moroccan stew

moroccan food has a special meaning to me after studying abroad in rabat while in high school. i fell in love with the flavors of morocco - sweet spices, plump dried fruit, cous cous, fresh fish, legumes and citrus, all in abundance! but nothing compares to the fresh orange juice bought from street vendors in morocco - so refreshing in the warm climate! never mind the fact that it was handed to you in a reused glass that is haphazardly washed in a bucket of water... when traveling in morocco, don't drink the tap water but do drink the orange juice! anyhow, back on topic - here is a simple vegan stew inspired by the flavors of morocco!

1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cubed

2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 can)

1 bay leaf

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup diced tomatoes

small onion, diced and sauteed until translucent in 1 tablespoon olive oil

10 dried apricots, quartered or cut smaller

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon mace (or nutmet)

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 cup cous cous

1 cup boiling water

2 tablespoons olive oil

parsley for garnish

plain yogurt (optional)

i made this stew in a slow cooker - first cooking chickpeas in water with a bay leaf until fork tender. i then poured out the water (retaining the bay leaf) and replaced it with fresh broth and combined all other ingredients. continue cooking on high until squash is soft. if making the stew on the stove top - simply combine ingredients and cook at a low flame for 1 or 2 hours, until squash is soft. when the squash is soft, remove from heat and let sit for a few minutes while you prepare the cous cous. combine equal parts boiling water with cous cous. stir to moisten cous cous, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. uncover, fluff with a fork and drizzle lightly with olive oil. serve with a large ladleful of stew! garnish with fresh parsley and a spoonful of plain yogurt.

roasted turban squash soup

my dad randomly dropped of a turban squash with me this week. after admiring it's color and shape as a centerpiece on my table, i considered my options for preparing a meal with it. it was giant - too big to cut into without the use of a hatchet. i've cooked smaller squashes whole before... so i widened the space between the racks in my oven and plopped the squash in at 350 degrees for about 90 minutes and crossed my fingers.

after a long walk with my dog, i came home to a warm delicious aroma in the home. i took the heavy squash out of the oven and let it sit for about 30 minutes before trying to handle it. once it had cooled, i cut it in half. the center portion with seeds was oozy and gooey - but the rest of the squash was still pretty firm. edible, but a little too firm. after letting the steam pour out, scoop the seeds and ooze out from the center. the skin had hardened, reminding me of a dried gourd - making it easy to remove the flesh of the squash. i spread the innards back onto the baking sheet, running my fingers through it to remove any hard stringy material. the squash was still a bit stringy, but in this soup recipe it won't matter - just remove the hardened bits.

this made for a giant batch of soup - i suppose i could have jarred some of the squash for later use, but instead i just ended up freezing half of the soup. anyhow, here you have it...

roasted turban squash soup:

1 turban squash (or other large squash or medium pumpkin)

2 onions, chopped

12 cloves of garlic

6 cups vegetable broth

1 teaspoon mace (or nutmeg)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons coriander

4 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon chili flakes

large bunch fresh sage, torn into pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

wash and scrub your squash to remove any dirt. bake squash on a baking tray at 350 until hallow sounding and slightly soft - about 90 minutes depending on the size of your squash. while it cooks, you can prep your other ingredients. peel all garlic and roast in a foil pocket with about 2 tablespoons of oil coating the cloves. roast in the oven with the pumpkin for about 30 minutes or until lightly brown. in a large soup pot, saute the diced onions in 2 tablespoons oil until lightly golden. add the sage and all other spices (except salt) and saute another minute until very fragrant. add half the broth to the pot and bring to simmer. once the squash is ready (see above for additional tips) add the flesh to the soup pot. mix ingredients all together - add additional broth until you achieve your desired texture - not too wet, but not as dense as baby food. depending on the size of your squash you may require more or less broth.

you will notice that the squash is still a bit stringy. if you have an emersion blender, use it to puree the soup. or transfer in batches to a blender or food processor. once the soup is smooth and creamy, bring the soup to a simmer and cover. allow to simmer for about 20 minutes to allow the flavors to infuse with the pureed squash. finally, add salt to taste.

* wonderful flavors to pair with pumpernickel bread or any kind of dense bread to dip!

pet food

i had an epiphany a few months ago when i read a fact that seattle has more dogs than we do children (no wonder i love this city)... but here are all these foodies and environmentalists and activists eating our organic produce, local fresh eggs or maybe some small-scale grass-fed beef, and what is it that we feed our pets?! most likely, some highly processed 'meat byproduct meal' crap from a bag. take a look at your pet food - if there is any vaguely labeled ingredients such as 'chicken-byproduct-meal,' you should drop the bag and go apologize to your four-legged friend for feeding it feathers and diseased meats. need more motivation to take action? check out marion nestle's book, 'pet food politics'

i could continue on this rant, or i could give you some useful suggestions of what can be done! first off, there are some very high quality foods on the market - like the honest kitchen's natural dehydrated pet foods. this is a good place to start if you don't have the time to learn more about preparing meals for animals. pet food is a science! just like us, dogs and cats require specific nutrients and ratios of protein to carbohydrates. but it is a science that can be perfected in your own home kitchen with a little bit of research and reading. i've been preparing meals for our pets based on the guidelines from a book called 'natural health for dogs & cats'

watching our cats dig their little furry faces into the first meal i prepared them gave me a surprising amount of joy. sure, i love getting to cook for and share a meal with my friends and family. but never before had i been able to do the same for our pets! i was so proud (and relieved that they actually liked my cooking!) that i think i may have scared them a bit with my enthusiasm. it's been a slow, gradual transition, but they are now on a 100% local raw foods diet!

