French Lentils for a Canadian Easter

My extended family gets together each year for Easter dinner. We're not tied to Sunday or Monday though - this year we got together on Saturday.

We’re not a traditional family when it comes to food – the host family usually cooks a ham or a turkey and the rest of us bring side dishes, appetizers, and dessert.

I always bring a vegetarian dish to add to the mix. This year, I wanted something different than the usual pasta casserole, ratatouille, or quiche recipe. Since I'm less about gourmet and traditional than I am about healthy and satisfying, I decided to make a warm lentil dish.

After arguing with Mike about what spices to use (I thought some kind of sweet and sour would be good, he was pushing curry) I decided just to use a recipe from the Veganomicon cookbook: Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions. But sans rice. And note: it's vegan.

I've made this dish before - but I forgot that it's one full of typos (cloves appears in the directions but not the ingredients list, for example). So this is a loose translation at best.

If I were to make it again, I’d add garlic and use more onions but cut the pieces smaller. Overall, it was pretty good but needed salt and pepper in a major way. Possibly some different spices too - I could see thyme and oregano working. Or even a slightly sweet version with maple syrup.

Instead of red lentils (too mushy!) I used French lentils. Partially because that’s what the store had and partially because I prefer my lentils to hold their shape.

French lentils

I love the extremely generous use of olive oil in the Veganomicon recipe. It makes this dish stand out.


Roasted French Lentils with Caramelized Onions
Ingredients:

For the onions
 

Onion rings doused in olive oil

• 3 large yellow onions, sliced thinly into rings
• ¾ cup olive oil

For the lentils

• 2 scant cups French lentils
• 2 cups water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 dried cloves
• 1 scant tablespoon cumin
• Generous salt and pepper to taste

A close-up of the French lentils

Directions:
1.    Preheat the oven to 400F.   
2.    Slice the onions and toss them with the olive oil.   
3.    Roast in a roasting pan for 35 minutes, until golden brown and edges are starting to caramelize and blacken. 

Caramelized onions in generous amount of olive oil

4.    In the meantime, measure the water into a saucepan. Add the cinnamon stick, cloves, and cumin. Bring to a boil.   
5.    Add the French lentils and return to a boil.

Spiced liquid for cooking lentils

6.    Cook for 15-20 minutes, until French lentils are soft. If using green, brown, or red lentils, cook according to package directions.   
7.    When the lentils are done, all the water should be absorbed.   
8.    Remove the cinnamon sticks and cloves.   
9.    Fold the roasted onions into the cooked lentils. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.  
10.  Serve warm.

I'm not sure what's up with Blogger, but it keeps rotating my photos without permission. Here's a final (off-kilter) photo of the dish:

Weekly Wrap: The World of Veg Cuisine for April 11-17, 2011

Stay up-to-date with the latest recipe ideas and vegetarian news with Veg Cuisine’s weekly wrap.

Recipe Picks

• This week on Veg Cuisine, I share my favourite weekday oatmeal recipe: Breakfast oats can float your boat...on a weekday. What’s your favourite topping combo?  

In the News

• VegNews meat photo scandal  and eventual apology
  The big story this week is that VegNews was outed by blogger Quarrygirl for using photos of meat in its magazine and passing them off as vegan. Since then, VegNews has apologized (half-heartedly), then decided they were maybe wrong after all and apologized again (for real this time). It took three days – an eon, given the story broke online.  They’ve promised a “vegan photo bank to assure the availability of vegan stock images” to be prepared in a matter of days. We’ll be watching to see if they can redeem themselves…

• Toronto's Vegetarian Food Fair is changing its name
  It will now be known as the "Annual Vegetarian Food Festival". Mark you calendars – this year it’s September 9-11.

• Bunny love
  A tasteful reminder: don’t buy pet rabbits for Easter gifts! Pets are not disposable. But, chocolate bunnies are. Try one of those instead. Or, read my 2008 article about celebrating Easter the vegetarian way.

