Savory Brown Rice with Irish Cheddar & Spinach

Brown rice is a staple in our weekly diet. It is a delicious nutritious whole grain that is endlessly versatile. A gluten-free whole grain that is also inexpensive is a win win for me! Surely there is a time and a place for plain brown rice, however, it need not always be boring. This dish is not quite a risotto and not quite a rice casserole. It falls somewhere in between with the creaminess of a nice irish cheddar. Bright green baby spinach compliments the cheddar. This is a simple inexpensive recipe that makes a great base for a myriad of toppings. Today I served it with maple-herb glazed roasted autumn vegetables

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2 cups short grain brown rice
4 cups vegetable stock or 4 cups water with 1 vegan sea salt & herb broth cube
6 cups baby spinach leaves
1 cup irish cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tbsp butter

1. Place rice and stock or water in a covered sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to very low and simmer for 50 minutes. Do not remove lid and do not stir.
2. After 50 minutes, add cheddar cheese & butter, stir. Continue to cook for only a few minutes until the cheddar is melted and fully incorporated into rice. Turn off stove. You are done cooking.
3. Add the spinach leaves to rice, stir, and replace lid. Let sit for a few minutes until spinach is wilted.
4. Taste and see if you need additional salt. The broth cube I use is pretty salty so I don't add additional salt. This will depend on the stock you choose to use.

Big Bowl of Happiness for Catherine

Dear Readers,

My BFF Catherine and I were talking about her recent travels and how we sometimes find ourselves without healthy vegetarian food. This is especially complicated if one is gluten-free, or has food allergies such as eggs or dairy. When returning from such trips cooking and enjoying nourishing food is vital. It is in this spirit that I whipped up tonight's recipe.



It's just a big bowl of happiness and health. Looks great and tastes delicious. Big bowl recipes are simple and improvisational. I got the idea originally from Heidi at 101 cookbooks. 2 years ago I was inspired by her recipe and created my own "Quinoa Big Bowl with Garlic Spinach & Roasted Yams" recipe. What's funny, is now when I went back and checked out Heidi's original recipe she talked about traveling and how much she craved healthy earthy quinoa and cooking for herself as soon as her plane landed. Whoa. Seriously, I did not read that before coming up with tonight's recipe. I guess it's a universal experience for healthy eating foodie cooks.

For a Big Bowl, start with a tasty whole grain. Usually I choose quinoa, but tonight it's short grain brown rice. Followed by delicious sauteed potatoes, wilted spinach & chard with garlic, sauteed fresh local asparagus, rounded out with garbanzo beans, and finished with toasted walnuts. Mix. Devour. Yum. In my photos it looks very composed. But, when I eat it, I just mix it all together.

This kind of meal helps me feel so nourished. It's gluten-free, vegan, and loaded with fiber, protein and fresh vegetables. Olive oil and walnuts give a boost of omega fatty acids. Trust me, this big bowl is all around goodness. And I hope it makes my Catherine very happy. It's making me happy right now.

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann



Big Bowl of Happiness Recipe
Makes 4 large servings

1 cup short grain brown rice
1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 yukon gold potatoes, diced
1/4 tsp tumeric
sea salt & black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch spinach, washed & chopped
1 bunch chard, washed & chopped
1 bunch asparagus, washed, tough ends cut off, sliced
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1. Put the brown rice with 2 cups water in a pot and cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 50 minutes. Set aside.
2. While the brown rice is cooking, prepare the rest of the recipe. In a skillet warm a splash of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Saute for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and the tumeric. Cover and cook over medium heat about 15 minutes. Potatoes should be tender and browned. Set aside.
3. In the now empty skillet, add another splash of olive oil. Add the garlic, spinach, and chard. Ad a pinch of salt and black pepper. Cook uncovered over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Greens should be wilted, still bright green, and the garlic should be fragrant. Set aside.
4. In the now empty skillet, add another splash of olive oil . Add the asparagus and another pinch of salt. Cook uncovered for about 5 minutes. Asparagus should be bright green and still firm. Set aside.
5. In the now empty skillet, add the walnuts. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes until they are starting to brown and have released their fragrant oils.
6. Assemble the brown rice, potatoes, greens, asparagus, and garbanzo how you would like in individual bowls or family style on a large platter. Top with the toasted walnuts.