what goes into a balanced meal for your pet? cat's are carnivores and require meat - lots of meat - and in the wild, that meat would be raw. dogs enjoy more vegetables and grains (potentially your dog could even be vegetarian if given ample supplements). our goal was to be able to track the source of the meat we feed to our pets, so we talked to the butcher at dot's delicatessen in hopes of finding some reasonably priced, lean ground meats from a local farm. for the first time in my life, i purchased beef chuck and liver and brought it home to my vegetarian kitchen.

beyond raw meat, cats and dogs also require carbs, calcium (which i learned can be supplemented by finely ground egg shells), fats and oils, omegas, various vitamins and enzymes - most of which can be sourced from natural foods or whole food supplements. oh, and nutritional yeast is the perfect meal topper for you pet (who knew??) so there is a bit of initial investment as you stock up on a few supplements and fish oils, etc. but in the end, our pet food costs have only gone up about 25% ... but it was worth it! just be patient with your pets - pet food scientists spend more time studying food additives and flavorings to make your pets addicted to their dry food than they do studying the quality and nutritional value of the food. cat's especially can be addicted to their dry food, but once they learn what real food they will love you for your efforts.

bon appetit mes chattes et mon chien! sante!

stuffed mushroom melts

it's was late in the evening after a hectic day of discovering our new puppy has gone into her first heat a few months earlier than expected (eek!) and my belly, like our fridge, is rather empty. it never stops to amaze me what delicious food can be created from just a few simple ingredients!...

stuffed mushroom melts:

4 portobello mushrooms, stems removed

1/2 small red onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

6 sun dried tomatoes drained from oil, sliced

8 narrow slices of havarti cheese (or any soft, meltable cheese)

3 tablespoons olive oil

chives for garnish, chopped

salt & pepper

heat your oven to 475. prep all the vegetables and set to the side. smear 2 tablespoons of oil into a baking pan and rub the mushrooms into the oil to coat. add more oil if the mushrooms soak up all the oil. once the oven is heated, cook the mushrooms tops down for about 12 minutes until soft.

in the mean time, heat a skillet with 1 tablespoon of oil or butter. slowly saute the onions and celery until caramelized - about 10 minutes. add the sun dried tomatoes and heat through for another minute. remove the mushrooms from the oven and place 1/4 of the vegetable mixture onto each mushroom. sprinkle a few chopped chives onto each mushroom then place two slice of cheese criss-crossed over each stuffed mushroom. turn the oven up to a broil and broil for about 3 minutes or until the cheese starts to bubble slightly. it will look messy and delicious. serve hot with crusty bread or we steamed up a few yams in the time it took to cook the mushroom melts. yum!

winter risotto

this risotto is full of warming seasonal flavors! creamy roasted butternut squash, sweet roasted chestnuts and savory sage folded into a slow-cooking rice risotto. delicious! risotto is fairly simple to make, but does require constant attention as you prep and cook (about 80 minutes or so). risotto is well worth the work and makes for lovely left overs too!

butternut squash & chestnut risotto:

1 1/2 cups risotto rice (arborio rice)

3 cups vegetable stock

1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1" cubes

1 small onion, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

4 ounces peeled and halved chestnuts (i used pre-cooked, vacuum packed chestnuts)

small bunch fresh sage

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 pats of butter (optional)

1/4 teaspoon chili flakes

1 teaspoon coriander

salt & pepper

1/4 cup parmesan, finely grated (optional)

parsley, chopped for garnish

preheat oven to 400 degrees. in the mean time, prep and dice all your vegetables. combine the cubed squash with one tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with chili flakes and ground coriander and spread the squash out in a single layer in a roasting pan. bake up to 30 minutes until fork tender.

while the squash is roasting, heat 1 tablespoon oil and a pat of butter in a large skillet and sautee the onions, celery and garlic for 10 minutes at a low heat. try to avoid browning the vegetables. at the same time, heat 3 cups of broth on the stove top, letting it sit at a simmer. after 10 minutes of cooking the vegetables, add the dry rice and turn up the heat. fry the rice with the vegetables for about one minute until the rice becomes translucent. add a ladleful (1/2 cup) of broth to the rice and vegetable mixture. continue cooking at a low temperature, uncovered, until the liquid is absorbed. continue to add a ladleful at a time, giving the rice time to absorb. depending on your patience level you may find that you use less or more liquid... just continue to cook until the rice is tender but still has a bit of a bite to it.

check the squash! once it is fork tender, add the chestnuts to the roasting pan and return to the oven for about 5-10 minutes until the squash is very soft and creamy and the chestnuts are heated through. remove the squash and nuts from the oven and let sit until the risotto rice is finished. season the rice to taste.

finally, combine the squash and chestnuts in with the risotto. add a handful of torn sage leaves, an extra pat of butter and parmesan cheese. fold all together and then let sit, covered for 2 minutes off of the heat. if you really want to please your palate, in small fry pan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and fry a few extra sage leaves. once crisp, remove from oil and let sit on a paper towel. crumbled on top of the risotto, the little crisp leaves are absolutely exceptional!

i was able to fit in a tray of roasted brussel sprouts in the oven while the squash was roasting - the timing worked out just perfectly. pile your risotto high with parsley and fried sage and enjoy!