Lentils and brown rice are staples in my pantry because they’re so versatile and cheap! While browsing the internet to find inspiration for dinner the other night, I came across this recipe, where lentils and brown rice are combined to make a really yummy filling for tacos or burritos or a topping for taco salad. The only change I’ve made to the recipe is cutting back the amount of water. The amount called for in the recipe is too much, so I suggest cutting it back to 3 cups. I also omit the bouillon.

I thought fried rice would be really, really good for dinner.  The best part about it is that you can clean out the fridge and throw in whatever veggies you find in there.  The bad part is that “fried” and “rice” are two things that I’m avoiding at the moment in order to shed some poundage.  So, I came up with an alternative that actually worked out pretty well.  In place of no fiber, high calorie white rice, I substituted wheat berries.  Wheat berries are yummy; I love their chewiness– like brown rice but so, so much better.  To cook wheat berries, all you have to do is boil them in a big pot of water for about an hour.  Drain off the excess water after they’re done cooking.  I used 1 1/2 cups dry wheat berries and ended up with about 3 1/2 cups cooked.

My fried “rice” consisted of a red onion, 2 carrots, 2 parsnips, some Napa cabbage, 2 zucchini, 3 cremini mushrooms, some red and green bell pepper remnants, frozen peas and corn, and, of course, garlic and ginger.  I used a gigantic nonstick skillet to cook it all in and only about a teaspoon of canola oil.  Put in the veggies that take the longest to cook first (onion, carrots, parsnips), then add the garlic and ginger and the veggies with the next longest cooking time.  When all of the veggies had been stir fried, I added in 2 cups of cooked wheat berries and drizzled some soy sauce and toasted sesame oil over top.  Yummy!  I served it with some pan fried tofu.

Be forewarned that fried rice is a long prep time.  If I were a working person, I probably wouldn’t make this on a weeknight, unless all of the veggies were already chopped.

With my leftover wheat berries, I made some hot cereal for breakfast tomorrow.  Stay tuned for that…

Dinner last night was thrown together with whatever I could find.  I didn’t feel like making anything complicated and came up with this very tasty, one pot creation.  It’s all of the food groups wrapped up in one easy dish– can’t beat that!

Lentil, Quinoa and Rice Pilaf

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1 medium onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 TB olive oil

1/4 cup (dry) lentils, either brown or green (don’t use red here)

1/2 cup (dry) wild and white rice blend (or one or the other)

1/2 cup (dry) quinoa

1/4 cup dried cranberries

2 1/2 cups water or veg stock

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

S&P to taste

In a large skillet with high sides, saute the onion, carrots and garlic in the olive oil until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add in everything except the basil and pine nuts and bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook for 15 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed.  Taste to check that the grains and lentils are fully cooked.  If they are still firm, add in a few more tablespoons of water and cover again.  Just before serving, stir in the pine nuts and basil.

We had ours with some very simple lemon roasted asparagus.  Heat your oven to 350 degrees.  Put the zest and juice of one lemon in a bowl and stir in some salt and pepper.  Arrange asparagus in one layer on a baking sheet and drizzle with the lemon juice/zest.  Drizzle with a little olive oil and toss to coat.  Roast for 5-10 minutes, depending on how big your asparagus spears are.

Emma and I went to the store earlier this week, but all we really bought was snack foods.  I don’t know how I managed to get through the store without picking up more “real” food, but I did, and I was in a pinch last night when I was trying think of something to make for dinner.  While running down the list of things in our pantry, I realized that we have tons of beans, rice and the like.  Well, the problem with dried beans is that they require soaking and I didn’t have time for that.  The next best thing was lentils, which cook up super fast, are very tasty and nutritious and don’t require soaking time.

Then I thought of this post about a dish that combined lentils with apples, served over rice and bulgur.  Check, check and check.  I had all of the above, so that’s what I went with.

Lentils don’t photograph well, but looks aside, let me say that this was DELICIOUS!  I had to make a few changes to the recipe, though, since I didn’t have much on hand.  The original recipe calls for carrots and celery.  I didn’t have any, so I left those out and just used the onion.  The original recipe also used apple cider, but I didn’t have any of that either so I used (don’t laugh) beer.  Not just any kind of beer, but this Pumpkin Ale.  I also left out the thyme because I really hate the taste of thyme. For the apples, I used one very small Gala, one medium Gala and one medium Granny Smith.  I left the skins on and chopped them pretty big so that there would be big chunks throughout.

