Stuffed Vegetables - Fork and Knives Magazine Fall 2024

Roasted Vegetables

 I had a basket of beautiful vegetables fresh from the farmer’s market. I wanted something different from the usual stir-fry and yearned for the deep-roasted flavor.  I pulled out a heavy Le Creuset oven roasting pan with a lid.  Sprayed the pan with olive oil spray and added a couple of teaspoons of minced ginger from a jar.  Chopped up the vegetables to be approximately the same size: mushrooms, eggplant, summer squash in various colors and forms; crookneck and patty pan, red and yellow long peppers, a glorious variety.

Roasted at 375 degrees for an hour. Halfway in, about 30 minutes, added a can of diced tomatoes with their liquid.   

Served over jasmine rice, sprinkled with grated Parmigiana cheese. The vegetables were flavorful without added seasoning! 

Rebecca's "Israeli" Fish

 

This is the first time that I've baked fish since I became a pescatarian five years ago. Although I enjoy consuming fish in restaurants, my preference has been to only prepare vegetables at home until I tasted this fish dish,  It is flavorful, and smells great, a very satisfying meal of baked red snapper which I served with slices of slow-baked creamy potatoes. Pictured above is just one portion, about 3 ounces of fish topped with a thick vegetable sauce of tomatoes, onions and peppers. 

The fish recipe is from Rebecca Chanin Gilbert's recipe treasury who notes that " this recipe is fairly flexible. You could use leeks or shallots instead of an onion, for example. You could add smoked paprika to this, too."

"Israeli" Fish

yield: 3 - 4  servings

olive oil

salt & pepper

1 lb of firm white fish fillets (red snapper, but cod, haddock, or halibut would be great)

1 medium-large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 of a large red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, diced

1 small jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, and chopped small (I used a 4 oz. can of Ortega diced Jalapenos, drained liquid, and rinsed)

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 Tb cumin

2 Tbs tomato paste

1 small can of tomatoes ~ 14 oz

1 small vegetable bouillon cube or a teaspoon of Better than Bouillon 

Handful of chopped cilantro or flat-leaf parsley for garnish (optional)

NOTE: Choose a saute pan that you can also put into the oven.

Saute the onion, garlic, bell pepper, and jalapeno pepper in olive oil until the vegetables are soft. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the turmeric, cumin, and tomato paste and stir for a minute until the spices are fragrant.

Add the tomatoes. If they are whole, use a fork or potato masher to break them up.

Add the bouillon and simmer the sauce for 30 mins over low heat, stirring occasionally. 

While the sauce cooks, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Taste sauce and correct seasoning as needed. Add the fish to the sauce, loosely cover the pan with foil, and cook in the oven at 375 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes until the fish flakes with a fork.

Remove the pan from the oven. If desired, remove fish and simmer the sauce to thicken (optional).

Serve garnished with the chopped cilantro/parsley.

NOTE: You can make the sauce ahead of time and cook the fish in it later.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

 Your satisfaction with any salad dressing depends on the quality of the ingredients and this is especially true with Balsamic dressings.  I really like Colavita Balsamic Vinegar of Modena 16P, Italy.

Lauren's Recipe "Light Balsamic Vinaigrette"

Yield: 6 servings - 2 TB per serving

Ingredients

• ▢1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (60g)
• ▢2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (30g) can sub for white distilled
• ▢2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (30g)
• ▢2 Tbsp water (30g)
• ▢1 Tbsp honey (21g)
• ▢1 Tbsp dijon mustard
• ▢1/4 tsp salt
• ▢1/8 tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients, some separation will occur. 

Kimchi Soup

Sometimes Kimchi is just too intense a flavor when it is not accompanied by a meat protein. As a pescatarian, I still want to enjoy Kimchi.  The label on this jar did not indicate its level of heat like salsa when it's labeled 'hot.' Looking for a savory idea, I thought soup. It turned out to be a delicious cabbage soup with additional mild, white cabbage.   The next day, I sauteed some green squash and mushrooms and added the cooked, soft vegetables to the leftover soup and loved it.  Also, I think that this would be great served cold, like a Japanese-type gazpacho.

Yield: 4 cups, two servings 

Ingredients:

1 C Jongga Nappa Cabbage Kimchi 

1 C shredded green or white cabbage, any variety

1 TB Better Than Bouillion Reduced Sodium Vegetable Soup Base (1 tsp per cup of water)

3 C Water

Bring covered water to a boil with Soup Base, add Kimchi and cabbage.  On medium heat, heat covered soup to a boil, then lower temperature and simmer for ten minutes, until cabbage is thoroughly softened.

