Category Archives: Vegetables & Whole Grains

Veggie-Laden Drunken Noodles

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I consulted Asian cooking author and expert Nancie McDermott on how best to cook rice noodles for this recipe. She gave me two paradigm-shifting tips to keep them from sticking: 1) lower the heat and 2) add water to the pan. “Rice noodles in particular are prone to stick and burn,” Nancie says, “so they can use the coddling-along heat level rather than the fiery furnace.” Adding a bit of water if they start to stick also helps them soften and cook. Thanks, Nancie … my drunken noodles have never looked better! You can find Nancie’s Quick & Easy Thai in our Amazon Market here (also check out her Quick & Easy Vietnamese, and Quick & Easy Chinese … in all three books the recipes are true to their word—quick and easy—but Nancie knows her stuff, too. She’s spent extensive time living in and studying all three countries, so the flavors are true to the cuisine).

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Vegan Tempeh Fajitas

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Tempeh is a firm, chewy cake made from fermented soybeans, and its dense texture makes it a hearty yet cholesterol-free and very low-fat stand-in for meat. It’s a staple of vegan cuisine. You can crumble into chili, or slice it and throw it on the grill. Here, we use it as a substitute for beef in fajitas. Tempeh does well marinated (it really soaks up the flavors). For this weeknight-friendly recipe, combine the tempeh with the marinade in the morning, pop it in the fridge, and then finish the recipe in the evening. We use plain old soy tempeh, but you can use other varieties, such as flax or three-grain. Serve with salsa (either End-of-Summer Pico de Gallo or Fiery-Sweet Peach Salsa) and a dollop of Guatemalan Guacamole.

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Really Easy Roasted Ratatouille

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Ratatouille is a Provencal specialty that’s a classic way to use a garden’s summer bounty of eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini and bell pepper. In culinary school, I was taught to saute each vegetable separately, and then simmer them all together. That’s too much work. In this ratatouille recipe, everything is tossed together in one pan and roasted until the vegetables are tender and slightly caramelized. Serve the ratatouille hot, at room temperature or cold as a side dish, tossed with pasta, atop pizza or grilled bread, or even tucked into a quesadilla.

roasted-ratatouille-recipe

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Zucchini Frittata

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By the luscious, creamy texture and complex flavor of this zucchini frittata, you’d never guess it was barely more than squash, onion and eggs. Choose the freshest eggs you can find for this since they play such a prominent role. We like to pack this frittata for picnics with a fluffy bibb lettuce and herb salad and my Go-To Vinaigrette.

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Edamame Spread

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In a week exploring the power of “no,” I thought I’d give you something to say “yes” to: this easy, flavorful (and kid-friendly) edamame spread. Serve it as an appetizer with toasted baguette slices or whole-grain crackers. It’s great on sandwiches, too.

edamame-spread
2 cups frozen edamame beans (green soybeans) (removed from pod)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook edamame for 4 minutes. Drain and transfer to a food processor.

Add garlic, Parmigiano-Reggiano and lemon juice to the bowl and process until smooth. Drizzle in olive oil and blend until emulsified. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground pepper and spoon into a serving bowl or onto toasted baguette slices.

Makes roughly 2 cups, about 8 servings

Sauteed Succotash with Corn and Summer Squash

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This succotash recipe is a perfect example of how much bang for your buck you can get with just a little bit of butter. In this case, it draws out the rich, velvety flavors in the corn and summer squash for a luscious, easy side dish.

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Sautéed Wheat Berries with Shrimp, Zucchini and Gremolata

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This wheat berries recipe sort of sums up everything NOURISH Evolution stands for. The zucchini comes fresh from our garden (if you don’t have one of your own, you’ll likely be able to find zucchini that someone else has grown this time of year). The wheat berries are a relatively new whole grain discovery for me, full of flavor and hearty texture that’s so good for me my whole body goes ‘mmmm.’ The shrimp are caught wild or farmed sustainably here in the U.S. This is truly a dish to nourish body, soul, and planet.

sauteed-wheat-berries-shrimp-zucchini-gremolata

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Wheat Berry Salad with Middle Eastern Spices, Grilled Tomatoes & Eggplant

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This wheat berry salad always wows those new to whole grains. The smokiness of the grilled tomatoes, creaminess of the eggplant and haunting complexity of the spice paste create quite a sensation. Soft wheat berries have a toothsome starchy quality that works well in this recipe.

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Corn and Quinoa Pasta Salad

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This pasta salad was a hit when Alison and I made up a giant batch of it to serve at the Taste of Sonoma event a few years ago. I first made this for a potluck picnic at church and no less than five people came up to me and said, “Did you by chance make that quinoa salad? It was de-LICOUS!” (when pondering what to name it, Sierra even recommended Really Yummy Pasta Salad). And here I was afraid the quinoa would freak people out. Truth is, there’s a lot to love about this salad: a healthy dose of whole grains in the form of quinoa and whole grain penne, a break from basil with chives and parsley, and a lip-smacking tart-sweet balance from the corn and lime juice combo. This pasta salad is a potluck winner, whether you’re making it for a backyard barbecue or a high-end event. And, yep, you can make this pasta salad a day in advance — in fact it tastes even better when you do because the flavors have time to develop.

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