Smoky Shiitake "Bacon"

This crispy, smoky, yummy treat is an awesome addition to salads, soups, and can even be used to make a veggie "BLT." Smoky Shiitake "Bacon"

2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

2 tbsp tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)

1 tsp smoked paprika

4 ounces (4-5 large) shiitake mushrooms, de-stemmed and sliced thin

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Whisk together the melted coconut oil, tamari, and smoked paprika. Lightly and evenly coat the shiitake mushrooms.  The more coated they are the longer it'll take them to cook.  Roast them in the oven anywhere from 10-15 minutes, checking often.  They will quickly go from crispy to extra crispy, so keep an eye on them.  Toss them occasionally to make sure they cook evenly.

You can also pan fry them and they still taste delicious.  Once you have your crispy, smoky shiitakes use them to add flavor to your favorite dishes.  Tonight I threw them in with my Asian Slaw and it turned out great.  Have fun and enjoy!

The shiitake marinade can also be used with tempeh.  When I make tempeh "bacon" I marinade tempeh cut into thin strips and then pan fry them until browned. It's a great bacon substitute for vegetarians or people wanting to make healthier choices.

Dal (Red Lentil) Soup

I discovered dal a few years ago at an awesome Himalayan restaurant in Petaluma, CA.  Since they eventually sold the restaurant, I was determined to recreate it at home.  Since then it has become one of my staple foods that I love to experiment with.  Dal is an Indian term referring to when a lentil is cooked long enough to separate from its hull.  Here's one recipe for dal, but play with it as you can use the lentil soup as a blank canvas: Dal Soup

Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients:

Olive oil

2 large carrots, diced small

2 small onions or 1 large, diced

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced small

2 large red skinned potatoes, peeled and diced small

1 1/2 cup red lentils

1 tsp grated ginger (feel free to use more if you like ginger)

2 cloves garlic, minced

Zest of 1/2 lemon

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground clove

Dash of cayenne, to taste

Juice of 1 lemon (use less if you don't want it as lemony)

1 tbsp tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)

6 cups veggie broth

Sea salt, to taste

3 green onions, sliced

2-3 leaves of kale, destemmed and sliced thin

Directions:

In a medium-large stock pot heat up enough olive oil to coat the bottom over medium-high heat.  Add the carrots, onions, sweet potatoes, and red skin potatoes.  Stir occasional and let cook until potatoes and carrots are soft.

Stir in red lentils, garlic, ginger, lemon zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and cayenne.  Stir for a minute or two and then deglaze the pan with the lemon juice and tamari. *Deglazing is when you put liquid into a hot pan and use a utensil to scrape the flavors that stick to the bottom of the pan off.

After the garlic seems to have cooked enough, about 2-3 minutes, add in your veggie broth and bring to a boil.  Lower your heat to a simmer and let the dal simmer until the lentils have broken down, ~20minutes.

Adjust your seasoning and then add the kale and green onions.  Stir for a minute and then serve.

Variations:

Spice with cumin, cayenne, coriander, curry and cilantro.

Play with using different vegetables as the base.

Add some coconut milk for a sweeter, thicker soup.

Blend it until smooth.

Nori Rolls, Fresh Rolls and Miso Soup

First thing's first, what the heck are nori and fresh rolls?  I've been eating these so long that I forget that they're a bit outside the normalcy range.  Nori is a type of seaweed used to wrap up sushi.  When I don't want to take the time to roll sushi I will just throw some veggies and what not into a sheet of nori, roll it up like a burrito, and cut it in half. Fresh rolls are made from thin, transparent rice paper. You see these a lot at Thai and Vietnamese restaurants.  It's like having a salad wrapped up like an egg roll that isn't fried.  It's delicious.  You can find both nori and rice paper in the Asian section of grocery stores.

Moving on.. what I like about fresh and nori rolls is that you can be super creative and it looks beautiful on the plate.  In culinary school, they always told us that you first eat with your eyes and so it's important to take the extra time and effort to make the food look beautiful and appetizing.  I agree whole-heartedly.

I won't give you an actual recipe for the rolls as I want you to get creative, but I will provide tips and miso soup and peanut sauce recipes.

Tips:

• You can make one or another, but often I make both at the same time as they share similar ingredients.