• Natalie Portman swaps vegan for vegetarian diet
  Natalie Portman – purveyor of fashionably uncomfortable-looking vegan shoes and the star of our favourite rap video of all time (search the uncensored version if you're feeling frisky) has swapped her vegan diet in favour of a lacto-ovo-vegetarian one. Is it odd her rationale comes down to “I was having cravings for pastries”? It is to me. But then again I’ve never have wild pregnancy hormones coursing through my veins. Side note: I’m slightly miffed that ABC News is still promoting the myth that vegans need to deliberately combine proteins. Your body does it for you. Easy peasy, fuggedaboutit.

VegNews Scandal: Magazine Reneges, Apologizes

An update on the VegNews...news...from this past weekend.

After saying it's not their fault they used meat photos in their all-vegan magazine, VegNews has reneged and has now issued an apology. Good risk communication practice, that. And even better that people can get their grievances out as blog comments. When it comes to scandal, no ranting = no forgiveness.

Despite making people very, very, upset, it sounds like most are now ready to welcome it back with open arms.

I bet the VegNews folks are issuing one big *phew*. But we'll see if they suffer at all in the long-term.

It looks like they might even adopt my suggestion of adopting a vegan photo database...too bad my camera skills are still at the kindergarten level.

Breakfast Oats Can Float Your Boat...on a Weekday

Oatmeal is not the stuff of glamour and glitz. Its creamy beige colour and speckled, smooth texture are things few people get excited about. However, I’m an oatmeal advocate – I eat the stuff every day. Over the past few weeks, I’ve talked to people about it.

Almond steel-cut oats

Here's what I've learned. If you're a typical person, you:

1. Are reluctant to admit you eat oatmeal. Like it’s out of fashion, or something.
2. Don’t believe oatmeal can taste good. You've been scarred by a childhood full of overcooked mush with not enough brown sugar to offset the blandness.
3. Don't realize oatmeal can be a weekday food and actually taste good.  

To be clear, I’m not talking about the pre-packaged stuff that’s loaded with sugar and artificial flavours. I’m talking about whole-grain oatmeal. Porridge. The kind you used to make on the stove.

But I cook my porridge on weekday mornings in just over a minute, in the microwave.

You might think oatmeal is old-fashioned. It’s not cool. It's not advertised during prime-time TV. Its price tag isn't a status symbol. (In fact, a $5 bag lasts me a month.) However, it is healthy, delicious, and fast to cook in the morning.

The basics of cooking oatmeal on a weekday

If you’re someone who has time to spare in the a.m., by all means, use the stove. The texture of your oatmeal will be slightly better, and you’ll get your Zen therapy by stirring for a few minutes.

But for those of us who run from bed to the kitchen to the office, use the microwave method instead.

For one serving: 

Measure 1/3 cup quick-cooking oats (oatmeal) into a large microwaveable bowl. Add 2/3 cup water.

If you have smaller dishes that hold only as much as the uncooked oatmeal, I would suggest switching to a small Corningware or baking dish. As the oatmeal heats up, it climbs up the side of the bowl – and, if you’re not careful – spills right out over the edge.

This bowl floweth over...with oatmeal

This bowl keeps oatmeal contained

Whatever size bowl, it’s essential to soak your oatmeal. I like to do this before I get dressed and do my hair. That gives me at least 10 to 20 minutes of soak time. If you’re using a big bowl, you don’t need to soak the oats as long – just 5 or 10 minutes.

After soaking, microwave on HIGH power for about 1 minute, 10 seconds. My microwave is pretty powerful. Yours might need a bit more time – but start here and work your way up.

Top your oatmeal with any variety of delicious, preferably seasonal, toppings. You can even add a touch of sweetener – brown sugar, honey, maple syrup...controlling the amount you eat. And making sure it’s fresh.

