Jamaican Beans - modified (from a recipe in the NY Times Cookbook) to be vegan and to be made in a crock pot rather than baked in the oven
2 cups of beans soaked overnight (I used a medley of them, but white beans would work)
1/2 cup of brown sugar (sugar in the raw, or something similar, to be truly vegan)
1/4 cup of dark rum
2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. of salt
1 pinch of thyme
1 medium onion
4 whole cloves
The original recipe called for salt pork, but instead I roasted a handful of jalapeno peppers - some red and some green - that a friend had given me from her garden.
Fully seed the jalapenos and carefully remove the ribs to get rid of the serious heat. Place them in a covered casserole, drizzle olive oil over them and toss to coat them. Roast them with the lid on for an hour at 325 until they are very carmelized and tender (in place of a covered casserole you can also cover a baking dish tightly with tinfoil).
Take the onion and remove the papery outer skin and the roots, leaving the onion mostly intact. Cut off the top so the onion stands flat. Stud the onion with the four cloves and place them in the center of a crock pot.
Cover the onion with half of the soaked and drained beans. Scoop out the jalapenos from the casserole dish they were roasted in and scatter them on top of the beans in the crock pot. Cover the jalapenos with the other half of the beans. Pour water into the crock pot covering the beans completely (about 1 and 1/2 inches above them). In the oil left in the bottom of the casserole dish the jalapenos were roasted in, add the brown sugar, dark rum, dry mustard, black pepper, salt, and thyme. Mix thoroughly and then pour the mixture over the beans in the crock pot.
I put the crock pot on high for about 90 minutes, then turned it to low and left it to cook overnight.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Vegan Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 small package of mushrooms chopped
1 small onion finely diced
3 tblsp fresh mint, chopped
1 tsp allspice
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups tomato puree (I really like the Pomi brand from Italy in the box)
1 head of savoy cabbage
olive oil
salt and pepper
In a large non stick pan saute in olive oil the mushrooms and onion until cooked through**. Add salt and pepper to taste as well as the allspice and the pinch of cayenne pepper. Add the rice to the mushroom/onion mixture and stir thoroughly over medium heat until all the flavors have melded together. Turn off the heat and stir in the fresh mint. Let this mixture cool in the pan.
Set a large pot on the stove and fill it with water. Bring to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil pull the leaves apart from the head of cabbage, trying not to tear them. Blanch each cabbage leaf in the boiling water until pliable. Drain.
In a mixing bowl add the pureed tomatoes and the cinnamon as well as salt and pepper to taste. (go easy on the cinnamon...you may even want to just try using a 1/2 tsp or a pinch)
In the bottom of a glass baking dish (lasagna size) put a bit of olive oil and a large spoonful of the tomato mixture in the bottom of the dish to coat.
Take a cabbage leaf and lay it flat. Cut out the tough, non pliable stem area at the bottom of the leaf. In the center of the leaf put a spoonful of the rice mixture, then roll the leaf up tucking in the sides neatly (like you would a burrito). Lay the stuffed cabbage roll in the baking dish, folded side down to hold it together. Continue rolling cabbage until the dish is filled.
Pour the remaining tomato sauce mixture over the cabbage rolls. Cover the dish tightly with tinfoil and bake in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes until the cabbage is tender and the rolls are piping hot.
**One way to add flavor is to make sure your mushrooms are dry when you put them in the hot oil to saute. If you resist stirring them at first and let them sit still in the pan until they brown, and then begin stirring, you will get a lot more flavor (and less-rubbery mushrooms).
Notes:
I left out garlic, but the place to add it if you wanted to would be while sauteing the onion and mushroom mixture.
1 small package of mushrooms chopped
1 small onion finely diced
3 tblsp fresh mint, chopped
1 tsp allspice
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups tomato puree (I really like the Pomi brand from Italy in the box)
1 head of savoy cabbage
olive oil
salt and pepper
In a large non stick pan saute in olive oil the mushrooms and onion until cooked through**. Add salt and pepper to taste as well as the allspice and the pinch of cayenne pepper. Add the rice to the mushroom/onion mixture and stir thoroughly over medium heat until all the flavors have melded together. Turn off the heat and stir in the fresh mint. Let this mixture cool in the pan.
Set a large pot on the stove and fill it with water. Bring to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil pull the leaves apart from the head of cabbage, trying not to tear them. Blanch each cabbage leaf in the boiling water until pliable. Drain.
In a mixing bowl add the pureed tomatoes and the cinnamon as well as salt and pepper to taste. (go easy on the cinnamon...you may even want to just try using a 1/2 tsp or a pinch)
In the bottom of a glass baking dish (lasagna size) put a bit of olive oil and a large spoonful of the tomato mixture in the bottom of the dish to coat.
