Baked ragu, chickpea soup and sesame butter lattes
I was going to call this Mostly Plants after the Michael Pollan quote ("Eat food. Not a lot. Mostly plants.) but of course the Pollan family has already trademarked that and put out a cookbook and have their own newsletter and how does anyone keep on top of everything going on in the media world these days? But the point is, the philosophy here is to eat more fruits and vegetables and legumes and such, not to cut out other things.
So dig in, tell me what you like and don't like, and send me your favourite recipe and food discoveries so I can share them with everyone else.
The longer recipe
We went to Iain and Jenny's for New Year's and at around 10:30 they pulled out a late second dinner for us all: a meat-based chili and a vegan baked ragu. Reader: I ate three bowls of it. It's an Ottolenghi recipe, which means there are lots of ingredients, but trust me, it's worth it. That said, I haven't made it myself yet, but Cass has made it three times so far this month and if that isn't a vote of confidence I don't know what is. She has switched in chickpeas for the lentils and left out a few ingredients and apparently it still worked out well.
The shorter recipe
I get a CSA box and sometimes I end up with a lot of a particular vegetable. About a month ago it was celery, which is sort of not my favourite, and then coincidentally I had bought the December (print!) issue of Bon Appétit, which included this recipe for Chickpea and Celery Soup with Chili-Garlic Oil. I made it with jarred veggie stock concentrate and left out the yogurt and cilantro and celery leaves because I didn't have any and also kind of faked the chili oil by just frying some garlic slices and sambal oelek and it was still shockingly delicious. I think the trick is to get the salt levels right.
The recipe-from-a-friend
Trish shared this recipe for Spicy Vegan Black Bean Soup. I haven't tried it yet, but sign me up for anything topped with avocado.
And Amy and Tina are raving about these Bon Appétit Marinated Mixed Beans made by Daniela. They vouch for the combo of cannellini and navy beans.
The not-a-recipe
All winter we make baked apples for dessert. Just core and bake at 350F until they break open and get juicy, 30 minutes to an hour depending on your apples. (An apple corer comes in handy.) We've had the best luck with (Ontario grown!) Empire apples this year. Sometimes we will stuff the centres with mincemeat before baking (though I've run out now for the year), and if we have whipping cream in the fridge we'll drizzle a little on top. (I'm partial to this ultra decadent one from Sheldon Creek.)
The endorsement
All newsletters need an endorsement, right? This time I would like to express my love of Bulk Barn dried chickpeas. Not only are they a budget-friendly staple (last time I filled a 1L jar – you bring your own jars to Bulk Barn, right? – and they cost me a whopping 58 cents), but they consistently cook up well, just the right texture without being mushy. My trick is to prep a huge amount at once (I soak them overnight first), then freeze them cooked in meal-size batches so I can pull out a container when I need some. If you were really crafty you could freeze the equivalent of a 15.5 oz can so you can make the soup above with exactly the right amount of chickpeas.
The article to read
I am of the personal belief that all the anti-almond attention out there is a form of shaming of people who try to eat healthy and ethically. Not that almond farming doesn't have its problems, but why single it out so much compared to all the other industrial food crimes going on in the world?
That said, I like this Guardian story on which "milk" is the lowest-impact choice. Spoiler alert: oat wins, followed by soy if the beans are from good sources.
The lunch date
If any of you haven't been to Parallel yet, add it to your list. I always get the Parallel Salad with tofu, falafel or egg added, and the Sesame Butter Latte is a standout (with oat milk, obviously) – I like to stir in a little honey. Pick up a jar of tahini on your way out, and maybe if we all gently nudge them to switch from plastic to glass jars we can make it happen?
À la prochaine!