essential oils

Vegetarian Plov with Greens

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Plov is a common dish throughout Central Asia and is the national dish of Uzbekistan. All plov contains rice and usually meat like lamb or beef. Here is a vegetarian version. I found a vegetarian recipe and modified it using the ingredients I already had. The original recipe used chickpeas but I had already cooked Peruano beans so used them.

1/2 large purple onion, coarsely chopped

1/2 fennel bulb, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped

1 drop coriander essential oil

1 drop cumin essential oil

1 drop cilantro essential oil

Chili flakes (optional and amount to taste)

1 cup cooked Peruano beans

2 cups greens (I used spinach and arugula), coarsely chopped

1 heaping half cup of basmati rice, rinsed

butter or olive oil for sautéing

Heat the oil or butter in a heavy casserole dish. Add onions, garlic, and fennel. Saute until tender. Stir in the spices. Scatter the beans and olives on top of the onion mixture. Do not stir! Add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup water. Layer the greens on top of the beans and olives. Flatten the greens with a spoon. Do not stir! Let greens wilt then layer the drained rice on top. Pour in enough boiling water to just cover the rice. Cook on high heat until the liquid has boiled off. Poke holes in the rice to allow steam to escape. Cover pan with lid and turn off heat but leave pan on the burner. Let the rice steam for 20-30 minutes.

To serve, stir the contents and serve in large bowls. You can add extra fresh herbs and lemon if desired. I just served as is and found it delicious. You do not have to use essential oil but can use ground herbs or fresh. If using essential oil, use a safe brand for cooking. I used Edens Garden but have used others, e.g. Doterra.

Pasta With Beet Sauce

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1 medium sized beet cut into pieces and steamed until tender

4 gloves garlic, chopped

1/2 medium sized onion, chopped

2-3 drops basil essential oil or use 1/4 cup leaves

Milk or cream–use plant based milk to make vegan

Saute onion and garlic until tender in enough olive oil to cover bottom of pan. Drain the beets and put into blender, add the sautéed onions and garlic, add basil. Add enough cream or milk to make a thick sauce–put in a little at first, blend, and then adjust to make a thick sauce. Pour back into skillet, and add cooked pasta of your choice. I used gigli from Italy. Stir until well mixed or pour the sauce on top of the pasta when you serve it. I topped with grated asiago cheese.

Easy Vegan Dishes for Summer

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It is too hot to do a lot of cooking in many parts of the US these days. Salads are a good alternative. However, if you get tired of just salads, here are two easy vegan dishes to enjoy that require little cooking time. If you are not vegan or vegetarian, you can add some cubed meat as you are sautéing the veggies.

Sauté coarsely chopped onion and garlic in olive oil. I have not specified amounts because amounts can be adjusted to your taste. Coarsely chop 1/2 medium sized beet and add to the onion and garlic. Cook this mixture until tender. Add 1/2 seeded and coarsely chopped red bell pepper. Add 2 Tablespoons of Thai red curry paste and mix well. Finally, add 1/2 cup coarsely chopped Thai basil and 2 cups arugula. Sauté until wilted stirring constantly. Serve over rice.

Sauté 1/3 coarsely chopped medium sized sweet onion, six small carrots cut into coins, and 5 coarsely chopped garlic cloves in olive oil. When nearly tender add five sliced mushrooms. When these are tender, add 1/3 coarsely chopped red bell pepper and sauté until tender. Finally, add 2 cups arugula and stir until the arugula is wilted. For spices add basil essential oil or World Market Greek Mediterranean Seasoning Blend. Serve over pasta of your choice. If you like cheese, grate fresh parmesan or asiago, my favorite, over the top.

Note: these recipes can be adapted by using your favorite vegetables, e.g. spinach in place of arugula.

Healthy and Fast Food–1

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Since I like to know the source of food and never get take out when I am home, I create quick, easy, food that fits my personal health goals for food. Here is an easy recipe for one person. Just double, triple, etc. the proportions to fit the number of people for whom you are cooking.

Saute several chopped garlic cloves and cubed delicata squash–I used one half of the squash–in olive oil until almost tender. Add I filet fish (I used barramundi on which I had squeezed fresh lemon juice). When fish is 1/2 done, add 1/2 chopped poblano pepper and 1/2 bell pepper chopped. Saute until fish is done and peppers tender but still bright colored. Add whatever seasonings you prefer. I used basil essential oil. Serve over pasta or rice. I also grated asiago over the dish when I plated it. I prefer asiago over parmesan.

Note: You can also use butternut squash. Delicata has the advantage in that you do not have to peel it.

Moving 3–More Cooking with Paneer

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As I mentioned in the previous post, I am left with one wok and one skillet. The wok seems to work better than the skillet for the sort of dishes I have been making. My previous Cooking with Paneer has been one of my most popular posts. Here is another edition of Cooking with Paneer.

For those who did not read the previous Cooking with Paneer post, paneer is a traditionally East Indian white cheese that does not melt when heated. It is a good source of protein for a vegetarian dish. I use it when a dish calls for tofu because I prefer it to tofu.

Here is a photo of my latest paneer dish.

The paneer in this photo is the white cubes. I sautéed chopped garlic, chopped onions, and purple potatoes in olive oil. Add whatever spices you prefer. Sometimes I use basil essential oil, sometimes the Ethiopian spice berbere. When these were tender, I added the broccoli and coarsely chopped poblano peppers. Saute just until these vegetables are tender but still bight green. Finally, add the paneer and saute just long enough so the paneer is heated through. Serve over rice or farro.