As for the rice/bulgur combo, I used 1 cup of basmati rice and 1/2 cup of bulgur, which I cooked together in 2 3/4 cups water.  Cook it just like rice– bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes.  At the end, I put in about a teaspoon of Earth Balance and a dash of salt then fluffed with a fork.  Emma loved this rice, but wasn’t too fond of the lentils (although I don’t know why).  I actually liked this rice and bulgur combo a lot too and will probably make it that way from now on.  A very satisfying meal– and one that’s perfect for a rainy fall evening.

Our summer has been pretty mild. We haven’t had too many hot days, which has been a blessing for those of us without A/C. Unless you’ve installed it yourself, most houses out here don’t have A/C. Anyway, yesterday was a pretty warm day. And my kitchen was really, really warm. Even when it cools off outside, the hot air collects inside our house. We’re cursed!

Last night’s dinner consisted of stuff that could be eaten raw or that could be cooked way ahead of time and be served at room temperature, since it was not a day that I wanted to add extra heat into our house.  I decided on spring rolls. This time, I used cabbage, carrots, mango, green beans, tofu, and bean sprouts. The dipping sauce is the same peanut dipping sauce from Vegan Lunch Box. They were great!

Spring rolls are so refreshing and perfect for a hot day and when I was thinking of a yummy side dish, I thought of a stuffed pepper recipe from Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker. The peppers are stuffed with a mixture of jasmine rice, mangoes, peanuts and cilantro. Well, it was much too hot to make stuffed peppers with that, but I thought I could do a rice salad inspired by it. It turned out to be really good, and super refreshing.

(the sun is starting to set much earlier now, which is negatively impacting my photos)

There really isn’t a recipe for this, per se, but I will describe how I made it. I cooked up 1/2 cup of brown basmati rice in 1 cup of water. Allow to cool. Add in some chopped mango, some cilantro and some peanuts. Then dress. My dressing was the juice of one lime, about 1/4 tsp agave, S&P. Stir to combine. Yummy!

We had collard rolls last night for dinner. We’ve had them before, but I did something to the Backyard BBQ sauce this time that made the heat WAY intense. I thought I followed the recipe exactly, so I don’t know what happened. I was sort of rushing to get it done so that it could simmer, so it’s entirely possible that I added too many peppers without realizing what I was doing.

It wasn’t inedible, but it did require a side of white rice to cool down the mouth in between bites. I actually really, really liked this dish, despite the heat. We should have it more often than we do.

While we’re on the subject of the rice, I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I used Safeway brand instant white rice. I mean, can you get any more processed than that?! I’m even more embarrassed to admit that I had it in my pantry because I am not the instant rice kind of gal. I just don’t ever have a use for it. I will tell you that I bought it a while back when Emma had a little stomach bug and I wanted to have some plain white rice on hand to make (quickly) when/if she was in the mood to eat it. That’s the only reason why I had it and once it’s gone, I probably won’t buy it again. At least it’s enriched… I guess that’s the only redeeming quality to it. That, and the fact that it’s easy like making couscous– boil the water, add the rice, cover and wait 5 minutes. Pretty foolproof.

I also managed to make another batch of Banana Oatmeal Cookies.  I put the first batch in the freezer for Emma to have while we go on vacation, but they were such a big hit that I thought another batch was in order right away.  Since I have ten thousand frozen bananas (now only nine thousand since I’ve used some making these cookies), it’s the perfect use up.  This time, I added about 1/2 cup of toasted pumpkin seeds, 1/4 cup pecans, some dates (didn’t measure), some figs (didn’t measure those either), and the last of my vegan chocolate chips.  I was VERY surprised to find out that chocolate chips just don’t taste right in this cookie.  I thought chocolate was good in everything, but this is one thing that is better without the chocolate.  It’s just a weird flavor combo for me, but the cookies are still really good.

