There’s nothing like butter on a crusty piece of bread. But alas, no more butter for me. So I’m going to share with you one of my favorite alternative bread toppings. Muhammara is a spicy and sweet Syrian spread that features the aforementioned heart superstar, walnuts. Thanks to my friend Tracy Miller (painter and food lover extraordinaire) for this muhammara recipe, which I tweaked just a bit. I’ve also provided two variations, in case you want to try a smoky muhammara or a quick one.

Muhammara

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large red bell peppers, cut into very thin strips
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 t. red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. toasted walnuts
1 1/2 t. cumin
1 T. pomegranate molasses*
4 t. lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Saute the onions, red peppers and red pepper flakes in the olive oil, over medium heat, for about 30-40 minutes, until the vegetables are completely caramelized. The onions will get quite dark. Adjust heat as necessary so that the vegetables don’t brown too quickly or burn. Add the garlic during the last two minutes. Add this mixture to a food processor (using a rubber spatula to get every last drop of oil) with the remaining ingredients. Pulse until combined, then process until fairly smooth. If it’s too thick to process, add more olive oil and/or water until you reach the desired consistency. It should be thick but not overly gummy.

* You can get pomegranate molasses in middle eastern shops, or easily make your own. Tracy also suggests grape molasses (called “dibs”), for a sweeter flavor.

Smoky variation: Roast the bell peppers instead of sauteeing them.

Quick variation: Leave out the sauteed onions and peppers. Add a 12-oz. jar of roasted red peppers (drained) to the food processor with the other ingredients, and add the oil in a slow stream while the motor is running.

Sugar can raise your triglycerides – and contributes to weight gain – so it’s not exactly heart-healthy.   However, I do tend to bake a little something every weekend.  I tell myself it’s ok, because I use whole grain flour,  and heart-healthy oils rather than butter.  (I like my cookies with a nice helping of rationalization, thank you.)

For this weekend, I think I’m in a cookie mood.  I could give you one of my own cookie recipes, but I haven’t yet topped this one that appeared in Eating Well magazine.  The combination of orange, dried cranberries and walnuts creates a flavor explosion in your mouth.  These cookies are so good that people can’t believe they’re vegan.  They’re so good that I ate five in a row the last time I made them. I’m going to try and limit myself to three this time. (But don’t hold your breath on that one.)

Vegan Cranberry Walnut Cookies

I’m quickly becoming a quinoa freak.  Aside from the intriguing texture and sweet nutty taste, it’s a complete protein source and is easy to digest. What more do you want in a 6,000 year-old grain?  (Or chenopod, to be specific.)

Tonight I whipped up this delicious one-dish curry, which took about 45 minutes in all.  I used red quinoa, which has a nice earthy flavor, but regular white quinoa would be fine, too.

Be sure to top this dish with toasted almonds and a simple raita (plain nonfat yogurt with grated cucumber and pinches of cumin and salt.)

Curried Quinoa with Cauliflower

2 tablespoons oil (canola, high-oleic safflower, or olive oil)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 carrot, cut into 1/2 inch half-moons
1 small head cauliflower, broken into small florets
1/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
5 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 cup water
1 cup frozen peas

1 cup quinoa (recommend Ancient Harvest’s no-rinse variety)

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, garlic and carrot, and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower, spices and salt, and cook for another minute. Add 1 cup water, then cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Add the peas during the last minute of cooking.

Meanwhile, cook quinoa according to the package directions. Mix the curried vegetables into the quinoa and serve. Top with nonfat yogurt, soy yogurt or raita, and toasted slivered almonds.

I was in one of my rare improvisational moods, so I made up this soup.  In a nutshell, I chopped a bunch of winter vegetables, threw them in the oven with some olive oil, and then pureed the whole thing with stock. And much to my surprise, it came out great. Don’t forego the garnishes suggested here. The addition of pine nuts, parsley and balsamic vinegar took it to another level. If you have fig balsamic, all the better.  This soup calls out for experimentation – scroll down for suggested variations.