Take a cabbage leaf and lay it flat. Cut out the tough, non pliable stem area at the bottom of the leaf. In the center of the leaf put a spoonful of the rice mixture, then roll the leaf up tucking in the sides neatly (like you would a burrito). Lay the stuffed cabbage roll in the baking dish, folded side down to hold it together. Continue rolling cabbage until the dish is filled.
Pour the remaining tomato sauce mixture over the cabbage rolls. Cover the dish tightly with tinfoil and bake in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes until the cabbage is tender and the rolls are piping hot.
**One way to add flavor is to make sure your mushrooms are dry when you put them in the hot oil to saute. If you resist stirring them at first and let them sit still in the pan until they brown, and then begin stirring, you will get a lot more flavor (and less-rubbery mushrooms).
Notes:
I left out garlic, but the place to add it if you wanted to would be while sauteing the onion and mushroom mixture.
Why?
I love to cook. Correction, I love to feed people. I've been managing friends' and family's dietary restrictions for over a decade now. Nothing makes me happier than seeing people who can't eat the things they love anymore due to food allergies (for example) light up when I am able to modify or create a dish that they can really enjoy. In the past I mostly managed my immediate family's issues with lactose intolerance. Then I began to get creative with vegetarian and vegan dishes for friends who made dietary choices.
And then I met my partner Mike. Mike's system can't handle gluten, garlic, or dairy; he has also made the choice to not eat land animals (or as he puts it "anything with feet"). Getting creative being "4 Free" [no gluten, no dairy, no garlic, no meat] has been an adventure. The most intense exploration has been with gluten-free flours and baking. All I can say is that we are very lucky to live in the land of Bob's Red Mill. We are truly grateful for all the products and the good work the people at Bob's have done to support gluten-free.
So what's this blog about? It's about really exploring alternative ways to make things you love and thought you couldn't eat anymore. It's about not feeling deprived of the sensuous act of eating delicious food because of a food allergy. It's also about respect. Respect for all the cooks out there who are searching for creative ways to cook for themselves, and their friends, and their family without making them sick (emphasis on the creative). You won't find the "recipe" for sauteing mushrooms here. Personally, when I purchase a cookbook that claims to be "gluten free vegan" I don't want to be insulted by "Oh, look...you can eat sauteed mushrooms!" Yeah. We know that. How about apple pie with a delicious pastry crust? Or how about bread that doesn't taste like sawdust? Or how about some lasagna? Or how about anything other than vegetables sauteed in olive oil? There are indeed some great cookbooks out there that address choices as well as food allergies, but there seem to be a fair number that I find uninspired and also a bit insulting.
Some basic assumptions are going to be made when we post recipes. We are going to assume you have basic cooking skills. I personally am not vegan, and Mike is Pescatarian with a whole bunch of food allergies thrown in to make it interesting. Here you'll see pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan fare. We plan to also add some notes about additions that could be made to these recipes should you wish to. This might entail things like adding cheese, something non-vegan, or something non-pescatarian. The core recipes though will always be, first and foremost, "4 Free."
Sara
And then I met my partner Mike. Mike's system can't handle gluten, garlic, or dairy; he has also made the choice to not eat land animals (or as he puts it "anything with feet"). Getting creative being "4 Free" [no gluten, no dairy, no garlic, no meat] has been an adventure. The most intense exploration has been with gluten-free flours and baking. All I can say is that we are very lucky to live in the land of Bob's Red Mill. We are truly grateful for all the products and the good work the people at Bob's have done to support gluten-free.
So what's this blog about? It's about really exploring alternative ways to make things you love and thought you couldn't eat anymore. It's about not feeling deprived of the sensuous act of eating delicious food because of a food allergy. It's also about respect. Respect for all the cooks out there who are searching for creative ways to cook for themselves, and their friends, and their family without making them sick (emphasis on the creative). You won't find the "recipe" for sauteing mushrooms here. Personally, when I purchase a cookbook that claims to be "gluten free vegan" I don't want to be insulted by "Oh, look...you can eat sauteed mushrooms!" Yeah. We know that. How about apple pie with a delicious pastry crust? Or how about bread that doesn't taste like sawdust? Or how about some lasagna? Or how about anything other than vegetables sauteed in olive oil? There are indeed some great cookbooks out there that address choices as well as food allergies, but there seem to be a fair number that I find uninspired and also a bit insulting.
Some basic assumptions are going to be made when we post recipes. We are going to assume you have basic cooking skills. I personally am not vegan, and Mike is Pescatarian with a whole bunch of food allergies thrown in to make it interesting. Here you'll see pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan fare. We plan to also add some notes about additions that could be made to these recipes should you wish to. This might entail things like adding cheese, something non-vegan, or something non-pescatarian. The core recipes though will always be, first and foremost, "4 Free."
Sara
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