Creamy Mushroom Casserole

Dear Readers,

I love mushrooms. But, what's weird is I am picky about what kind of mushrooms. I adore white button, cremini and portobellos--your standard grocery store mushrooms. This recipe has all three. I am not a fan of the shiitake, porcini, chanterelle or any other wild fungi. Also, I will only eat mushrooms that are perfectly fresh. Any signs of browning or smell creep me out. I hate raw mushrooms or undercooked mushrooms. I love them sauteed just perfectly so they are soft and melt in my mouth. That's my tangent about mushrooms. Thanks for listening.

This recipe has more dairy that I'd typically eat but I was feeling inspired for a rich creamy casserole tonight. Portland has been blessed by unseasonably warm Spring weather throughout January & February. Today it was cold, rainy, windy, dark and down right dreary. It felt like Winter again and that made me crave a substantial hearty casserole. It seemed the perfect night to create this recipe. 3 types of mushrooms mingle with wild rice and brown rice. The sour cream adds a stroganoff-ish flavor. The casserole is topped with bread crumbs browned in butter & lemon zest. This recipe takes about an hour to bake after you are done with all the prep, so probably 2 hours total. That means it's not a quick week night supper. Better to do when you can futz around the kitchen doing other things while it cooks. But what I love about casseroles is they make many servings. And for a single eater this means leftover meals all week. Or you can freeze portions to enjoy later on when you are really hungry and don't feel like cooking. Take it to your next potluck and tell them the recipe came from my blog.

I absolutely love the bread crumbs in this recipe. When I have extra bread (which I don't have around anymore since I drastically reduced my gluten intake) I chop it up, toast it in the oven for a minutes until browned, then freeze it for later use as bread crumbs. It is way better than any store bought packaged bread crumbs. In this recipe I saute the bread crumbs in butter and lemon zest until they are saturated and browned. The aroma is heavenly and they taste amazing.

Hope you enjoy the recipe. And, hey, if you are out there reading...I really have no idea if anyone ever reads my blog! Drop me a comment once and a while so I know I have some readership. I'd appreciate the encouragement. I know my book deal or HGTV show is out there somewhere. Help me find it. I love hearing from you. Thank you people.

In Health, ,
Miss Jolie Ann

Creamy Mushroom Casserole
6-8 servings

1 cup short grain brown rice
1 cup wild rice
4 cups water
bay leaf
1 tbsp butter
1 cup dried bread crumbs
zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, minced
1/2 pound mixed mushrooms-white button & cremini
1 portobello mushroom
sea salt
black pepper
pinch each of nutmeg
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup fat free cottage cheese
1 cup light sour cream
1/2 shredded asiago cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Rinse well the wild rice. Combine wild rice, brown rice, bay leaf and 4 cups of water in a saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce the heat to a low and simmer covered for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside covered for 5 minutes. Remove cover, discard bay leaf and fluff with fork.
2. While the rice cooks prepare the bread crumbs. In a skillet warm 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add the bread crumbs, lemon zest, and a pinch of sea salt. Saute for about 5 minutes until the bread crumbs have saturated the butter and have browned up nice and crispy. Set aside.
3. In the same pan warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes until onions begin to soften. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes. You want the mushrooms to be soft and their liquid to have absorbed. Add the garlic, nutmeg, sage, tarragon, and rosemary. Saute for 1-2 minutes more. Remove from heat.
4. In a large mixing bowl combine the cooked rice, the mushroom mixture, eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, and asiago cheese. Stir until well mixed.
5. Grease a 13x9x2 baking dish with butter or olive oil. Spread the casserole into the pan. Cover with foil. Bake in oven at 350 for 45 minutes. At 45 minutes remove the foil, spread the bread crumbs on top of the casserole and bake uncovered for another 15 minutes until the top is toasted. Done. Enjoy the creamy goodness Gina Drew.

