Fresh Summer Herbs - Dressing Up the Dullness of Winter

        Ah summer! Veggies in season! Fresh herbs for some culinary alchemy?  Basil plants have particularly had a good year. Olive oil infusions - every day! yes!!! to dress up the bean and the grain!!! Dismiss that feeling that a long winter brings on your food choices.  Garden plan early in february or march or later!! in a pot, a bird bath, window, you decide, and go for it!  A summer herbal smorgasbord of fresh basil, parsley, thyme, cilantro, dill, and mint is divine!!!  Everything tastes ... Mmmm, mmmm! If growing isn't an option, then shop! it's all here, now it's comparably fresher!!!

Here are some easy July staples from the Grasshopper Kitchen.

Golden Beets - peeled, quartered, and steamed - served warm with fresh dill weed

Black-Eyed Peas Salad - cooked beans, celery,  grate a radish peeled beet and garlic clove, add chopped green beans (or substitute carrot for example...go for texture and crunch), a handful of pumpkin seeds,  chopped basil, cilantro and parsley, ground or grated fresh ginger, black pepper, salt, cumin -  olive oil and vinegar (your choice) Mix all together, cover and let flavours meld in the fridge for a couple of hours. Serve cold or at room temperature.

                  AND

Easy Fall Herbal Medleys

String Beans in Herb Vinaigrette - Wash and lightly steam green beans along with cauliflower florets, quickly cool and toss in a bowl. Add thinly sliced red onion or chives, sprigs of dill, chopped basil, cilantro or parsley, and halved grape tomatoes. A glug of balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, with a pinch of salt and black pepper to finish.  

Delicata Squash and Cilantro - the squash is washed, sliced, and roasted at 400* for 15 minutes each side. Chill, peel if desired. Serve with lots of fresh chopped cilantro. Mmmm!

Love Grasshopper

Roasted Snack Beans

    Grasshopper has discovered a way to reinvent the bean into a tasty, crunchy mid-day snack food. Any bean, any size, will roast (time is adjusted for size) and voila, an excellent topping for salads or satisfying the munchies, while retaining protein and mineral content.
   Chick peas, whole green peas, and black-eyed peas each have there own amazing texture. the smaller beans like navy, black bean, and adzuki tend to 'explode' and burst their skins, producing a dry crunchy crouton sensation. The cooked beans are dried and spread over a baking sheet, so grasshopper finds the easiest way to do this, is to roast the beans just after cooking them. They dry up naturally from being hot and steamy, fresh from the pot. Otherwise, a paper towel will suffice to dry the beans.
   Spices to use are from your own creativity and taste. Choices are endless. Grasshopper enjoys salt and herbs de provence, or an indian spice blend (slow-heated in a pan first to release flavours into the oil). Make big batches of these, as they don't last. From a crunchy snack perspective, these are the ultimate tastiest way to eat large handfuls of beans. Enjoy!

Roasted Snack Beans
Preheat oven to 400*
-cooked beans (dry with a paper towel)
-a drizzle of olive oil
-salt (choice of spices)

Dry the cooked beans, spread on a baking sheet (don't layer), drizzle with oil, stir in spices and roast for 15-30 minutes. Keep an eye on these, as they will tend to burn in some ovens and pans if not stirred. Grasshopper stirs every 5-7 minutes. Larger beans take a longer time. 
 When beans are cooled down, keep at room temperature for 24 hours to keep their crisp, then store in a glass container. Avoid storage in plastic as it may soften the bean.

Love grasshopper

Grasshopper's Gluten-free Eggplant Patties

  This recipe takes a bit more time than Lucia's Eggplant Burgers, because of the cooking method, but the eggplant will have absorbed less oil because they are baked first. It is remarkable how buckwheat flour blends beautifully with the subtle taste of eggplant, creating a wonderful gluten-free delight.
     Grasshopper keeps this a simple recipe for people with food sensitivities, but is not hesitant to replace some of the flour with  soaked and ground sunflower or pumpkin seeds, or hemp seed for a protein boost. Also, the preference is to let these patties  remain as a veggie side dish, not on a bun, and serves them with a lentil -type salad in the summer time like the next post- Summer Bean Medley Salad
     Other optional additions would be finely chopped jalapeno peppers.