Basic Weekday Oatmeal Recipe

Weekday oatmeal with peanut butter, raisins & flaxseed

Here is my basic oatmeal topping recipe, although I’ve been known to skip the raisins and indulge in straight-up PB & J, too. 

• 1 Tbsp. peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp. raisins
• 1 tsp. ground flaxseeds
• Splash of milk or soy milk

If PB doesn’t float your boat, try one of my other oatmeal recipes, both of which can be vegan: apple cider oatmeal and banana bread oatmeal. 

VegNews Scandal: Try Helping Instead of Hindering

VegNews magazine has been very naughty. They’ve been using images of meat in their magazine and calling them vegan. For years, apparently. Read the full story on the QuarryGirl website, then have a think.

This is my take:

My all-veggie burger

Magazines and ads use food stylists all the time to make their dishes look irresistible. I use the word “dishes” purposefully because many times nothing on them is edible (like enhancing colour using lipstick) – or, it’s misleading (mashed potatoes standing in for ice cream because they look just as good but don’t melt.) You’ve been misled for years by food photos everywhere - not just those in VegNews. It’s common practice.

And then, it’s expensive to put together a print magazine. Especially in a niche market. Especially when your niche is vegan, soy-ink-using, recycled-paper-printing and responsible. I acknowledge that getting professional photos of every recipe and food featured in the magazine would cost a bundle and might not be feasible.

HOWEVER, in my opinion, neither of these are good reasons to:

a) Use photos that don’t reflect the recipes printed.

b) Mislead readers by showing images of meat instead of vegan products.

I have read that people are cancelling their subscriptions, just like they cancelled their GoDaddy accounts after watching the video of CEO Bob Parsons shooting the elephant. 

But this is different – presumably you still support the vegan cause. You want there to be a magazine sitting next to “BBQ Meat Monthly” that reflects your values. You also want VegNews to respond decisively and say they won’t do it again (rather than apologizing but offering no action). 

Having crappy images taken by staff in the test kitchen won’t reflect well on the magazine, nor on vegan food. The magazine could fold and go online to reduce costs, but then it would lose much of its visibility and reduce its audience.

Here’s another solution: instead of boycotting VegNews, why not support its efforts to use all-vegan food in their pictures? Would you share your own photos. or donate them for free (with credit to you)? I’m not a photographer – obvious, if you’ve read my other blog posts – but I’d be happy to put forward a few of my good ones.

What do you think? Would you grant rights for VegNews to use your images?

Weekly Wrap for April 4-10, 2011

Stay up-to-date with the latest recipe ideas and vegetarian news with Veg Cuisine’s weekly wrap.

Recipe Picks

On Veg Cuisine

Roasted vegetables recipe

• Roasted vegetables are one of my favourite meals, period. We can polish off a whole pan of our favourites veggies (carrots, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, onions and garlic), but you can choose your favourites instead.

 Elsewhere

• Steven and Chris: recipes for vegetarian delights
  Try a vegan squash soup that doubles as Pad Thai sauce, or a chocolate tofu pudding that has way more ingredients than my simple recipe (but dried cherries? Probably tastes better too). Recipes are by Celebrity Chef Jonathan Chovancek.

• Martha Stewart and Biz Stone cook up some vegan seitan bouguignon
  How freakin’ cute is Biz Stone? As one of Twitter's co-founders, I've read plenty about him, but have never seen him speak. Turns out he's endearing and super-sweet. Possibly because he listens to his wife. In other Martha Stewart news though, she's featuring vegetarian and vegan recipes all over her network of websites and magazines: she's got quick vegetarian dinners on her Food homepage and a video "How to make tofu taste good" on her Whole Living homepage. Martha's keeping up with the times. And I'm glad to have her on board!  

Butter beans with tomatoes

• Vegan Creole Recipes from the VRG
  I’m including these veganized Creole recipes partially because I want to remember to try them. We 've tried out hand at meatless gumbo a few times, with limited success. There’s no gumbo here, but there are butter beans, greens in peanut sauce and pralines.  Yum.

