Brown Rice with Cilantro and Lime, Twice Baked Potato and Sweet Corn #WFPBnoSOS #PlantBasedMeal

Brown Rice with Cilantro and Lime, Twice Baked Potato, Sweet Corn

You are looking at my whole food, plant based, no added salt, oil and sugar free dinner last night. 

The brown rice came out perfectly fluffy, which was a first for me. 

The twiced baked potato was also a bit of a triumph, because I didn't really, truly bake it even once.

The sweet corn was perfect without boiling or baking it either!!!

Recipes

BROWN RICE

1 Cup of dry brown rice.

2.5 cups of homemade no added sodium veggie broth (or water).

1/4 Cup of chopped cilantro.

Juice 1/2 of a lime. 

Put it all together in a small pot that has a lid. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Put the lid on and leave it alone for 40 minutes. Take it off the heat and leave it alone for 10 more minutes. Fluff it up with a fork and serve.

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TWICE BAKED POTATO

1 large Russet potato.

2 TBSPs of Nutritional Yeast.

1/2 tsp of smoked paprika.

1/4 cup of soy milk (any plant based milk)

Wash a large Russet potato. Wrap it in paper towel. Microwave it for 6 minutes, flip it over and microwave for 2 more minutes. Let it sit for 10 minutes; it's still cooking. When it's cool enough to handle, cut enough of the skin off the top to hollow it out with a spoon. 

Mix it all together with the nooch, plant based milk and smoked paprika until smooth and spoon it back into the potato skin. Use a fork to make lines on the top. Put it into the toaster oven or oven and broil it to darken the top. I used a small torch.

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CORN ON THE COB

Shuck the corn, wash it and wrap it in paper towel. Microwave it for 2 minutes per ear. Leave it alone for 10 minutes (it's still cooking) until it's cool enough to handle. DONE!!!😋

One Pan Pasta Revisited

I like to tweak my recipes once in a while. Here is a pasta tweak. Costco now has an Italian pasta made from wheat and Lupini beans. It is high in fiber and protein while very low in fat. This recipe works with any type of pasta, but rotini or fusilli gives it body and texture. You can make any pasta into a resistant starch by simply refrigerating it over night and warming it up again. Resistant starches are heat stable. Once formed, your body will absorb the carbohydrates at a slower rate. In addition, the Lupini beans break down in your intestines to form butyrate, a short chain fatty acid that nourishes the cells of your intestine and help you avoid colon cancer. 

Recipe

2 cups of dry Pasta made from wheat and Lupini beans. The rest is veggies...onion, purple cabbage, red, green and jalapeno peppers, celery, basil, fresh pineapple, 3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast (nooch),  an orange with orange zest. 4 cups of water. 

Put everything but the nooch in one covered pan. Simmer on low heat until most of the water is gone (30 to 40 min), then uncover and stir in 3 TBSPs of nooch. It's done when the rest of the water cooks away. Turn off the heat and cover it for 10 minutes to deglaze the pan. Salt to taste. (I use way less salt when I add a pinch at the end)

Chickpea Pasta With Marinara #WFPBnoSOS

Rotini Chickpea Pasta with Marinara

     Hello again from the center of the kitchen, where I love to spend my time. This is a very simple recipe. This makes 2 servings of pasta, with a lot of extra sauce for batch cooking.  I just chop up the onions and garlic, add tomato paste and tomato sauce with a chopped carrot and spices. Simmer it covered on low heat with an occasional stir to keep the bottom from burning. Boil 2 dry cups of the noodles for about 20 minutes, which is much longer than the box recommends. Strain the  noodles, but keep about a cup of water in the pot. Add as much of the sauce to the noodles as you like (usually 2 or 3 cups) and boil off the water over low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, folding the sauce and noodles together. Garnish with Nutritional Yeast and a little parsley. Salt to taste if desired.

(This is a big pot of Marinara sauce.  I use about 2 to 3 cups for this dish and put the rest away for another day.)
29 oz. Tomato sauce

12 oz. Tomato paste

 28 oz. Diced tomatoes

 4 cloves garlic

 1 onion

1 dash Black Pepper

1 finely chopped Carrot

4 TBS oregano 

4 TBS basil

Simmer covered over low heat for at least 40 minutes, stirring occassionally.  Save the extra in a tightly covered jar or freeze it for another day.

