Garden Chards Stuffed with Risotto

Oh my, this was good.  Chards, collards, or any large leafy green
are great wraps for any filling.  

Many years ago, dear Dr. Mariam mentioned something to me that made such simple sense, I couldn't believe that I hadn't thought of it myself.  We were enjoying someone's home-made dolmas.  They were soooo good.  I was marveling at the precision of the grape leaf wound around the filling when she said "...you know, you can use any leaf to wrap around a filling."  Or something like that.   Oh wow.  This opened up a whole new way to think about the chards, kales, collards, and even lighter lettuces in our garden.

Fast forward, I now use dark leafy greens in place of pasta for such dishes as caneloni or lasagna. For an elegant touch, I poach butter lettuce leaves briefly then wrap them around tender morsels of fresh salmon and bake.  Lettuces and dark leafy greens are prolific growers and we used to see them "bolt" before we had a chance to use them all up.  Thankfully we have found another way to use them. And, just like with regular pasta, if I am using these greens in an Italian-style dish, I double the recipe and freeze in portions for future use.

One basic thing though when using any lettuces as a wrap is to remove the tough spine.  Since chards and collards are large leafed, I run my knife along the edge of the spine and end up with two halves which means two wraps.  Same with the butter lettuce except that this lettuce leaf is smaller so I carefully cut around the thickest part of the spine but leave the rest of the leaf intact. After a brief dunk in simmering water, the whole leaf is softened and usable and we manage to gently wrap our parcels so no holes are left to let precious juices leak out.

Simply run your knife along the spine and remove it.  Voila!  Two usable halves.

The following recipe is inspired by Rosalind Creasy and her book the Edible Italian Garden.  She lives in our neighborhood and has conspired in the past with such notable chefs and growers as the Sebastianis and Paul Bertolli who was the chef at Chez Panisse restaurant for many years.

I followed a recipe for mushroom risotto (well not really because I always add my own inventions....) that was vegetarian.  Rosalind's recipe includes prosciutto and beef stock which I imagine is divine. This is the thing, once you are comfortable with preparing a filling and you have a vegetable wrap, you can create anything!

Serves:  6
Prep and Cook time: about an hour

Six or more large chard leaves, large stem removed
Risotto, recipe below
Tomato Sauce, I used organic canned from Costco with nothing else added
Cheese for topping, optional

Risotto:
2 Tblsp. butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 portobello mushroom, finely chopped
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
3 - 4 cups vegetable broth, or more (I use water if more moisture if needed)
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, finely grated

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and saute the onion and mushrooms until they are tender, about 7- 9 minutes.  Add the rice and stir so that the rice is coated with the buttery onion and mushroom mix. Add the white wine and stir for a few minutes until most of the wine moisture is gone.  Enjoy the heady aroma!

Start adding the vegetable broth, one cup at a time, stirring to incorporate the moisture throughout the rice.  Some people say you have to stir the whole time while adding the broth.  I don't do that because I am distracted by getting my baking dish ready, simmering the chards, and opening my can of tomato sauce....ya di ya.  Anyway, make sure you stir it often enough and note when it is starting to look dry and need another cup or so of broth.  When it is "to the tooth" (slightly crunchy but close to being creamy) add the Parmesan cheese and stir thoroughly.  Remove from heat.

While the rice is cooking, bring a large skillet of water to a simmer.  Dip your halved chard leaves into the water to soften.  This takes a minute or so for each leaf.  Remove and set aside.  Your wraps are ready.

Prepare your baking dish by spooning tomato sauce over the bottom of the dish.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Start wrapping!  For each chard leaf, add about 2+ tablespoons mushroom risotto mixture on the leaf and roll up.  Fill your baking dish with the rolls, seam side down, and top with tomato sauce until each roll is covered. The last topping of cheese is your choice.  The original recipe recommends Gruyere, however, I just used a bit of leftover Parmesan and some left-over Swiss cheese.  The topping is not the most important part of the recipe.  Once you bake this and eat it, the nugget is what is inside.

