VeggieTalk

Margaret Mead might have had a Blackberry Winter, but I’m having a blueberry winter. There is a lot of evidence that blueberries are one of the most antioxidant-rich foods ever, as well as being considered a phenomenal “brain food.” Blueberry season lasts for maybe a month here in the northeastern U.S., so I’ve decided to extend the pleasure by using lots of frozen organic blueberries. They’re nothing like the fresh berry for eating plain or in salads and such, but they are perfectly serviceable in baked desserts and smoothies. Here’s a simple dessert I’ve made several times this winter. This recipe is adapted from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook.

Easy Apple and Blueberry Crumble

6 servings

Fruit crumbles are a wonderful way to highlight fresh fruit. With an easy-to-prepare oat and wheat germ topping, they are as healthful as they are delicious.

• 1/3 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/3 cup finely chopped or ground walnuts
• 1/3 cup wheat germ
• 2 tablespoons natural granulated sugar
• Pinch of cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tablespoons safflower oil
• 4 to 5 cups peeled, thinly sliced organic apples
• 1 cup frozen organic blueberries (regular or wild)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle in the oil and stir until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened.

Combine the apples, blueberries, syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl and stir together. Pour the fruit mixture into a lightly oiled 9- by 9-inch baking pan or round pie plate and pat in evenly. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the fruit.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the topping is golden and turning crisp. Allow to cool until just warm, then serve.

Recently, I discovered a fantastic brand of pickles called Real Pickles in my local health food store. These pickles are closest to what might be described as “half sour.” Gently but distinctively flavored, these pickles are organic, made without vinegar, and crafted in a traditional method.

This winter, as I’ve mentioned before on this blog, I’ve been very interested in eating a lot of cleansing, detoxifying foods, and these pickles fit right in. Filled with active cultures and enzymes, these as well as other naturally fermented foods aid in digestion and nutrient absorption and are generally great for the gut. In American culture, there is little in the way of fermented foods, as there are in many Asian cultures.

I will be writing more about Real Pickles in the September issue of the Vegetarian Kitchen newsletter (please subscribe, on any page of Vegetarian Kitchen!). Please be aware, though, that Real Pickles only ships throughout the Northeast (part of their mission is to promote the viability of local food systems), and that the shipping season for the pickles ends in April.

Some time last year, my family ate at Caravan of Dreams in New York City. It’s a kind of funky place in the East Village, with food that’s hearty and innovative (and all vegan]. About half of the menu is “live,” or raw. My younger son ordered the Green Garden Platter, described as “Seasonal mixed greens sautéed with grilled marinated seitan, garlic, and olive oil, topped with grilled carrot polenta in mushroom gravy.”

I was intrigued by the combination of seitan and polenta, and when I got home, I made my own version, which is really nothing like the one at the restaurant. There’s something very nice about the seitan/polenta synergy, and combined with the greens makes a great-looking, tasty, “meat-and-potatoes” sort of dish. Best of all, it takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. I served it with potatoes, in fact, and a platter of raw veggies and sliced oranges.

Any fans of seitan out there, let me know what you think of this!

Seitan and Polenta Skillet with Fresh Greens

4 to 6 servings

• One 18-ounce tube polenta
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 pound seitan, cut into bite-sized pieces or strips
• 4 large or 6 medium stalks bok choy, with leaves, sliced crosswise
• 5 to 6 ounces fresh baby spinach
• 4 scallions, green and white parts, sliced
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, or more to taste
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Cut the puckered ends off the polenta, then slice 1/2 inch thick. Cut each slice into 4 little wedges.

Heat a wide nonstick skillet. Add a drop of the oil and spread it around with a paper towel to create a very light coat. Add the polenta wedges; cook in a single layer over medium heat, about 5 minutes on each side.

Remove the polenta to a plate. Heat the oil and soy sauce slowly in the same skillet. Before they get too hot, add the seitan and stir well. Raise the heat to medium-high and saute, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Stir in the bok choy, spinach, and scallions, then cover and cook until just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.

Sprinkle in vinegar to taste. Gently fold in the polenta wedges. Season with salt and pepper and serve at once.

Last night after dinner, my 14-year-old son made the most outrageous dessert. We loved it because it was a combination of raw and cooked, healthy and decadent. He spontaneously got the idea and went right to it. Basically, it was two (wax paper-lined) platesful of raw, peeled diced apple, with a layer of Vegan Caramel Sauce from Food Geeks, followed by a drizzle of melted chocolate chips, topped with a sprinkling of cinnamon. Then, he put the plates in the fridge for an hour or so, so that the chocolate could harden.

Please refer to Vegetarian Kitchen’s Monthly Message about “politically correct” chocolate.

This was so delicious, and looked pretty, too. With Valentine’s Day coming up, if you need a last minute treat, try this! For proportions, he used 3 large apples, about half the caramel sauce recipe, 3/4 cup chocolate chips, and just a sprinkling of cinnamon. It was just the 3 of us at home last night, so we finished only one plateful. Lucky us, to have this for dessert again tonight, and lucky me to have such a great young dessert chef in the family!