WFPBnoSOS RISOTTO and Brocollini #UnsaltedLikeLakeMichigan

BROWN RICE AND FARRO VEGETABLE RISOTTO WITH BROCCOLONI AND A SPRINLE OF NOOCH

     Risotto is a naturally creamy dish that is completely dairy free with no butter, no cream and no oil. I made it with a different, white rice earlier because I was duplicating restaurant Risotto. 

      Now here's the recipe for a very similar version using brown rice and Farro instead of white rice.  Farro is an ancient grain in the wheat family. It is Whole Food Plant Based with no processed sugar, oil or salt.  I like the fuller texture and overall flavor over brown rice alone. If you have Celiac disease, or just want to be gluten free, you can leave out the Farro and double the brown rice. 

VEGETABLE BROWN RICE AND FARRO RISOTTO WITH STEAMED BROCCOLINI:

1 cup of dry brown rice.

1 cup of dry farro.

12oz of frozen mixed vegetables.

3 stalks of celery, finely chopped.

2 TBSP dried onion flakes.

1 tsp dried ginger.

7 cups of water.

10 stalks of broccolini with the stems trimmed.

1 TBSP Nonna Pia's Balsamic Glaze from Costco.

DIRECTIONS:

In a large sauce pain with a lid, add 1 cup of water and the frozen vegetables, celery, onion, and ginger. Bring the water to a boil. Place a steamer tray over the boiling veggies and place the broccolini on the steamer tray. Reduce the heat to a simmering boil and close the lid.  Allow it to cook for about 20 minutes. Place the broccolini on a plate to the side. Strain the mixed veggies saving the stock. 

Add more water to the stock for a total of 6.5 cups.

Use 4 cups of stock to cook the farro for about 30 minutes over low heat, covered until tender then drain the excess stock.

At the same time, use 2.5 cups of stock to cook the brown rice for 45 minutes. 

Let the rice sit in the covered pot for 10 minutes until most of the water gets absorbed. Mix the rice and farro together.  Fold in the mixed veggies over low heat until all the water is absorbed. Cover and take it off the heat for about 5 min to de-glaze the pot.

If you want to add a special flavor, toss the broccolini with 1 TBSP of Nonno Pia's Balsamic Glaze.

 Plate the risotto and add the broccolini. Season to taste. I used Tabasco Sauce. Other options include, but are not limited to Nutritional Yeast, Costco No Salt Seasoning or whatever you choose....!

CARROT DOG, ARTISAN WHEAT BUN, ROASTED POTATO WEDGES, ALL SMOTHERED IN VEGGIE CHILI CON QUESO, CARAMELIZED ONIONS WITH JALAPENO PEPPER, MUSTARD ON THE DOG AND KETCHUP ON THE POTATO WEDGES!!!

Getting ready for the 4th of July holiday!!!

The carrot dog was delicious and the roasted potato wedges were crunchy without using any oil. Even smothering them under chili con queso with water-caramelized onion with jalapeno mixed in; still crunchy!!

What's on YOUR July 4th menu this year???

RISOTTO WITH MIXED VEGETABLES!!! #WFPBnoSOS

My Risotto

     For those of you who are keeping score and started following me from Dr. Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Facebook page, I posted a picture of my dinner, (reposted below) from a Journal Club meeting at a local steak house. All I did at that time was tell the Waiter I am a vegan. I got the choice of a rice dish or a pasta dish. I chose the rice dish. My friends asked me to get the recipe from the restaurant. The problem is that the restaurant recipe was not compliant with the Whole Foods Plant Based No Oil, Sugar or Salt guidelines. 

     Having over 12 years experience of cooking this way, it was a snap to duplicate the recipe. Compare my version of Risotto With Mixed Vegetables, above, with the restaurant version, below. I made some with pasta last night too and it was equally delicious, but I wanted to duplicate the picture too. So, I went to the local Meijer grocery store and picked up some Italian Risotto Arborio Rice, 

a 12oz bag of frozen mixed vegetables with no seasoning or oil and some fresh broccolini. Seasoning is optional. Here's my recipe:

VEGETABLE RISOTTO WITH STEAM BROCCOLINI:

10oz of short grain Arborio rice.