• Start by chopping up the veggies that sound good to you.  I like to use bell peppers, cucumbers, avocado, cabbage, fresh herbs, carrots, green onions, radishes, lettuce or kale... 
• Nori rolls - cut your veggies thin and long
• Fresh rolls - cut into smaller pieces
• I love to put fresh herbs in the rice paper rolls because that's what tastes fresh to me.  I've used mint, basil and cilantro and all are delicious.
• SPROUTS! Sprouts are soooo good for you and they add a nice texture.
• Starches: I often add starches, which will add bulk and make it easier to roll.  You can use cooked rice noodles, rice, or quinoa, but just make sure they're cooled.
• Rolling fresh rolls: you start by soaking the rice paper in water to make it pliable.  Then assemble your ingredients and roll like a burrito.  You want to pull to make it tight, but carefully as they tear easily.  Gently cut in half with a serrated knife.

• Rolling nori rolls: similar to fresh rolls except you leave the ends open.  When you're finished rolling slightly dampen the last centimeter of the sheet with some water and roll to seal. Gently cut in half with a serrated knife.
• Serve nori rolls with wasabi, soy sauce, or a sriracha (popular Asian hot sauce) mayo.
• Serve fresh rolls with peanut sauce.
• Don't get discouraged.  Your first few rolls probably won't turn out, but you'll get the hang of it.

Peanut Sauce:

Makes about 3/4 cup

2 tbsp peanut butter

2-3 tsp tamari (gluten-free soy sauce), to taste

1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice

1/4 c coconut milk

2 tsp honey

Cayenne, to taste

Ginger, to taste

Whisk together ingredients and let sit for 30 minutes.  Serve with fresh rolls.

Miso Soup:

Serves 3-4 people

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 tsp grated ginger

1/2 lemon, juiced

4 cups veggie broth

2 tbsp miso

1/4 package of rice noodles

3 leafs of kale, de-stemmed and chopped

3 green onions, sliced

Tamari, to taste

In a soup pot on medium-high heat warm up the olive oil.  Add the onion and sauté until onions are clear and broken down.  Add garlic, ginger, and lemon juice.  Sauté for another minute or two.  Add the veggie broth and bring to boil.  Whisk in miso until fully dissolved.  Add rice noodles, kale, and green onion and stir until rice noodles are soft.  Season with tamari and serve.

Lots of times I'll have left over veggies that I either make more nori and fresh rolls with, make sushi out of, or throw into a stir fry.  This last time I used some fresh broiled salmon and made sushi.  Have fun!

Vegan Mushroom Stew

Waking up with cold feet and no sunshine could have bummed me out, seeing as it's the middle of August, but instead I got excited to cook.  Rarely do you have opportunities to cook hearty, comfort food in the middle of summer, so I jumped at the chance.  I stocked up at the local food co-op and decided on a mushroom stew. I hear it's going to stay cool this week in Marquette, so here's your opportunity to cozy up with some healthy comfort food:

Vegan Mushroom Stew

Serves 6-8 people

Ingredients:

Olive oil

1 medium red onion, chopped small

Roughly 2 cups chopped portobello mushrooms (3 small or 1 large)

Roughly 2 cups chopped shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and discarded (4 large or 6-7 small)

3 medium red skinned potatoes, chopped into small cubes

3 medium leeks, sliced into thin half-moons

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tablespoon italian seasoning

A dash of cayenne pepper, to taste

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1-1/2 cups gluten-free pasta

1 cup nutritional yeast (you can find this in bulk at the Co-Op)

8 cups vegetable broth

1 cup shredded kale

2 sliced green onions

Sea salt, to taste

Directions:

• Lightly coat the bottom of a large soup pot with olive oil and warm up on medium-high heat.
• Add onion and mushrooms and sauté for about five minutes until onions are soft.

• Add potatoes, leeks, garlic, italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, and apple cider vinegar and sauté for another 5 minutes.
• Add pasta, nutritional yeast, and vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
• Let simmer on medium-low, uncovered until potatoes are soft and pasta is cooked, roughly 30 minutes. Stir regularly so the bottom doesn't burn.  You may need to cook a little longer to allow it to thicken up.
• Stir in kale and green onions then adjust seasoning.  Adding more nutritional yeast will thicken it up if it seems to thin.

Today I toasted up some fresh baguettes from the Marquette Baking Co. and served it with the soup... so good!