Grasshopper's Gluten-free Eggplant Patties
makes 6-8

2 medium small eggplants (about 1 3/4c cooked)
about 3/4-1c dark buckwheat flour 
dash of salt, to taste
1 tbs oil to fry

Preheat oven to 400*F. Wash and de-stem eggplant. With a fork, prick the skin of the eggplant all around, then bake whole on a baking dish for about 45 minutes, or until completely shrivelled and soft. When cool enough to handle, scrape out the eggplant pulp into a food processor, add salt and flour, then pulse until a pasty dough is formed. Depending on the size of the eggplant you may adjust the flour measurement, so that it will have the consistency of a stiff, sticky batter, and  fry up smelling just like a pancake.
Heat oil first at a medium temperature in a cast-iron skillet. This step is important so as not to absorb too much oil into the burgers. If a drop of water sizzle in the pan, it is ready. Shape the mixture into the fry pan, cook until golden on both sides, and let drain on a paper towel.
 Love Grasshopper

Winter's Beanloaf

Grasshopper woke one morning with a strong craving for winter comfort food. A hearty baked loaf reminiscent of a traditional meatloaf with ketchup. Mmmm. Tomato is generally avoided by grasshopper, as it is an inflammatory food, but some believe that baking it won't create as much inflammation. Purchasing an organic ketchup will do the trick, or just leave it out of the recipe.

The base requires a 12 hour pre-soak of navy bean and whole peas then cooked till the navy beans are soft, adding fennel seed and bay leaf while cooking . The whole peas will split, but won't be mushy, adding a nice chewy texture to the beanloaf.
A traditional loaf will often include a grain as a binder, but grasshopper chose to keep it simple, and used presoaked flax seed which takes 6 hours. The flax seed makes the loaf rise slightly and creates a soft, fluffy texture. Slices can be frozen for later use, if there's any leftover?? oh so good!!

Winter's Beanloaf
     a combo of navy bean and whole dried peas (enough to fill a loaf pan) - presoaked, rinsed and cooked with one tbs fennel seed and 3 bay leaves, and drained
     1Tbs flax seed presoaked in 1 Tbs of water for 5-6 hours
     1 portabello mushroom sliced
     2 celery stalks sliced
     2 garlic cloves grated
     1 Tbs chopped onion
     a thumbnail of fresh ginger root grated
     a dash of balsamic vinegar
     spice combo- 1 tsp himalayan salt 
                          1 tsp black pepper
                          1 tsp fennel seed
                          3 tsp herbes de provence
                          1 tsp dried thyme or 1 Tbs fresh
     1/4 c organic ketchup

Using a food container with a lid, add the balsamic vinegar and sliced mushrooms, secure the lid, and give a good shake to coat the shrooms. In a small frying pan, sautee the sliced portabello in a dab of olive oil until cooked.  In a food processor, grind legume mix  (remove bay leaves first) till navy beans are pureed. Add chopped celery, garlic, ginger root, onion, spices, and flax seed. Blend well. Add the shrooms and pulse till partially chopped.

Spoon mixture into a well-oiled loafpan (glass works great), drizzle ketchup on the top to cover mixture. Bake at 350* for 40 minutes, or until brown and smelling divine.

Easy Sweet Potato Dip

Arriving at a seasonal party and finding this dip was a welcome surprise for a gut that needed some wholesome comfort food. Scooping up dollops of this dip in a mini corn chip or cracker was heavenly. Prep work includes pre-soaking the rock hard carway seeds in water for at least 6 hours or overnight. Yams or sweet potatoes are washed, pricked and baked whole in a 425* oven for about one hour or until soft depending on the size. When cool, the skin peels off easily.
Packed with  vitamins like A, C and B6, sweet potatoes have good antioxidant properties, and are an excellent source of dietary fiber, potassium and iron. They are a low-glycemic index (GI) food, which releases glucose slowly into the bloodstream, making  them a healthy choice for diabetics. You can substitute lemon juice for lime, or simply omit the citrus and use more ground herbs if you prefer.
Easy Sweet Potato Dip
  2 medium size sweet potatoes, baked, cooled and peeled
  juice of one lime
  1 tsp caraway seed (presoaked till chewable or grind)
  1/2 tsp ground cumin
   drizzle of olive oil

Mix lime juice with spices. Mash sweet potatoes and mix in citrus juice until smooth. Spoon into a serving bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with your favourite dipping vessel??

Love Grasshopper

Christmas Vegan Protein Bowl

I had the pleasure of having some wonderful vegetarian guests for dinner this season. Grasshopper fixed a delicious, satisfying vegan dish that was wow to everyone, full of protein and creative in texture. This recipe works well to suggest to cooks when you are the guest and they ask you what you eat. It can be made in 15 minutes if you have any precooked legumes and grains. This  lentil/mung bean combo and the whole kamut grains can be made in advance, frozen, and defrosted prior to use. If you substitute, Grasshopper suggests to choose small grains and legumes for a the best chews!
 Mmmm... just the right combo!