I was trying to think of something cool and refreshing to throw together for dinner and came up with the idea for this wild rice salad.  It was really easy to make (and the best part is that you can make it WAY ahead of time), and it was also yummy!  I love it when my ideas turn out as good as I envision them being.  I used stuff that I had on hand in my fridge; any vegetables would be good here – peas, carrots, spinach, zucchini, etc.

Wild Rice Salad

1 cup white and wild rice mix

1 3/4 cup water

1 cup grapes

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

1 cup broccoli florets, blanched

6 cremini mushrooms, sliced and lightly sauteed in olive oil

Dressing

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 TB olive oil

2-4 TB agave nectar (depends on how sweet you want it)

Cook the rice in the water (those are the directions on my package of rice.  Your rice to water ratio may be different.)  Meanwhile, chop, saute, blanche, toast the remaining salad ingredients and put them in a large bowl.  When the rice is done cooking, add to the bowl with the veggies.  Mix together the dressing ingredients and drizzle over the top.  Taste and season with S&P.

Since I had a head of cabbage in my fridge hanging out with my excess phyllo dough from the party, I thought I’d whip up some faux “egg” rolls for dinner last night.

But what to go with them???  Hmm… I had some cabbage and carrots, but nothing else by way of fresh veggies.  I did have some frozen green beans, edamame, and frozen broccoli, so how about a fried rice?  Perfect!

I cooked up a batch of sticky (sushi) rice- just one cup of uncooked rice- which I guess yielded about 2 1/2 cups of cooked rice.  When it was done cooking, I let it cool a bit while I chopped up the veggies.

Vegan Fried Rice

2 1/2 cups cooked rice, any kind will do

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium carrot, diced

1 cup cabbage, shredded

1 cup broccoli florets (I used frozen)

1 cup green beans (I used frozen)

1/2 cup edamame (I used frozen)

1 inch piece of ginger, minced or grated

3 cloves of garlic, minced or grated

1/4 cup of soy sauce (or more, if needed)

1/4 tsp hot sesame oil

Chopped green onions and cilantro, for garnish

Heat a large nonstick skillet or wok over high heat.  Add about a tablespoon of canola oil and stir fry the onions.  After about two minutes, add the carrots.  After about a minute, add the cabbage, ginger, and garlic, being careful not to let the garlic and ginger burn.  When the cabbage has cooked down a bit, add the edamame (still frozen), green beans and broccoli and let them cook for a few minutes.  Scoot the veggies over to the side of your pan and add the cooked rice.  Fry the rice, being sure to separate any clumps, then stir the rice in with the veggies.  Pour the soy sauce and sesame oil over the top and mix well.  Give it a taste and add more soy, if needed.  At the last minute, stir in the green onions and cilantro.

This rice is so awesome!  I have made it a lot of different ways, but I definitely prefer white, sticky rice to brown rice.  I know, I know- I’m going to hell for advocating white rice over brown- but everything in moderation, right? 

Last night’s dinner was not what I had originally planned to make. The plan was for pizza, but I’ve been pretty busy lately getting the food ready for Emma’s birthday party that I just didn’t feel like rolling out the dough. I have what I think is a good pizza idea, though, so stay tuned for that next week.

A quick survey of the fridge and pantry revealed an unopened package of basmati and wild rice blend, a block of tofu and some rainbow chard that I needed to use up. I thought it sounded pretty tasty and got to work on the rice. No secrets there… just followed the directions on the package.

The rainbow chard was equally as simple. I cut off the tough stems, and then chopped up all the large leaves. In a large skillet, I started by sauteeing some onion and garlic. When that was tender, I added in the chard and sauteed for another 5 minutes. When the leaves were wilted, I added in some S&P and a splash of red wine vinegar. It was pretty tasty! I sprinkled some toasted pine nuts over the rice and chard to serve.

I wanted to try something a little different with the tofu, so I started by cutting the block into small squares. I cooked them the same way that I make the triangles- in a nonstick skillet with a dab of canola oil. When they were browned up on both sides, I put a little bit of BBQ sauce on each side and flipped it over so that it could get seared into the tofu. Emma had her usual triangles without the BBQ sauce. For a simple meal, it came together pretty quickly and tasted pretty good.

On the side, we had a little bit of fruit salad, since I had a half eaten banana to use up before it became inedible.