avocado.  Yep, you can thank me later!  The ladies requested this again for a reason, peeps!

I served it with cilantro lime rice (now you've got that complete protein thing going), and a refreshing watermelon, mint and arugula salad, with a honey-lime dressing.  Happy dance, for sure!

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchilada Bake

Serves 6-8

Sweet potato mixture

3 lbs sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons lime juice

½ teaspoon sea salt

Tomatillo Salsa

1 ½ lbs tomatillos, remove husks and rinse

2 medium onions, peeled and quartered

2 large heirloom tomatoes

1 jalapeno pepper

4 medium cloves garlic, skin removed

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon pepper

Black Beans

2 cans black beans

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons coriander

2 poblano or pasilla peppers

12 corn tortillas

1 avocado, thinly sliced

·         Preheat oven to 400°.

·         Pierce sweet potatoes all over with a fork.  Place on a parchment paper-lined- baking sheet and bake 45-60 minutes until cooked through.  Remove from oven and let cool until ready to handle.

·         Meanwhile place tomatillos, onions, tomatoes, jalapeno, and garlic on a parchment paper-lined- baking sheet and roast in same oven for 20-30 minutes until blistered and browned.  Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Remove stem and seeds from jalapeno.

·         Puree roasted vegetables in a food processor or blender, with lime juice, oil, salt, cumin and pepper.

·         When potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove skin and mash pulp in a large bowl.  Add lime juice and salt, stirring to combine.

·         In a separate bowl, mash beans slightly, adding lime juice, cumin and coriander.

·         Chop peppers and set aside.

·         To assemble, lightly cover the bottom of an 11X7 baking dish with salsa.  Top with 4 tortillas, half the sweet potato mixture, half the black bean mixture, half the peppers, and a little more salsa. Repeat with another layer using the remaining half of the sweet potatoes, beans and pepper.  Add a little more salsa and cover with 4 more corn tortillas.  Cover the top with salsa and bake 20-30 minutes until cooked through.  Top with sliced avocado.