12oz of frozen mixed vegetables.

3 stalks of celery, finely chopped.

1 small sweet onion, finely chopped (or 2 TBSP dried onion flakes).

5 strawberry tomatoes (or one Roma tomato) finely chopped.

1 tsp dried ginger.

5 cups of water.

5 stalks of broccolini with the stems trimmed.

DIRECTIONS:

In a large sauce pain with a lid, add 1 cup of water and the frozen vegetables, celery, onion, tomato and ginger. Bring the water to a boil. Place a steamer tray over the boiling veggies and place the broccolini on the steamer tray. Reduce the heat to a simmering boil and close the lid.  Allow it to cook for about 20 minutes. Place the broccolini on a plate to the side. Strain the mixed veggies saving the stock. 

Add more water to the stock for a total of 4 cups to cook the rice for about 20 minutes over low heat, stirring frequently until the rice gets creamy and sticky. It's ok to add a little more water if needed to soften the rice. Once the rice is at the creamy consistency, fold in the mixed veggies over low heat until all the water is absorbed. Cover and take it off the heat for about 5 min to de-glaze the pot. Plate it and add the broccolini. Season to taste. I used Tabasco Sauce. Other options include, but are not limited to Nutritional Yeast, Costco No Salt Seasoning or whatever you choose....!

Restaurant Risotto

Chili-Con-Queso on a baked potato

Talk about a quick and simple recipe, this is a baked potato cut in half and covered with Quinoa chili and WFPBNO cheese sauce. I had batch cooked the chili and cheese sauce last week. The potato is a Russet that I washed, wrapped in paper towel and microwaved for 7 minutes, let it cool for 10 minutes. Cut it in half and covered with the chili and cheese sauce. Stir them together if you want and it becomes Chili Con Queso on a baked potato. I sprinkled it was dried parsley. 

Here are my recipes for the chili and for the cheese sauce. You can leave out the dates if you are on the Esselstyn Reverse Heart Disease Diet.  If you are PLANT STRONG, salt to taste

Butternut Squash Chili:

3 carrots, 4 stalks celery, 1 onion, 6 cloves garlic, 4 stalks kale, 2 generous handfuls baby spinach, 2 lbs cubed butternut squash, 28 oz diced tomatoes, 28 oz tomato sauce, 6 oz tomato paste,  2 TBS chili powder, 1 TBS cumin,  1 TBS cayenne pepper, 2 TBS smoked paprika, 1 chopped jalapeno minus the seeds, 6 pitted dates, 1/4 cup white or apple cider vinegar, 6 cups water, 1 TBS basil, 1 cup of dry red quinoa. 

Put all the veggies and the pepper into a food processor or blender and grind them up to a course texture.

In a large pot bring 4 cups of water to a boil, add the tomato sauce, paste and diced tomatoes and everything else. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to let it simmer covered for 2 hours, stirring it occasionally.  If its too spicy, and you are not on the Reverse Heart Disease Diet, try adding maple syrup, more ground up dates or agave nectar. Sweet things counter the hot peppers.

This is a TON of chili. I wash out and boil Mason jars. Store it in mason jars when it is still very hot from the stove and the jars will seal as it cools. I love to hear the lids "POP!"  

You can also freeze it.

Vegan Cheese Sauce:

2 fist sized Yukon gold potatoes peeled cubed boiled with 4 stalks of celery (save 2 cups of the water), 6 level TBSPs each of nutritional yeast and tapioca flour, 1 level TBSP each of garlic and onion powder, 1/3rd cup white vinegar, 1TBSP lemon juice, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp tabasco sauce. 

Mix the dry ingredients together to prevent clumping.  

Put the dry ingredients into the blender 1st, followed by the potatoes and celery with 1 and 3\4 cups of the saved potato water and the remaining wet ingredients. Blend thoroughly. Pour it into a pot and heat it gently (don't boil it) while stirring until it thickens. Let it cool a little which thickens it more.  Put some on the potato. 

Store the rest for another recipe. 

If it is in the fridge over night, add about 3 TBSP  of water, stir it in and microwave it for 20 to 30 sec.