Coconut Curried Tofu with Green Jasmine Rice

Coconut Curried Tofu with Green Jasmine Rice
Bon Appétit January 2003

Hey There!

I was looking for a good recipe to use up the abundance of cilantro in my kitchen-garden. I swear the stuff grows like a weed 4 seasons out of the year for me. I omitted the cherry tomatoes because they are out of season right now and used organic brown basmati rice. I found this recipe tasty, but a little on the sour side. I think I was expecting the sweeter coconut milk curries I've experienced at Thai restaurants. Despite it's lack of "sweetness" I'd definitely cook this recipe again. And, if you are like me, always on the hunt for a new way to cook tofu-it's worth the effort to try this recipe. Oh yeah, and much thanks to Kate L. for turning me on to Epicurious.com a few years ago. Enjoy!

In Health,

Miss Jolie Ann

Coconut Curried Tofu with Green Jasmine Rice

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/COCONUT-CURRIED-TOFU-WITH-GREEN-JASMINE-RICE-107640

1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut*

1 3/4 cups water

1 teaspoon salt1 cup jasmine or basmati rice

1 cup (packed) coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

3/4 cup unsweetened light coconut milk**

4 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

16 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained, patted dry, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

2 teaspoons curry powder1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1 cup whole small cherry tomatoes

2 tablespoons chopped peanuts

Preparation: Stir shredded coconut in small nonstick skillet over medium heat until light golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl.

Bring 1 3/4 cups water and salt to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Stir in rice; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until water is absorbed and rice is tender, about 18 minutes.

Meanwhile, puree cilantro, 1/2 cup coconut milk, 1 teaspoon ginger, lime juice, and half of garlic in blender. Mix puree and coconut into rice. Set aside.

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add tofu; stir-fry until golden, about 6 minutes. Add onions, curry, cumin, red pepper, remaining ginger, and remaining garlic. Stir-fry 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and remaining coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide rice among 4 plates. Top with tofu mixture. Sprinkle with peanuts.

*Available at specialty foods stores and natural foods stores.

**Available at Asian markets and in the Asian foods section of many supermarkets.

Nutritional Information
Per serving: calories, 433; total fat, 20 g; saturated fat, 5 g; cholesterol, 0

Coconut Rice with Edamame & Leeks

Coconut Rice with Edamame and Leeks

Recipe from A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop



Friends,



This week I cooked all of my meals from A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop. This is a nice vegetarian cookbook that is built around seasonal produce, which the writer gains from his CSA share at his local farm. The book is organized into each season, which makes it easy to cook from. He's located at Sag Harbor New York, so the East Coast seasonal produce is slightly different from the Pacific Northwest. Still I find this a very useful and creative cookbook packed with healthy and delicious whole foods. For this recipe I use the frozen shelled edamame from Trader Joe's. I also substitute long grain brown basmati rice because I never cook with white rice. This is a very simply prepared dish with simple ingredients that come together beautifully. Healthy comfort food for sure. Enjoy!



In Health & Love,

Miss Jolie Ann

Coconut Rice with Edamame and Leeks

10 ounces frozen shelled edamame (soybeans) about 2 cups

2 tablespoons canola oil

3 medium leeks, white and light green parts, halved lengthwise, washed well, and cut crosswise into think strips (about 2 cups)

Salt

1 tablespoon minced gingerroot

1 1/2 cups jasmine or long-grain rice

1 14-ounce can light unsweetened coconut milk

1 1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves

1. Bring several cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Place the edamame in a steamer insert or basket and carefully lower it into the pot. Cover and steam until the edamame are tender but not mushy, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the steamer insert or basket from the pot and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the leeks and 1/2 teaspoon salt, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are very soft, about 10 minutes. (Lower the heat if the leeks start to brown.) Uncover the pan, add the ginger, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

3. Add the rice and cook, stirring often, until the rice is coated with oil and glistening, about 1 minute. Add the coconut milk and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the edamame and lime juice, cover, and continue to cook over low heat until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and adjust the seasonings, adding salt to taste. Serve.