This winter, I have been trying to use a lot of cleansing foods (I’ll talk about these more specifically in another post). One that I’ve grown particularly fond of is daikon radish, a long white Asian root vegetable. It’s available just about everywhere now. It’s crisp and pungent and you can add it to any kind of salad, as you would radishes or turnip. Supposedly, this veggie aids in the digestion of fats, and helps to eliminate toxins from the system.

My favorite thing to do with daikon is to combine it with other veggies to make grated salads. We go through a lot of broccoli, and I save the stems for just this use (with the coarse peel removed, of course). Baby carrots are a frequent addition as well.

Basically, the peeled daikon and broccoli are cut into large chunks and the baby carrots are used as is. No special quantities are needed; make as much or as little as you want. Put everything through the feed tube of a food processor with the grating blade running.

Other veggies you can use are beets (golden beets are especially good) and sweet potato (yes, they are good raw!). Some fresh parsley adds to the cleansing effect. As a dressing I usually just add small amounts of flaxseed oil, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, and a little agave nectar. Or, you can use your favorite prepared dressing. A tahini dressing goes very well with this, and a sesame-soy dressing gives the salad an Asian spin.

Amie Breeze Harper is a researcher who is putting together an anthology called Sistah Vegan: Black Women on the Social Implications of Veganism. She is seeking submissions from black female vegans for this project, which, according to her, “will weave together stories, poetry and critical essays by Black identified female vegans. This particular demographic is solely invited to share their voices because my research largely focuses on Black female developmental wellness.” To read more about the project, go to Sistah Vegan. Or, go straight to Submission Guidelines.

A friend of mine, another vegetarian author, sent me this very funny (in a silly sort of way) video of “Steven the Vegan” (a chef, but I’m not sure if he’s for real or not). Click on Steven the Vegan. I’ll post something more serious soon, I promise!

A few days ago a reader e-mailed me asking if I had any good ideas for storage of dry ingredients in the pantry. She was concerned that plastic is not the healthiest option. I gave her the following idea: Several years ago, I bought a few cases of mason jars at a garden supply store. They are made of glass, completely clear, durable and cheap.

I keep all my grains, dry beans, nuts, seeds, etc. in them, both in and out of the pantry. I also keep a great number of them outside on kitchen shelves, where not only do they look quite decorative with all the different color grains, red lentils, black beans, and so on, but keeping them in eye view helps remind me to use these nutritious foods often!

Friday night is usually a night to just veg out after a busy week. When I was collecting stories for my most recent book, Everyday Traditions, I encountered a lot of families that have a Friday night ritual of pizza and a movie at home. We have often liked to do a Friday night movie-dinner in the den, but it doesn’t always have to be pizza.

Tonight I wanted to make a new kind of pizza. I’ve been thinking about concocting a sweet potato pizza with lots of soft onions. My older son is away at college and my husband is coming home tonight from a trip, so it was only myself and my younger son (who is 14 and always willing—even eager—to try my experiments).

We both agreed that this offbeat pizza was a resounding success. I made it with a whole grain spelt crust, and served it only with a salad (baby greens, beets, daikon radish, red pepper, apple, and kimbi carrot—an unusual variety that is grown in the Berkshires of Massachussetts) but it was quite a filling meal. With it, we watched Shrek 2! Here’s the recipe:

White Pizza with Sweet Potato and Carmelized Onions

Makes 6 slices

This makes 2 to 3 servings, depending on the appetite of the eaters and what else is being served. If you’re having both a soup and a salad, or have a moderate appetite, 2 slices per person are quite satisfying. Those with a hearty appetite can likely handle 3 slices, served just with a big salad.

• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large onions, quartered and thinly sliced
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 portabella mushroom, stemmed and thinly sliced, optional
• 1 large sweet potato
• One 12.3-ounce package firm silken tofu
• 1 teaspoon salt
• One good-quality 12- to 14-ounce pizza crust
• Dried basil

Preaheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet. Add the onions and saute over medium-low heat until limp. Add the garlic and continue to saute until the onion is deep golden, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. If using the portabella, add after about 10 minutes, continuing to saute until it is softened and the onions golden, stirring occasionally.

While the onions are cooking, peel the sweet potato, then quarter it lengthwise. Slice it 1/4 inch thick. Place in a lightly oiled small baking pan in a single layer. Bake for 15 minutes, or until just tender and lightly roasted, about 15 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes or so. Remove from the oven when done.

Puree the tofu with the salt in a food processor or with an immersion blender in its container.

Place the crust on a baking sheet or a pizza stone. Spread it evenly over the surface of the crust with a baking spatula. When the onion mixture is done, spread it evenly over the pureed tofu. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden.

Scatter the roasted sweet potato pieces over the surface of the pizza. Cut into 6 slices and serve.