Grasshopper's Vegan Pizza

This culinary treat was inspired by the creative kitchen at a wee cafe in Toronto. Vegan delights abound in many torontonian foodplaces. Grasshopper has incorporated their olive tapenade idea as a base, but has chosen a navy bean tapenade instead to ensure protein. Toppings remain the choice of the cook as always, and pesto is a delight. Prep time can be done a day or two before, which includes making the bean tapenade (can keep in the fridge up to a week as a fabulous dip) and the chapati  (the crust). Grasshopper prefers to use light spelt flour for chapati, and you will need a large cast iron frying pan. A pita bread is a suitable substitute for chapati if pressed for time.

Grasshopper's Vegan Pizza 

Navy Bean Tapenade     
     3/4 c cooked navy beans or black bean 
     1 garlic clove chopped
     1 Tbs chopped parsley
     1 Tbs chopped basil
     1/4 tsp salt
      1/4 tsp black pepper
      1 Tbs balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
Mash all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Chapati      (makes enough for two chapati = one serving)
       Chapati consists of flour and water, and is measured more by feeling the texture. That's all it needs besides the love and patience to watch them puff up in the cast iron pan. 
        For 2 chapati you will need about 3/4-1 cup of flour.  Place 2 chapati-size mounds of flour in a mixing bowl, add water slowly until a soft, pliable dough can be kneaded. Add more water if it is too firm, and more flour if it is too sticky. On a floured surface, knead the dough briefly, then separate into pan-size little balls. With a floured rolling pin, roll the balls out to from a large circle of dough.
       Cook in a medium cast-iron frying pan (no oil). When one side gets a little brown, flip it, and begin pushing down on the dough. (Grasshopper uses the flipper) this pushing down helps move the air pockets around which cooks the middle of the dough. Flip it one more time when brown, then remove from pan, and cook the next one.

Toppings - suggestions only
pesto
julienne sliced green string beans
finely chopped or grated cauliflower
mounds of chopped frozen spinach
sliced tomato
chopped mushroom

Assemblage
   Preheat oven broiler to 375*.  Place the chapati on a large baking sheet, spread the tapenade liberally onto the chapati being careful to coat right to the edges (otherwise they may burn) Add toppings. Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until toasty. keep an eye on them so they don't burn. Serve as is, or fold over like a calzone.

Love Grasshopper

Summer Bean Medley Salad

      Grasshopper enjoys conserving energy, both personally and environmentally. On hot summer days the last thing anyone would ever want to do is heat the living space up by putting the oven on, or cooking  beans for hours! Grasshopper saves these tasks for those fall or spring days when it's too early to put the heat on, but the mornings are quite cold from the evening's temperature drop. then a cooking spree happens!
    The bean medley for this favourite summer staple is a variation on Grasshopper's earlier post from December 2012, Lentil Mung Bean (LMB) Perfect Combo with the addition of adzuki beans for more colour and variety. Soak for a good 24 hours for best results, then please refer to the cooking method described in the 12/03/12 post, regarding changing the cooking water. It's that white frothy stuff you want to get out of your cooking water, so you can digest these beans easier. Cooking time must be very slow, never a rolling boil,  and will be done anywhere between 15-35 minutes depending on the age of the beans that you've used. Don't take your eyes off of these tiny morsels, or you'll have floating skins and mush! Try to mash an adzuki to see if it's done. It'll take the longest.
    Soaking pumpkin or sunflower seeds in water in the morning is enough to prepare them for a lunch or evening salad. The salad improves in flavour as it marinates. Grasshopper makes it in the morning, and by evening the flavours have infused.
    Summer brings us so many shades of colour and taste in our herb and vegetable gardens. There is not a real recipe to this salad, as Grasshopper creates a new salad depending on what the season and gardens bring to us. This bean medley provides a base to your taste. Make your vinaigrette as you prefer and add vegetables that you enjoy that are in season. Let it all marinate until you are ready to eat. These are suggestions that have worked for Grasshopper and guests. The salad denies a 'crunchy chewy' factor  (without hard, raw veg ) so you and your guests can enjoy large helpings of this wonderful vegan protein.