Burrito in a Bowl with Winter Squash & Broccoli

Burrito in a Bowl is another fun, tasty, easy twist on the "Big Bowl" recipe idea. I make Burrito in a Bowl when I have leftover ingredients to use up or when I just don't feel like elaborate cooking. It's simple to whip up if I get home late from work and am hungry and tired. Having cooked brown rice is handy! The basic ingredients of burrito in a bowl are rice, beans and cheese. I enjoy vegetarian refried beans, but you could also substitute cooked black or pinto beans. The other ingredients are all up to you. I like to include avocado, sour cream, salsa, steamed or sauteed veggies, roasted yams, corn, olives...Use your imagination. One of my favorite local eateries Laughing Planet whips up a Cuban Bowl with plantains, yams and blacks beans--yummy!

This week my burrito in a bowl recipe includes some steamed broccoli, leftover baked winter squash, fresh cilantro & scallions from my garden, and avocados sent from a friend in Southern California. A note on winter burrito in a bowl...Salsa: since tomatoes are not in season and therefore no fresh salsa...during the winter I use canned salsa that I find in the Hispanic food isle of my market.

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Burrito In A Bowl with Winter Squash & Broccoli

First, is this meal for you or more?

Second, get the appropriate sized "big bowl"

Third, ingredients...(these measurements are purely approximate)

1/2 cup cooked organic short-grain brown rice

1/2 cup vegetarian refried beans

1/2 cup shredded organic cheddar cheese

1/2 cup salsa

I throw all that in my bowl and microwave it until until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Then I add to the bowl:

1/2 cup cubed cooked winter squash (butternut, delicata, acorn...)

some steamed broccoli spears

I top it off with:

a ripe avocado, sliced or diced

a spoonful of organic lowfat sour cream

a handful of chopped cilantro and scallions, fresh from my garden

Mix it all up or leave it orderly--either way eat while warm. Mmmmmmm... Yeah, any way you mix it, burrito in a bowl rules!

Spinach-Rice Casserole Recipe

Spinach Rice Casserole Recipe
Adapted from Moosewood Cookbook (2nd Edition 1992) by Mollie Katzen

I'm always looking for filling and delicious healthy casseroles. I found this one in the Moosewood Cookbook which I frequently cook from. I adjusted, added and deleted ingredients here and there with a delicious result. This casserole makes TONS of servings. I ate it for dinner 5 nights in a row and at one point started stuffing it inside buritos and still I didn't even eat half of it. So if you are cooking for a family it's a great size. If you are cooking for one, like I am, I'd chop this recipe in half!

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Spinach Rice Casserole

Yield: 10 servings

2 cups organic short-grain brown rice--Uncooked

1 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil

1 medium organic yellow onion-chopped

2 lbs. organic spinach-chopped

1 tsp organic sea salt

5 medium cloves organic garlic-minced

1/4 tsp organic nutmeg

1/4 tsp organic dry mustard

1/8 tsp organic cayenne pepper

black pepper, to taste

2 organic brown eggs-beaten

1 cup organic unsweetened plain soymilk

1 cup organic swiss cheese-grated/shredded

1. To cook the rice: place rice in a medium-sized saucepan with 4 cups water. Cover, bring to a boil, then lower heat to the lowest possible simmer. Cook covered and undisturbed for 50 minutes. Place cooked rice in a large mixing bowl.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil a large casserole dish.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion and saute over medium-low heat for 10 minutes until soft and slightly browned. Add spinach, salt, garlic, nutmeg, mustard and cayenne pepper to the pan with onions. Cook about 5 more minutes until the spinach is wilted but still bright green. Combine onion & spinach mixture with cooked rice in the large mixing bowl.

4. Add eggs, soymilk and swiss cheese to the bowl and mix well until combined. Add black pepper to your liking.

5. Spread mixture into the greased casserole dish. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes until heated through and lightly browned on top.