Rice with Tofu, Greens, Squash, Gravy

When Mike and I were in Santa Monica last year, we went to Real Food Daily, Ann Gentry's restaurant. I had a basic bowl of brown rice with tofu, greens, and house dressing. It's the best and most comforting meal in the world. Plus, Real Food Daily has amazing chocolate chip cookies. They are made with barley flour, which is unusual, but somehow adds to their sweet nuttiness.

I've gotten away from it lately, but I think it's good to have a Real Food Daily-type dinner often. Last night we had brown rice, yellow squash sauteed in olive oil with salt and pepper, garlicky kale, sauteed tofu, and Golden Gravy from The Real Food Daily cookbook. It's an onion and nutritional yeast gravy, very delicious. The squash and kale were from our CSA box--we got gorgeous vegetables this week.




Apologies for the blurry picture. This is probably unusual, but I find photographs to be the most tedious part of blogging. I don't like finding the right light, fussing with the memory card, or taking the picture itself. My photos are usually mediocre at best, which I could blame on our camera, but I'm sure the fault is mine. Our previous digital camera was cheaper and simpler and inferior in every way, but I got better results with it. The current camera takes blurry pictures for me. I could use a tripod, but that sounds like even more work.

Mocha Kahlua Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (Dairy Free)

1 can light coconut milk*
1 1/2 cups almond milk (or any kind of milk you like)
3 T. cornstarch, mixed with 1/3 c. milk until lump-free
1/2 c. sugar
2 rounded t. instant espresso powder
1 block unsweetened baking chocolate
1/2 c. chocolate chips, chopped into small pieces
1/2 c. Kahlua liqueur

Put coconut milk, almond milk, and sugar in saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in cornstarch mixture, espresso powder, and baking chocolate. Whisk constantly (or at least every minute or so) until mixture simmers and thickens, about 10 minutes. Cool and chill in refrigerator until thoroughly cold.

Whisk in Kahlua liqueur and add chocolate pieces. Freeze in ice cream freezer according to manufacturer's instructions. You may want to store the final product in your freezer for a bit before eating.

*****

I wanted to try adding alcohol to homemade ice cream, because the alcohol is supposed to keep the ice cream from freezing into an icy block. I didn't notice a huge difference, so I probably won't bother in the future.

This ice cream is very good. It reminds me of certain dairy-free frozen desserts on the market--Rice Dream, Soy Delicious, etc.--in that it's a little too sweet and not quite creamy enough. The Kahlua added a ton of sweetness; if I make this again, I will dial down the sugar content and make the base more fatty. Almond milk is a very thin, watery milk and not the best choice. If made with full-fat dairy products or regular coconut milk, I think the final product would be more delicious yet.

*Trader Joe's sells only light coconut milk. Why?

Mexican-style Zucchini Tacos

A terrific recipe from Rick Bayless:

Tacos de Calabacitas a la Mexicana (Mexican-Style Zucchini Tacos)

I will be making these often. I left out the crema, and topped with avocado and feta sprinkles.

The End of Overeating Zucchini Bread

I just read The End of Overeating by David Kessler. It's been getting a lot of press. The gist is that many contemporary processed and restaurant foods are hyperpalatable--loaded and layered with sugar, fat, and salt. For many people, this type of food is addictive like crack, which explains the upsetting "can't stop eating" feeling that the foods provoke. As in, you're stuffed, but you keep reaching for more movie popcorn or cookies or Cheetos. The normal process of satiety gets disrupted because the pleasure centers in your brain are stimulated so strongly.

Kessler lists a few restaurant offenders who try to make their food as hyperpalatable as possible: Chili's, Cheesecake Factory, Cinnabon, most fast food restaurants. It's not news that these places load their food with fat, sugar, and salt, but the parallel he draws to an addiction model is pretty interesting. Unfortunately, it's hard to desensitize yourself from hyperpalatable food. The solution involves being regimented about eating, at least until your response to food cues diminishes.

The hyperpalatable foods that push my buttons the most are baked goods, hands down. Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite, but also scones, quick breads, and cakes. Also nuts, peanut butter, and chocolate.