By the way, I did try the rice in a bag since I did not have a normal saucepan. I do not recommend it unless you are desperate for rice. It is extremely bland and boring.

Moving — 2 Cooking

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For a few more weeks I am staying at my daughter’s house in Amarillo. A lot of stuff is packed and some of it is already in California. As a consequence I have to cook a bit differently. The usual pots and pans are gone. What is left is one skillet and one wok like pan. The other evening I decided to try one of my favorites anyway using the wok. It turned out great.

I chopped up some onion, garlic, purple potatoes, and Brussel sprouts. I poured olive oil in the pan, added the onion and garlic and potatoes. When they were almost done, I added bite sized pieces of chicken breast. When they were nearly tender, I added the Brussel sprouts with a touch of basil essential oil.

Since I had no pot in which to cook rice, I broke up some grainy bread into bite sized pieces, put the pieces in a bowl and poured the above over them. It was delicious.

Because I love rice but cannot cook it the usual way, I bought some basmati you can supposedly cook in a bag in the microwave. I remain skeptical about this but plan to try it tomorrow evening. I will let you know how that goes.

Two Healthy, Easy Dishes for Dinner

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Easy Asian Style Main Dish

I rarely measure, I often experiment, try new flavor combinations. To create this dish I sautéed several cloves garlic, coarsely chopped, in oil–I use olive for just about everything. I peeled and cubed 1/2 sweet potato and finely chopped approximately two tablespoons fresh ginger. I added these to the olive oil. When the garlic and sweet potatoes were tender, I added 1/2 coarsely chopped red bell pepper and several handfuls of baby bok choy which I had sliced into large pieces. When the bok choy was tender, I added peanuts and Thai sweet chili sauce. I served this over Jasmine rice.

Purple Cabbage with Poblano Peppers, and Garbanzo Beans

I had some left over cabbage and decided to create a new dish. Once again I coarsely chopped several cloves garlic and sautéed them in olive oil. When they were tender and slightly browned, I added coarsely chopped purple cabbage and poblano peppers, sautéing only until they were barely tender. To this mixture I added basil essential oil. Then I added the garbanzo beans. Do not add them too soon because it makes them mushy. I served this over conchiglie pasta from Italy.

Note: I use several essential oils in cooking–basil, fennel, lemon, cumin, thyme, rosemary, cardamon. However, they are intense so if using essential oils, use only a little, taste, then add more if necessary. It is easy to over do it.

For more recipes like this, see my most recent book, “You’re Gonna Eat That?!” It is filled with many simple pescatarian and vegetarian recipes.

Christmas Baking

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Some years I do a lot of baking. Not so much this one because not going to see so many people because of Covid. Today I baked anyway, made pumpkin bread using Mom’s recipe. Many go out and buy new appliances. Not I. In this photo you will see the electric mixer my parents gave me decades ago. Yes, it looks a bit used and rough; it still works perfectly–metal, not plastic, but not heavy like the popular brands now.

Mom always baked her pumpkin bread in cans like this and gave some for presents. One can is just plain pumpkin bread, the other two have chopped walnuts. Mom’s recipe is on page ten in the cookbook, “You’re Gonna Eat That!?” I alter it a bit and here is the general way to make it:

Sift 3 cups flour with 1 tsp cinnamon–I used cinnamon from Ethiopia, 1 tsp grated nutmeg, 1 tsp allspice, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda. Set aside. Mix 2 cups sugar with 1 cup oil–I used avocado, add 3 beaten eggs and mix in the mixer until thoroughly blended. Add 1 tsp vanilla and a couple drops of clove essential oil. Add I small can pumpkin; mix. Gradually add the dry ingredients. Blend thoroughly. At this point I spooned the mixture into one of the cans. Then I added a cup of chopped walnuts to the rest and spooned that mixture into the remaining two cans. Bake at 325 for an hour or until tester comes out clean. Cool on rack and remove from the coffee tins.

Tomorrow I will make Mom’s pumpkin pie also in the memoir/cookbook.

Happy Holidays to all of you!!!

Wandering the World–Food

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My travels have not only enlightened me personally, but also enabled me to create recipes from my food adventures around the world. Due to the recommendations of friends and family worldwide, I created a cookbook/memoir with stories and recipes. Len Leatherwood, new President of the Story Circle Network, says, “This is a cookbook after my own heart, filled with a wide range of healthy recipes from several cultures that will add flavor, color, and variety to any table.” Jennifer Archer, award winning writer and editor elaborated further, “A feast for the senses…combines colorful stories, poems, and mouth-watering recipes that inspire readers to experience new places, new tastes…from Asia, Africa, Latin America, Scandinavia, and America.”

This would make a great Christmas present for foodies and people who want worldwide food adventures. It can be ordered online from: http://www.dreamcatcherbooks.com and go to Angel Books.

Recipes for the food in the photos above are included in the book. More food photos follow:

Lemon pasta with mixed salad topped with grated asiago cheese.

Many of the recipes feature berbere, a spice used in Ethiopian cooking. The book also includes four different recipes for salmon and many vegetarian and vegan recipes using spices from around the world.

You’re Gonna Eat That!? Adventures with Food, Family, and Friends

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This is my new book, published last month.  It is filled with stories, poems, and recipes–healthy food for vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians, and meat eaters with photos and detailed instructions. Currently, it can be purchased at Burrowing Owl bookstores in Canyon and Amarillo, Texas, and online at http://www.dreamcatcherbooks.com, Angel editions.

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