Ready to cook.  We didn't really need to add the goopy cheese on top.  It
would have been fine without it.  Or possibly just a fine grating
of Parmesan.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Serve with a greens salad dressed with vinaigrette and, if you desire, a slice of rustic bread.  Hmmm.

Approximate calories per serving (considering about two roll-ups per person) is 285 calories.  Add in about 10 grams protein, 5 grams fiber, 10 grams fat of which the majority is vegetable based,   There are approximately 35 g carbs total for diabetics who need to watch those numbers.  A daily requirement of iron and vitamin A is included in this delightful bundle.

Vegan option:  replace the butter with preferred oil and eliminate the cheese.

Have fun with this recipe!

- Kim Fielding

Creamy Mushroom Soup with no Cream



A drizzle of olive oil, a reserved sautéed mushroom, and a sprig of
fresh thyme make for a lovely presentation.

I can't rave enough about the My New Roots cookbook written by Sara Britton.  Plant-based recipes are beautifully photographed and easy to follow.  Sara has been writing a blog for some time and if you prefer vegan (mostly) foods, her inventions are divine.

This mushroom soup is an adaptation of the Oyster Mushroom Bisque featured in the cookbook.  I swapped out the oyster mushrooms for regular mushrooms and otherwise improvised where needed.  My sons and husband loved this.  Not a drop remained in their bowls.

The key to creaminess is the use of pureed white beans.  What a concept!  Pureed beans can be used in other recipes to add protein and fiber with none of regular cream's calories.  I will be making this for company because it is that good.

Serves 4 - 6
Prep and cook time:  45 minutes

3/4 lb. white mushrooms, wiped clean
1 Tblsp. coconut oil
3 medium onions, chopped
2 large leeks, sliced, tough dark green tops discarded
Fine sea salt
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, plus additional sprigs for garnish
3 large garlic cloves, minced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 quart vegetable broth
1 can white beans (navy, cannellini, Great Northern, butter), drained
Freshly ground black pepper
Cold-pressed olive oil, for drizzling

Make sure to remove any grit out of the leeks.

Chop mushrooms, leaving several slices for garnish.  Heat coconut oil in a large pot and cook the onions, leeks, salt, and thyme for about 5 minutes or until the onions and leeks are soft.  Add garlic to pot and stir.

This smells heavenly!

Sprinkle the lemon juice into the pot and stir to loosen any browned bits.  Stir in the mushrooms and cook on medium heat until mushrooms are soft, about 7 minutes.

While the mushrooms are cooking, whir the vegetable broth and beans in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.

Once the mushrooms are cooked, remove your garnish mushrooms and set aside.  Add the bean/vegetable broth mixture to the vegetables in the pot and stir well.  Simmer for at least 5 minutes.

My reserved garnish.

Spoon the soup mixture into the blender.  Blend on high speed until completely smooth.  Add more broth or water if you think the mix is too thick.  Season soup with a generous dose of black pepper and more sea salt if necessary.  Mix again.  Pour the soup into bowls and drizzle a small amount of olive oil over, then top with reserved mushroom(s) and a sprig of fresh thyme.

Each serving (1/6 recipe) offers 200 calories, over 5 g fiber, 9 g protein, 5 g fat, lots of B vitamins, and almost half your daily requirement for copper, iron, and manganese.  Copper helps maintain the health of your bones and connective tissues, helps keep your thyroid gland functioning normally, helps utilize iron, helps preserve nerve's myelin sheath, and protects cells against damage by free radicals. 

My measure for a successful recipe.

- Kim Fielding

Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce

Everything goes into the pot and then you walk away.  Come back
later and your delicious sauce is ready.