News and "not-quite" news 

Apparently the spring weather is making news reporter fancies turn to...cows. 

• Sensational story! Cloned cows make human milk
  Hooray for the CBC who actually did some reporting, unlike other outlets that covered this story. However, the headline should read “Cloned cows produce one breastmilk protein”. I thought humans already did that - and then some. Scientists always think they can replicate what nature evolved to create, but we never quite measure up. Taking fibre is not the same as eating whole grains, and making breastmilk proteins is not the same as making breastmilk. Fail. 

• Here’s a shocker: meat is expensive! (Globe and Mail)Prices for nearly all kinds of red meat have risen 40 per cent in the last year. Cut out the middle cow and eat vegetables instead!

• ...and in related news, eating broccoli can ward off cancer (also Globe and Mail)
  One of my university professors told my class that, to avoid the carcinogens (cancer-causing substances) in barbequed meat, always eat it with broccoli. 

Yogurt with flaxseed

• How do I get omega-3 fats without eating fish? Plenty of ways, sans gelatin (Leslie Beck's Globe and Mail column)
  Put on your flax hat or try other ways to get your vegan omega-3’s, compiled in my Suite101 article.

Roasted Vegetables Recipe

Red onions, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots ready to roast

Roasted vegetables, in my opinion, should be one of those recipes everyone should know how to cook. On lazy nights, it’s a meal with some fresh bread. For company, add roasted caramelized tempeh and couscous.

Roasting veggies is a great way to clean out your fridge and pantry, too. Roast up whatever vegetables you have, and like. Throw in whole heads of garlic if you’re not planning to use them. It all comes together with some olive oil and a simple spice blend. Serve with whatever grains you have – couscous, brown rice, and quinoa are all good choices.

I should mention how flexible this recipe is. It’s:

• Vegan (vegetarian)
• Low-carb
• Dressy enough for company
• A great side dish for high-protein meats or veggie "meats"

We like to cook as many vegetables as fit in the pan, ramping up the spices and olive oil as necessary. Leftovers are scrumptious the next day.

Spicy Pepper Roasted Vegetables Recipe

Makes 4 generous servings

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour

Uncooked vegetables with olive oil and spicy pepper medley

Ingredients:

• About ¼ cup olive oil (you can eyeball the olive oil)
• About 4 Tbsp. favourite spice blend (homemade or store-bought – I like Clubhouse’s Spicy Pepper Medley)
• 1-2 tsp. dried rosemary (optional)
• 3 small potatoes, scrubbed
• 1 large sweet potato, scrubbed
• 1 yellow cooking onion, sliced into wedges
• 1 red onion, sliced into wedges
• 3 cloves elephant garlic, thickly sliced OR 1 head garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
• 10 Brussels sprouts, halved OR 1/3 head cabbage, sliced into wedges
• 2 cups cauliflower florets

Roasted vegetables

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
2. Pour a thin layer of olive oil on the bottom of the pan. Dump in about a third of the cut vegetables. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Sprinkle with about a Tablespoon of spice blend, and rosemary, if using. Stir.
   Repeat until no more vegetables are left. Stir gently, as your pan is likely to be overflowing. Don’t worry – the vegetables cook down and take up less space as they do.
3. Roast in the oven at 450°F for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes.
4. Serve hot.

Weekly Wrap: The World of Veg Cuisine for March 27-April 2, 2011

Photo by Sandra Cunningham

Recipes on Veg Cuisine

• Homemade vegetable stock
  Stock is traditionally made with meat bones, while broth is made with chunks of meat. This recipe uses vegetables and optional seasonings. Is it a broth or a stock? I guess it's neither. But it's delicious, freezes well, and can be made into soups, stews, and vegetarian gravies. Clean out your crisper today.