  

For instructions on how to prepare grains and legumes from scratch,
see these Grasshopper's Vegan Kitchen recipes:

LentilMungBeanCombo http://grasshopperkitchen.blogspot.ca/2012/12/lentil-mung-bean-lmb-perfect-combo.html
and
Comfort in Kamut  http://grasshopperkitchen.blogspot.ca/2011/10/comfort-in-kamut.html

        Grasshopper dreams up gourmet organic ingredients for Christmas dinner with coconut vinegar and morning soaking prep work.  Flavours enhance when this dish is made in advance.

Christmas Vegan Protein Bowl

   Precooked:

     1 cup cooked kamut grains or barley (or subsitute brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, or millet for gluten-free)

         2 cups cooked blend of black lentils and mung beans (or substitute a small bean combo such as black beans, adzukis)

  

  Presoaks: drained seeds and grains can be refridgerated until use.

•     water pre-soaking (just to cover) of  1 cup of sunflower seeds ( or substitute pumpkin seeds) for 6 hours, drain off the water
•     water pre-soaking (just to cover) of  1/2 cup of dried cranberries (or substitute dried raisins, or black currants) for 4 hours or until soft, saving the soaking liquid to flavour the dressing
•    (optional) make an infusion of  one tbsp rosemary and one thinly biased sliced garlic clove covered in about 1/4 cup olive oil,  in a clear glass jar, covered and soaking in the sun  for the day, then strained   

   Raw Veg:

•  3 washed celery stalks, sliced thinly on a diagonal 
• 1 tsp thinly sliced red onion  (optional) 
• 1/4 cup washed and chopped parsley

 Dressing:
          1/4 cup infused (optional) olive oil (see above)

         2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

        1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or  substitute apple cider or red wine)

        1/4 cup soaking liquid from dried cranberries (fruit)

         1 tbsp ginger root, sliced thinly on a diagonal, then coarsely chopped 

         1 tsp ground cumin

        1/4 tsp black pepper

         salt to taste

Whip the ingredients together with a fork. 
       

 Final Alchemic Mix:

  Toss all ingedients into a large bowl. Coat with dressing immediately. Serve at room temperature for good digestion.

Love Grasshopper

Squash/Pumpkin Gnocchi

Gnocchi is a wonderful tender pasta that can be created easily without egg or milk with this recipe. Replacing the traditional potato with pie pumpkin or squash adds a new flavour and more vitamin A. If using light spelt flour is your choice of grain, then a lovely high protein, thick hemp pesto is wonderful. Using a gluten-free buckwheat flour creates a heavier dough, so use less flour and cut the pasta into thinner, smaller shapes. it goes well with a lighter sauce like tomato. Since gourds come in so many different sizes, this recipe serves 4, but you can just add more flour if you have more pumpkin. Precooking the gourd makes this recipe very quick, 20 minutes and it's into the pot. melt in your mouth soft!!

 Gnocchi  (Serves 4)

2 cups of mashed, pre-roasted or steamed pie pumpkin, butternut or acorn squash
1-2c of flour- light spelt or buckwheat (gluten free) 
salt to taste
dash of cardamon or nutmeg

Mash precooked gourd, add 1c of flour and stir to make a sticky ball. On a generously floured surface,  spoon about 1/2 c of mixture onto the flour and begin to roll the dough into a log of about one inch in diameter with just enough flour so it doesn't stick to your hands. The inside will remain sticky to the touch when they are cut. Too much flour makes the dough tough. With a lightly-floured knife, cut the log into 1/2 inch pieces. Lightly coat each piece with flour if they are too sticky, to separate from other gnocchi balls. A quick roll in your floured hands is enough. Place each piece on a flat serving plate. Do not stack, as they will stick. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
 Grasshopper freezes the gnocchi separately, then bags them for future use. Otherwise you can boil a pot of water and  drop them in carefully. They are done when they float to the top. Depending on how many you are cooking at a time, this can take from 2-5 minutes. Do not overcook!
Here is a link to Grasshopper's Pesto Sauce. http://grasshopperkitchen.blogspot.ca/2011/10/grasshoppers-pesto.html