We have a lot of zucchini and summer squashes right now, so I made Heidi Swanson's excellent zucchini bread this morning. It's by no means an unhealthy recipe (for instance, Paula Deen's zucchini bread contains twice as much fat and sugar, and a third less zucchini). I calculated out the calorie count of the recipe (yield two loaves, 2375 calories per loaf, or 95 calories per ounce). I ate a slice, then one more. Then, almost against my will, I stood over the cut loaf and ate a few more slivers, all the while thinking that I didn't want any more zucchini bread. It was uncanny. My cerebral cortex didn't want the bread, but some lower brain center did, badly.

So, the zucchini bread may be hyperpalatable, but it sure is good. The curry powder and poppy seeds make it interesting. I might use less curry powder next time, and try adding a bit of cardamom.

Green Lentil Salad

1 1/2 c. green French lentils
a few bay leaves
1/2 t. salt
3 cloves garlic
3 T. olive oil
several glugs of white wine vinegar
dollop of Dijon mustard
handful of parsley, chopped
3 1/2 oz. feta cheese

Rinse lentils and put in large saucepan, covering with about an inch of water. Simmer with salt, bay leaves, and clove of garlic for half an hour or a little longer, or until tender but not falling apart. Drain.

For the dressing, put vinegar and mustard in a bowl with 2 cloves minced garlic. Whisk in olive oil, and add salt and pepper to taste (don't make it too salty, because the feta will add saltiness and the lentils already have some seasoning). Add more of any ingredient to your taste.

Mix lentils with dressing, parsley, and feta. Add more salt or pepper if needed. This would be good with chopped red peppers or other added vegetables.

*****

Tasty salad, high in protein. I like lentils but they upset my stomach. I'm in a pattern of: eat them, get upset stomach, avoid them for a couple months until I forget the bad effects, eat them again, repeat ad nauseum.

Feta is a nice touch but optional. Goat cheese would be very good as well. I've been eating more dairy products lately, mostly in the form of yogurt. Brown Cow plain cream top is delicious. But I'm getting pimply, just like PETA said I would. Sigh. I'm trying to use up our big block of feta, and then I will regretfully cut back on dairy products, yet again. There's a hole in my diet that needs to be filled with something white and creamy, and I already am eating too much soy.

Herbed Quinoa Summer Squash Salad

1 c. red quinoa, rinsed well
1/2 t. salt
1 sweet onion, chopped
2 T. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
a few sprigs rosemary, chopped
2 T. chopped fresh oregano
black pepper
4 small summer squash (zucchini, crookneck, butterstick, etc.), chopped into large pieces
a large handful fresh basil, roughly chopped
a few leaves of mustard greens or other greens, roughly chopped
zest and juice of 1 1/2 lemons
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Put quinoa and 2 cups water in large saucepan with 1/2 t. salt. Bring to boil and simmer until all water is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Fluff with fork.

In cast iron skillet, heat olive oil and saute onion over medium heat. When onion is just becoming soft and fragrant, add garlic, rosemary, oregano, squash, lemon zest, and salt and pepper to taste. Saute until squash is softened and slightly golden brown around the edges. Turn off heat. Add greens and basil; stir until wilted. Combine vegetable mixture with quinoa, lemon juice, and chickpeas. Add additional salt or pepper if needed.

*****

Believe it or not, I made up this recipe. Actually, it was based on the Herbed Quinoa Salad in Alex Jamieson's Great American Detox Diet (she's the girlfriend of Morgan Spurlock appearing in Supersize Me) but I made a lot of changes. The mustard greens may sound strange, but they don't taste sharp if they are young. I have a renegade mustard plant growing in the garden, and I regularly hack off its leaves and add them to whatever I happen to be cooking. Within a few days, the plant has invariably regrown completely. Kale or spinach would be a good substitute, or it could be left out completely.

lemony chickpea stir fry

I love Heidi Swanson's recipes, and Lemony Chickpea Stir-fry is no exception. I left out the tofu and used extra chickpeas, but otherwise followed her recipe closely. Stir-frying the chickpeas really messed up our wok, which is an overpriced Calphalon disappointment made of anodized aluminum. Stuff always sticks and burns.

I love the idea of stir-frying chickpeas, to give a little variety from tofu. This was delicious and I'll definitely make it again. It would be nice to spice this up, too, with cayenne or fresh chiles or a cumin/smoked paprika mixture.