  

Banana Everything Cookies

 This is a recipe that I have modified from New York Times Cooking.

Cookie calories depends on the batch yield. Total Calories: 2196 without real sugar.

 Ingredients:

nonstick cooking oil spray

1 very ripe medium banana

⅓ cup Canola Oil

2/3 Alternative Baking Sugar (or Sugar)

1 tsp vanilla extract

¾ cup plus 2 TB all-purpose flour, or as needed

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

¼  tsp cinnamon

2 cups old fashioned oatmeal

½ C chopped walnuts

½ C chocolate chips (or less)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use Silpat liners or spray two baking pans with oil. 

Using one large bowl, mash banana well. Add oil, sugar & vanilla, and mix with a strong fork. Add flour, baking soda, salt & cinnamon, and mix until just moistened.

Add oatmeal, walnuts and chocolate chips. Using your hands or a sturdy spoon, mix well until oats are well moistened. (If dough is very slippery, add one or two extra TB flour.)

Using clean, wet hands, re-wetting as needed, roll dough into balls slightly smaller than a golf ball, about 1 ⅓” in diameter. Flatten slightly (important) & place 2” apart on a baking sheet.

Bake until lightly browned, 10-12 minnutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

11-01-2022 batch was 36 cookies, 61 calories each.   

 

Beginners Wine Vinegar Salad Dressing

 Calories: 28 calories per TB

Yield: ⅔ Cup = 10 TB

Ingredients:

½ C Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar

1 TB low sodium Soy Sauce

1 TB Avocado Oil (or other neutral oil)

2 tsp Maple Syrup

1 TB dry minced ginger bits (or 2 tsp powdered ginger) or more

Mix in food processor or blender 

Refrigerate

Oil-Free Mustard Salad Dressing

 This recipe of from ordinaryvegan.net

Double up, it's that good!

yield: ⅓ Cup

ingredients:

¼ C water

1 ½ TB cider vinegar

1 small shallot or red onion slice, chopped

2 ½ tsp dijon mustard (or more)

2 tsp maple syrup

¼ tsp salt

ground black pepper

1 TB fresh parsley, chopped

Combine all ingredients except the parsley into a food processor or blender.

Process until smooth. Add the parsley, taste and adjust seasonings.

Cover. Refrigerate. Will keep 4-5 days refrigerated.

"Almond Flour Cake" Muffins

I baked a cake recipe in a muffin pan and they turned out great! Delicious, not too sweet and under 100 calories! This shouldn’t be a big deal. The original recipe is from King Arthur Baking, my source for many recipes and baking ingredients such as Baking Sugar Alternative, Almond and Coconut Flours. I was forewarned in the recipe's reviews that releasing the recipe from the pan can be problematic but my dough looked like a bread machine's kneaded dough ball! 

 It did take a while to put the ingredients together and into the pan for baking but that is true whenever you separate egg yolks, whisk egg whites and mix flours before combining with other stuff.  Put on your fav music and enjoy the process and aroma.

 

I am recording this recipe in steps using two mixer bowls for a stand electric mixer. A portable, hand-held mixer would work just as well to prepare the whisked egg whites. I didn’t turn on the oven or prepare the pan until I was midway through preparation. 

 

Yield: 12 small muffins or one 8” cake 

Ingredients:

 

-  4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature

-  ½ cup + 2 TB granulated sugar or Baking Sugar Alternative, divided ¼ C + ¼ C + 2 TB

-  1 tsp vanilla extract

-  1 ¼ cups almond flour

-  1 TB coconut flour (can be replaced with ¼ cup Almond Flour, exchanges ¼ cup = 1TB)

-  1 tsp baking powder

-  ¼ tsp salt

-  ¼ cup sliced raw almonds, for topping

-  Butter or Baking Spray 

 

Instructions:

 

Step 1  Whisk Dry Ingredients

 

 Whisk together the dry ingredients – flours, baking powder and salt.

 

Step 2  Wet – Egg Yolks

 

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the egg yolks, ¼ cup of sugar, and vanilla until smooth.

 

Step 3  Wet – Egg Whites

 

Using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Slowly beat in the remaining ¼ C sugar. 

 

Step 4  Set oven temperature, prepare pan

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin cups, bottoms and sides, with Baking Spray (or lightly grease with butter). Sprinkle 2 TB of sugar into the bottoms of the muffin cups.

 

Step 5   Form Dough: Combine Dry Ingredients and Egg Yolks

 

Stir together the dry ingredients from Step 1 and Step 2 – Wet – Egg Yolks to form a thick dough.  