Love Grasshopper

Grasshopper's Kamut Protein Loaf

    Some turn to a vegan diet to help ease the digestive system if it has  challenges. When unhealthy GI symptoms begin to arise, a plant-based diet may help. Grasshopper offers this recipe as an easy to digest, high protein, flavourful, easy to brown-bag, 'mock'-loaf.  Cooking the beans with fennel and bay leaves helps to reduce gas formation, and kamut's soft high fibre content soothes the digestive tract. Serve with cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving dinner. Prep work needs to be done 24 hr early. Soaking grains, seeds, nuts and legumes overnight releases digestive inhibitors into the water (discard it!!!) and allows for easier digestion, and it begins the seed sprouting process thereby increasing the nutritional value of the food.  Nature protects a dormant seed with these inhibitors until it is ready to sprout. If our digestive system can bypass this chemistry, digestion takes less energy on the body systems.
Grasshopper raves about this 
            A great feeling inside that all is well        
   Thank you
Grasshopper's Kamut Protein Loaf

     1 c drained, cooked pinto beans or 2/3 c dry
    1-2 tbs dry fennel seed
    1c cooked kamut grains, or 2/3 c dry (see blog 'Comfort in Kamut')
    1c dry , raw sunflower seeds
    juice of one lemon
     
    Prep work: Soak pinto beans with 1 tbs dry fennel seed in water overnight. Repeat in 2 other bowls
with the kamut, and sunflower seeds. 
  In the morning, drain water from bowls, being careful to not lose the fennel seeds. Cover seeds again with fresh water. Place beans in cooking pot with water to cover them, add 3 bay leaves, bring to a boil, then simmer till tender, about 40 minutes. Watch that beans are always covered with water. Cook kamut in a separate pot following instructions on Grasshopper's October 13 post.
   While kamut and beans are cooking, saute the following ingredients on low heat until onions and celery are clear, about 8 minutes. 
    2 tbs olive oil
    1/2c diced onion (to taste)
    1/2 c diced celery (optional)
    1/3c diced red pepper (optional)
    1/2 tsp tamari soy sauce (gluten-free possibilities)
    1/3c chopped parsley
    2 tbs minced ginger root
    1 tsp ground or whole cumin

   Drain beans and kamut. Rub sunflower seeds and skim off skins.
Grind all ingredients in a food processor  with lemon juice and until the texture is still quite lumpy.
Form into a loaf log on a flat baking dish (greased with coconut oil), or in a deepdish loaf pan also generously greased. use coconut oil or olive oil to coat the top as well. Bake at 350* for 45 minutes.
Serve alone, with cranberry sauce or your favourite vegan gravy.
Love Grasshopper

   
   

Autumn Leek and Zucchini Squares with Buckwheat Crust

  Vegan diet, highly controversial, as there is no known culture with this culinary tradition, apart from some forms of jainism. Hindis rely on diary products for example, for the essential vitamin B12, leaving vegans to supplement with liquid vitamin drops or fortified drinks such as any of the dairy-free milks on the market. Grasshopper is lactose-intolerant, and is forever mindful to never again neglect vitamin B12! Once, grasshopper suffered a debilitating deficiency...lesson learned!
    This recipe uses fortified rice milk in a biscuit crust, but can be substituted with a liquid of your choice. It is inspired by the crafty phyllo dough wrappings of traditional pastry recipes, mmmm good...!!! Grasshopper still loves phyllo, and wanted to create a vegan leek pastry for thanksgiving dinner. A biscuit crust and a bit of a cupboard search led to the perfect grain...toasted buckwheat! The nutty flavour beautifully compliments the wonderful flavour of fresh autumn leeks. When ground, it partially replaces the traditional wheat flour, and it is gluten-free. Coconut and olive oil replace the butter. Can also be served cold.

Autumn Leek and Zucchini Squares
      Crust
1/3 c olive oil
1/2 tsp rubbed thyme
dash of salt
one bruised, chopped sprig of sage
2/3 c B12 fortified 'milk'
2/3 c whole toasted buckwheat,
         ground in blender to a flour
1/3 c your flour choice
(just enough for a lumpy batter)
    Beat oil and milk in mixing bowl with thyme and sage.
Add buckwheat and let soak while preparing the filling.
      Filling
one bunch washed, sliced leeks
one washed , sliced medium-sized zucchini
2 washed, sliced celery stalks
1 tsp coconut oil
a dash of nutmeg (optional)
 In a covered skillet slowly steam/sautee  all ingredients together.
Do not let get dry. Add water if necessary.
  
   Rub an 8"x8" baking dish with coconut oil. Add enough flour to crust
so it gets lumpy. Press half into the baking dish. Pre-bake at 350* for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare top crust. Use parchment paper to prevent sticking and
 roll out the top crust.
  Spread filling over pre-baked crust. Transfer top crust to baking dish with the
 paper attached, then peel off the paper and adjust corners. Bake at 350* oven for
until brown and smelling great!
Love Grasshopper