Summer Bean Medley Salad 
   cooked french lentils, mung beans and adzuki beans - enough to feed you and your guests
  a handful of raw, pre-soaked pumpkin and sunflower seeds (about 5 hours)
  sliced red onion
 toss with any chopped garden herbs - thyme (definitely)
                                                     fennel, parsley, cilantro, coriander, basil
vinegar or lemon juice (suggestions are coconut, balsamic,  apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice )
organic olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
vegetables (suggestions are  cooked diced string beans, sliced raw mini zucchini, roasted                   red pepper)

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

Lentil Mung Bean (LMB) Perfect Combo

       Lentil Mung Bean (LMB) Combo (for Natasha)

        Finally, it's here! It took many years of kitchen experiments to create the perfect cooked brown or french lentil, like how they come out of a can, a tender, whole legume. Seeing them oh so perfect in commercial salad bars, or gourmet vegetarian wedding entrees, always intrigued grasshopper (even red ones), and led to relentless cooking trials. Lentils and mung beans can be the most finnicky legumes to remain whole, yet thoroughly cooked. Mmmm! For this recipe, Grasshopper relinquishes the red lentil to dissolve in a soup pot, and focuses on the wonderful texture variety of cooked larger lentils and mung beans.
     The secret is this, it is in the over-night pre-soaking (8-12 hours) and slow, absolute attentive!! (yes, don't leave it) cooking for about 10-30 minutes, depending on how long you soaked them, how old the legume is, your heat of your stove's lowest temperature, and the size of the lentil. French lentils cook faster than brown and older ones take longer than a new crop. Any rapid boiling or overcooking causes the skins to fall off, then using them mashed in a recipe is the best option. 24 hour soaking will also cause lentils to lose their skins as well....more mush, and an unsettled feeling that many nutrients have dissolved in the cooking water instead of your mouth.
    Being the one at the work lunchroom table who's eating  lentil soup with skins floating around, and gets asked, "What is that black stuff you're eating?" Coined as 'mental lentils' by grasshopper's favourite child taste testers, the taste was good, but the texture was always black chewy skins masked in a mushy sauce, yuk, all for the sake of a cheap protein source.Years of disastrous attempts at getting them to look palatable have failed, up to now. No more floating skins and mushed out insides.
     yes, yes, you've been told that lentils don't need soaking, but this is the perfect lentil now. Sprouting a life force again enhances food value and increases digestibility. Please soak overnight, and discard the soaking water, hopefully onto your thirsty house plants, to reduce the effect on the body of the nasty enzyme prohibitors- phytic acid and oligosaccharides. Here are two links to more information on the benefits of soaking for full absorption of minerals. http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/cooking-with-sprouts-zmaz93amztak.aspx or http://nourishedkitchen.com/soaking-grains-nuts-legumes/
    With this two legume mix, grasshopper delights in the varied colour texture and fabulous protein boost these little bites offer to all kinds of recipes. Whole black french lentils are sublime and grasshopper's favourite, or brown lentils mashed in fillings are magically inspiring. This LMB combo tastes great out of the pot with nothing added to them, but they can be mashed, or partially mashed to allow many options as a protein base for casseroles, salads, skillet dinners, soups,  fillings, dips and dahls, so make a big pot and freeze portions for later use in a variety of recipes.

Cooking Method  (can be used for any legume)
   
      Start with any amount of dried french black lentils (or brown) and mung beans in a large saucepan and cover with water (about 2-3 times the volume of the dried legumes), in a large pot to soak overnight, about 8-12  hours. 1cup of each is a good start. Make sure they remain ALL covered with water. Drain and discard soaking water. Cover legumes with fresh water, rinse thoroughly and drain. *Cover legumes again with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, or until froth appears floating on the top. Drain off all of this off, change the cooking water once again. Repeat from * until there is no longer any froth or black dirt at the water line.
     Now you are ready to cook these little morsels, and they won't take long, up to 10-20 minutes! 
    Optional: To the final cooking water, seasoning with bay leaves, sprigs of sage, fennel seed, or ginger root helps ease gas even further, and makes the house smell wonderful, and legumes taste sweetly gourmet.
   Bring water to a boil and immediately turn down to a very slow simmer. Grasshopper reminds us of the importance of a keen watchful eye and testing for softness with gentle cooking. Do not overcook or use high temperatures, you'll have mush and floating skins! Test for softness every few minutes. If the skins start to break open, quickly lower the temperature. Remove from heat when soft and just right. Drain. Remove bay leaves if used. 
     Enjoy hot or cold as a side dish, or use in your favourite recipe.
More recipes to come.

Love Grasshopper

Comfort in Kamut

 The seeking out of comfort, some more or less. A warm meal, fire and company.  Grasshopper adores Kamut for comfort food. The sweet puffy kernels are superb warm, cold, or blended, retaining a nutty chewy texture throughout. It is more rich in protein than wheat, easier to digest and is considered a high energy grain. Any recipe that would normally call for rice can be substituted here, or simply enjoy with a drizzle of olive oil and your choice of salt. Himalayan salt is grasshopper's choice!
   -soak 1c kamut overnight in water, drain off
   -add 2c water to kamut grain
   -bring to boil
   -simmer on low 45 minutes
   -watch the water levels, add more if necessary
Kamut is cooked when soft and chewy.
Love Grasshopper