Roasted winter vegetable soup

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, thickly sliced
• 1 parsnip, thickly sliced
• 1 large stalk celery, thickly sliced
• ½ small butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about 2 cups)
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• ½ small fennel bulb, trimmed and cubed
• 10 whole fresh sage leaves
• 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 5-7 cups vegetable broth (use gluten-free broth if you are gluten-sensitive)
• Chopped flat leaf parsley, for garnish
• Toasted pine nuts, for garnish
• Aged balsamic vinegar, for garnish

Place the garlic, vegetables, sage and olive oil in a large roasting pan and stir to mix.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast at 400 degrees for 35 minutes, turning once.  Puree with stock in a food processor or blender. (The amount of stock you need depends on the amount of vegetables you end up with, so start with 5 cups and add more until you get the thickness you want.)  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Reheat and serve, garnishing with pine nuts, parsley and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Note: Feel free to vary the vegetables here – for instance, you could use celery root, turnips and cauliflower in place of the celery, fennel and sweet potato. If you want to spice things up, sauté 2 tsp. minced fresh ginger in 2 tsp. olive oil over low heat for two minutes, adding 1 tsp. each of ground cumin and coriander, plus a pinch of cayenne during the last minute. Add this mixture to the food processor when you are pureeing the soup.

The internet is a great recipe source, but I find myself going old school more often than  not. There’s just something I love about flipping through my cookbooks until I find just what I’m in the mood for. So now and then I’ll recommend some of my faves to you.

One of my most recent purchases is Clean Food, by Terry Walters.   I think the back cover convinced me to buy it, with shout-outs from heavy hitters like Mario Batali, Charlie Trotter and Alice Waters.

I  would file this one on my “super wholesome” shelf, because it focuses on vegan food with simple, unprocessed, nutritious ingredients.  Many recipes contain legumes and interesting grains like quinoa, as well as meat substitutes like seitan (hey, don’t knock it – I will make a seitan lover out of you soon enough) and of course, seasonal vegetables. While she occasionally calls for a few ingredients you might not have floating around your kitchen, such as mirin or kombu, the recipes are generally very simple to make. I whipped up a meat loaf-ish thing with lentils, nuts and apples, which tasted like Thanksgiving stuffing, but with less carbs.  Right up my alley.

After walking out of work at 7:45 (not too bad, considering that I work in advertising), I made a pit stop at Whole Foods to pick up something for dinner.  But did I go to the prepared food counter, like most sane people would at this late hour?  Nope. I picked up a few ingredients to make pasta. Pasta, you say?  You’re going to carbo-load?!   Not to worry – my creation will contain lots of protein and leafy greens to counter any pasta-induced guilt.

My haul from the grocery store

First, I got kamut pasta.  If you don’t know about kamut, it’s your time.  Kamut is a type of wheat, but it’s higher in protein a than regular pasta and even whole wheat pasta: every 2 oz. serving (uncooked weight) has 10 grams. To add even more high-quality protein, I’m buying two cans of cannellini beans.  I know, I know…just yesterday I dissed supermarket beans in favor of heirloom beans from scratch (hypocrite alert!) But hey, it’s Tuesday night and I need to eat.  Tip: if you are going to eat canned beans, I recommend the Eden brand, because theirs are the only cans that don’t contain potentially dangerous BPA in the can lining.  To add more flavor and yet more protein, I’m throwing in some vegetarian sausages.  I love, love the Field Roast sausages. They aren’t soy-based like most faux sausages – they’re made from wheat gluten.  While they are higher in calories and fat, they also have nearly double the protein – 26 grams per sausage.  And they just taste way better, especially the smoked apple flavor. (Again, this is not a paid product endorsement, I just like ’em.)  Lastly, I grabbed two bunches of lacinto (aka dinosaur) kale, which is a virtual health superstar.

By the time I dragged myself home with my haul, it was already after 9.  But it took me only 20 minutes to make this dish, from start to finish. So there was still time for some mindless TV afterwards.

Pasta with Beans, Greens and Sausage
Serves 6

• 1-2 T. extra virgin olive oil
• A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 vegetarian sausages of choice, sliced
• 2 bunches of lacinato kale, stems removed, leaves chopped
• 2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2-2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 12 oz. whole grain pasta of choice

Saute the garlic, pepper flakes and sausage in the oil over medium heat until nicely browned. Add the kale and cook for three or four minutes, until softened. Add 2 cups vegetable stock and the beans, using a potato masher to mash up about half of the beans  in the pan. Simmer for about 8 minutes. Add another half cup or more of stock if the mixture gets dry. Season very generously with black pepper.

Throw your pasta into boiling water at the same time that you add the beans.  Drain.  Mix. Eat.

We eat this about twice a week – the variations are almost endless. In addition to using different types of pasta, you can vary the beans by using navy beans, chickpeas or any number of heirloom beans. Try broccoli, broccoli rabe or swiss chard instead of the kale. You can leave out the sausage as I often do, or use chicken sausage instead, if you’re so inclined. It’s also really nice with some halved cherry tomatoes added when you add the beans.

Oh dear, blogging about this meal took much longer than cooking it.  ‘Night, everyone.