 

Step 6  Form Batter: Combine the Dough and Egg Whites

 

The original recipe states ‘Fold in the egg whites, ½ c at a time, incorporating them fully between each addition.  The final addition should result in a smooth fluffy batter dough.”

This did not work for me because my thick dough ball could not be manipulated by folding.

 

This is what I did next with the dough in the stand mixer’s bowl.  I poured the egg whites into the bowl and using the necessary speed setting, I combined both into a frothy mixture. It looked like the dough was in pieces afloat in the egg white foam.  Do not worry -this will work!

 

Step 7  Fill the muffin pans and sprinkle the almonds on top.

 

Step 8  Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are lightly “golden” brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

 

Note: I baked these for low calorie (95 cal.) snacks but they would be great alongside a scoop of yogurt, ice cream, sliced fresh fruit or as a base for strawberries with whipped cream.

Leftover Omelet

 

I look forward to finding leftovers in my refrigerator. Inspiration always surprises me.  This is a lower calorie lunch meal with freshly steamed kale and half of a leftover roasted russet potato.   Living in LA, I often camped in the wilderness. slowly roasting vegetables wrapped in foil nestled under logs burning in a campfire ring.  The next day, those leftover veggies would be a real treat hiking to the mountain top. 

My usual omelet is one whole egg and two egg whites, mixed in a mini food processor with salt, pepper and fresh herbs. I steam the kale in the microwave for a few minutes, and before the kale was done, added the leftover roasted potato slices to reheat.

Cooked the egg mixture in a nonstick pan, with a spray of oil. When it was nearly cooked through, added the cut up potato slices and kale along with ¼ C of whole milk ricotta cheese.  While the eggs were still soft, folded the omelet in half. The potato pieces did give the small omelet substance. Next time, I’ll add chopped scallions or red onion, parsley or watercress, mushrooms, squash or broccoli bits, always a different combination.

 

Charred Cauliflower with Anchovies, Capers & Olives

 

 

This recipe is on The New York Times Cooking site developed by David Tanis who writes “You can serve it room temperature as an antipasto, as part of a buffet or warm as a nearly vegetarian main course with rice pilaf, roasted sweet potatoes or pasta.”

My appetite has definitely been reset by the intensity of these flavors and now I'm inspired to invest the time to make my meals more flavorful. The combination of anchovies, capers, olives, lemon juice, garlic, parsley and olive oil is so delicious that I am thinking of other foods that would be delicious in this mixture such as garbanzos or edamame beans. Following are some process photos to see how interesting it looks in the bowl; food prep can be fun.

 

Look how saucy it is from the oven.

And the next day, I added a few more anchovies and olives and this cauliflower was great over mixed greens, hardy enough for some kale, romaine, parsley and watercress.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 medium cauliflower (about 1 ½ pounds)

2 garlic cloves, minced (I used chopped garlic from a jar)

4 to 6 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, finely chopped

½ cup roughly chopped good-quality green or black olives 

1 TB capers, rinsed, patted dry, rough chopped

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 TB lemon juice

1 TSP grated lemon zest

½ C roughly chopped parsley

3 TB chopped scallions

Omitted from the original recipe and optional:

salt and pepper

red-pepper flakes, ½ TSP

 

Preparation:

1. Put a large pot of water on the stove, bring to a boil. Meanwhile, with a large knife, cut the cauliflower into quarters. Cut off the tough core at the stem end of each piece. Cut cauliflower quarters into rough ½ inch slices. Cut larger pieces into several pieces, so all the chopped cauliflower is about the same size. 

2. Salt boiling water generously and add chopped cauliflower. Cook for two minutes, then drain and spread out on a baking sheet to cool.

3. In a large bowl, put garlic, anchovies, olives, capers, olive oil, lemon juice and lemon zest. 

At this point, I want to add to this recipe, step back, admire your work.  It is so aromatic and beautiful!

Whisk ingredients together and taste. Adjust salt or lemon juice as necessary. 

4. Add blanched cauliflower to the bowl. Optional: Season lightly with salt and pepper, add red pepper flakes to taste. Toss the cauliflower with your ands to coat evenly with the dressing.

5. Transfer mixture to a shallow baking dish. (Recipe may be prepared to this point several hours ahead of baking.)

6. To finish, heat oven to 450 degrees. Bake cauliflower uncovered, for about 20 minutes, until top is browned and beginning to char in some places. For extra char, pale dish under broiler for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve at room temperature with a sprinkling of parsley and scallions. Drizzle with a little more olive oil, if desired.

 

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