News and “But-is-it?” News

• Pub-goers diss vegetarian food
  Despite this story from the UK being poorly written, the comments are telling. A meal without meat? That we have to pay for? Heck no! Are people really thinking “If we eat one vegetarian meal, they’ll think we’re sympathetic to their cause?”
  Story: Meat’s off the menu as pub goes vegetarian

• Adventures in almond milk
  I loved thie post because it's rare to see the struggles that go on behind the scenes in a cook's kitchen before they reveal the finished product. Learn what not to do when making almond milk from scratch.
  Story: Crying (and cursing) over spilled milk
  

• Vegan parents charged for neglect in baby’s death
  In an extremely sad story, a vegan family in France has been charged with “neglect or food deprivation” because their 11-month-old baby died. The baby had been exclusively breastfed and was malnourished. However, it’s nice to see that not everyone is immediately blaming the parents’ veganism – this thoughtful Guardian.co.uk article: What is French for a vegan? is a refreshing take. Remember the Dietitians of Canada still believes a vegan diet can be appropriate at every age and stage, if planned well:

  “Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence." - Position paper of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada:
  Vegetarian Diets 

  Story: Vegan parents on trial in death of baby fed only breast milk
  
  

Homemade Indian Pakora Recipe

Spicy Indian pakora are the perfect appetizer or side dish for a cold night. They're battered, deep-fried, richly seasoned and slightly spicy.  They're also a bit of work. If your cupboard isn't already stocked with Indian spices, this is your excuse to make a trip to the Indian grocery store.

Since we're trying to use up vegetables we have a spring clean our kitchen, we used cooked eggplant slices, raw zucchini, and raw onions.  However, you can use whatever vegetables you have lying around - try cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes or sweet potatoes. 

Serve pakora with almost any kind of spicy dipping sauce, sweet-and-sour sauce, chutney, or plum sauce.

Eggplant needs to be salted and sweated before using. If using raw eggplant (i.e. not cooked leftovers from another dish), cut it first and set it to sweat (instructions below) before chopping the rest of the vegetables.

Homemade Indian Pakora Recipe

Time to prepare: 30 minutes (not including the eggplant)

Time to cook: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

Vegetable ingredients:

• 1 small eggplant, sliced into rounds (salted and sweated for about an hour)
• 1 small zucchini, sliced into spears
• 1 cooking onions, thickly sliced

 Or other vegetables such as:

• Potatoes
• Sweet potatoes
• Cauliflower, broken into florets
• Broccoli, broken into florets

Batter ingredients:

This batter recipe will cover about 3 cups of vegetables.

• 1 cup chickpea (gram) flour
• ¾ cup water
• ½ Tbsp. dried ground coriander
• ½ Tbsp. ground cardamom
• 1 Tbsp. turmeric
• ½ Tbsp. garam masala (an Indian spice mix)
• 1 (scant) Tbsp. fenugreek
• ½ Tbsp. powdered ginger
• ½ Tbsp. ground cumin
• ½ tsp. salt
• Pinch cracked black pepper
• Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions:

1. Cut the vegetables into uniformly sized pieces: cut the eggplant and onion into discs no thicker than ½-centimetre (¼-inch) thick; cut zucchini into quarters lengthwise to make spears; cut potatoes into large cubes and keep cauliflower in florets.
2. If you haven't already sweated the eggplant, do it now: sprinkle eggplant slices generously with coarse salt and let drain for at least 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry before using.
3. Make batter: sift the chickpea flour into a bowl. Using a fork to mix as you go, slowly add the water. Add the spices: coriander, cardamom, turmeric, garam masala, fenugreek, ginger, cumin, salt and pepper.
4. Heat a large shallow skillet over medium heat. Before adding vegetables, test that the oil is hot: add a drop or two of batter. The batter should sizzle and start to cook immediately.
5. When the oil is hot, shallow-fry the vegetables for several minutes on each side, until light golden brown.
6. Drain vegetables on paper towels. 

Sifting chickpea flour for pakora

 Frying eggplant pakora

Completed eggplant pakora