In order to cook large batches of sauce for the melodrama audience, I decided to use my crock pot and prepare a batch of sauce per day for a week.  The sauce freezes beautifully.

serves: 16          prep time: about 1/2 hour
cook time: 6 hours

2 pounds New York style Italian sausage
24-ounces mushrooms, sliced  (if you are a mushroom lover like me, I always add tons more)
olive oil, optional
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 large container Prego Heart Smart Italian spaghetti sauce (67 ounces)
1/3 large container of water
1 cup burgundy wine
Shredded Parmesan cheese
Cooked pasta

 

This is my mom's favorite.  And I can't argue with the ingredients.

 

Start by adding the sausage to the pan.
 Fold in the mushrooms a handful at a time. 
They cook down quickly into the sausage.

Saute Italian sausage with the mushrooms in a large pot.  If needed, a splash of oil added to the pan will prevent the sausage from sticking.  Break up the sausage with a spoon or kitchen shears into bite-size pieces.  When the mushrooms are softened and the sausage is no longer pink, add all (especially the juices!) to a 6 quart crock pot.

Mix in the rest of the ingredients - diced tomatoes and their juices, spaghetti sauce, water and wine.  Stir all together well.

Cook on low for about 6 hours.

Each serving provides about 280 calories, 4 grams fiber, 10 grams protein and about 18 grams fat.  Each ounce of dry cooked noodles adds another 100 calories.  We use brown rice noodles for those who need gluten free pasta.  Other choices might include quinoa or corn noodles. 

An optional topping is Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

- Kim Fielding

Hot and Sour Broth with Mushrooms

Aromatic broth, mushrooms, and green onions enhance
tofu, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots.

I love hot and sour soup.  Whenever we eat Chinese food, I end up finishing everyone's soup off for them.  After taking a look at a variety of recipes over the years, I never quite found one that was easy or quick enough to prepare.  Until recently.  Fellow blogger Stephanie O'Dea has a slow cooker website that features her version of Hot and Sour Soup.  The men all liked it as do I.  Even with a couple of variations, this is a super simple recipe.

serves:  6                     prep time:  10 minute
cook time:  4-5 hours on high, 8-9 hours on low

I bought this crockpot at Costco decades ago.  Nowadays,
they are more sophisticated.  But this one still works great.

4 - 5 cups water
8 ounces firm tofu, cubed
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
7-8 fresh shitakes, stems removed and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons low sodium Tamari (soy sauce)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon Better than Boullion broth base
1 can sliced bamboo shoots, drained
1 can sliced water chestnuts. drained
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Green onion, sliced, for garnish

Place all ingredients in a crockpot except the green onions.  Put the lid on and cook on low for 8-9 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.  If you like soup that is more sour, add more rice wine vinegar.  If you like hot, then add more hot peppers.  This soup can accomodate other ingredients if you wish to experiment - egg, seaweed, Scriacha sauce or Sambal Oleek, and even shredded chicken.  Serve with sliced scallions on top.

Each cup of soup provides approximately 85 calories, 20% of your daily requirement for riboflavin, 18% of iron needs, about 40% for copper, and about 295 g sodium.

- Kim Fielding

Pan-steamed Zucchini with Mushrooms



Use a variety of summer squash in this quick sauteed side dish.


















August brings an abundance of summer squash to the farmer's markets.  Purchase several varieties and mix them into this side dish. 

serves: 4                prep and cook time:  15 minutes

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large mushrooms, sliced thinly
1/2 of a small onion, diced
2 large summer squash: zucchini, pattypan, crookneck, or other variety, sliced
Vegetable or chicken broth, or water
Salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, heat the oil and add the mushrooms and onions.  Stir and cook until they soften, adding broth or water as needed to keep them moist.   Add the summer squash to the pan and stir to mix the onion, mushrooms and squash all together.  Add a couple of tablespoons more of broth and place a lid on your skillet.  Let the vegetables cook over medium-low heat, stirring once or twice, until cooked tender, about 4 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

This dish offers less than 50 calories per serving.

- Kim Fielding