Simplicity and Balance – Vegan Mexican Spiced Lettuce Wraps

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Oh how I miss the long lazy days of summer! We are in full fall swing now which looks something like this… Liv is in 3rd grade and Jack in Kindergarten, now finally at the same school. That seems like something to celebrate right? Well yes and no… You see Jack starts school at 7:40 and Liv at 7:50 but there is NO, and I mean NO, parking at the school so we have to be there at 7:20 if we have any hope not to be towed from a fire lane. Liv and I walk Jack to class and wait the 20 minutes for Jack to go in, and then I walk Liv to class and kiss her around the corner, so nobody sees, then head back to my car by 7:55. Now kid free, I should have a ton of time right? Well… Jack gets out of school at 11:10, except for on early release Wednesdays when he is out at 10:25. Liv gets out at 2:07, except for on early release Wednesdays when she is out at 1:10. So yep, back and forth and back and forth I drive!

Yesterday I drove to the school at 7:20 did my usual routine of walking the kids to class AND it was my day to volunteer in Jacks class, but not until 8:20! This puts somewhat of a monkey wrench my typical efficient use of time, I mean what to do for 25 min at the SCHOOL? So, I hopped in my car and drove the 2 miles home ran into the house, literally, and started a load of laundry and a load of dishes, watered my little seedlings, fed and watered the chickens and made all of the beds. Then I hopped back into the car and drove back to the school where I ran a table group in Jack’s class that involved helping 23 kindergartners determine what pictures started with the letter F and then cut and pasted them on to a new sheet of paper. I love helping in the classroom! The kids, especially kindergartners, are soooo darn cute! I got out of there at 9:30, not bad except for it was Wednesday so I had to be back to pick up Jack at 10:25 which really means 10:05 if you want to park (legally). So again I was faced with what to do with a short amount of time??? Fortunate for me I keep my gym bag in the car and live only 1 mile away from the gym so off to the gym I went… I got six miles of running in before I was back at school to pick up Jack, ok I was sweaty and maybe not smelling the best but I fit in my work out!

Now I know some of you are thinking yah busy until 2:10 then what? Well HOMEWORK every day times two kids (God bless you who have more), Monday both kids have Faith Formation, Tuesday is soccer practice, Wednesday gymnastics, Thursday is soccer practice (again), Friday Rick plays softball and we all typically go as a family to watch, Saturday we have soccer games and then finally Sunday is our day of rest and prayer! So my every minute is spent trying to create efficiency in our family and how we function so we all can enjoy some balance in our lives! Balance between family time and responsibilities, stewardship and indulgence and work and rest. It is all very complicated behind the scenes, so naturally I crave simplicity!

I have mentioned before that I like to balance our meals between animal protein based and vegetable and grain protein based. We typically eat 1-2 vegetarian or vegan dishes per week for dinner and mostly all vegan or vegetarian lunches throughout the week. I have taught my kids that balance is important in all aspects of life, and too much of anything is almost never good. One thing that has been an important lesson for them is balance while you eat. I have taught them to turn their plates while they eat, literally. Eating 1-2 bites from each thing offered on their plate at a time to ensure that when they are full they have had at least some of everything. It is fun for them to remember not to eat all of one item first. But let’s face it sometimes that’s even too completed! So to make life simple we have the foods you can eat with your hands, and even better are the foods that can be eaten with only one hand! Now come on, even if you are a diehard carnivore you have to try this vegan dish! You won’t be sorry you did and I guarantee you will add it to your favorite menus for the nights you have limited time for dinner! The kids LOVE to build their own wraps! This dish offers simplicity and balance for you and your family with little effort involved! Enjoy!



Vegan Mexican Spiced Lettuce Wraps

(adapted from Peas and Thank You)
 
Serves 4 (with left over beans to be used for salad toppers- now that’s efficient!)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 tablespoon water
3 cups of cooked chickpeas (recipe below), or two 14 oz. cans, drained and rinsed
One head of bibb or red lettuce, leaves removed and washed
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup jicama, julienned
1 cup chopped tomatoes 
1/2 slice red onion
 1 cup bleu rosemary avocado sauce or guacamole 
1 can sliced olives, drained
1 cup shredded cabbage
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Pickled jalapenos, as desired

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, cumin, salt, lime juice, oil and water. Add chickpeas and marinate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

Place chickpeas on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil. Bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring once during cooking, until chickpeas are slightly crispy. Prepare lettuce leaves and rest of trimmings and place in small bowls for little hands to grab:)



Jack ate four wraps!


Liv ate a "deconstructed" wrap:)
 

Make your Own Chickpeas

2 cups dried chickpeas
1 yellow onion, peeled and quartered
4 cloves garlic, crushed and unpeeled
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 tablespoon salt

Overnight soak 2 cups dried chickpeas in cold water, covering chickpeas by at least 6 inches. Drain chickpeas and place in stockpot. Cover chickpeas with cold water by two inches. Add onion, garlic, thyme and bay. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat add salt and simmer for 1 ½-2 hours or until tender. Drain chickpeas and discard onion, garlic, thyme and bay. Spread chickpeas out on a sheet pan to cool. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to five days.

May you have balance and simplicity this week!

Nicole
Posted by The Junk-Free Chef at 4:07 PM 0 comments
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Farm to Table – Families Coming Together

Wednesday, August 29, 2012
 

Nothing defines the farm to table movement more than growing your own food for your family. Not everyone has the time, space, knowledge or desire for that matter, to grow their own food. For me I have some time, a little knowledge, a huge desire and nowhere near enough space! As I have shared before, I grew up on a farm where we did as much as we could to self sustain, within reason. Both of my parents worked full time but with space, a little knowledge and a desire we all pitched in and grew and raised everything from herbs, edible flowers and vegetables to dairy goats, rabbits, laying hens, ducks, geese, pigs and beef cows. My Mom always called it”our little menagerie.” As an adult I now have my own little menagerie in our family’s suburban oasis!
 
 
 
Of course we have the vegetable, herb and tea gardens, worms for composting to making amazingly rich soil and…our ladies, the hens round out our rural-suburbia. Clearly we do not have enough room for the dairy and meat component of a self-sustaining homestead! This is where a real passion and commitment to knowing what you are eating and feeding the ones you love comes in. Fortunate for me I have friends and family with {space}… My childhood best friend and business partner, Megan, has some property in the Shenandoah Valley where she, her husband and her daughters all have animals they raise for meat, milk and eggs. Lucky for us she has a surplus of fresh goat’s milk she happily shares with our family! Although Megan has a lot more space than I do, her daughters are all in 4-H so her small little farm is bursting at the seams…

This spring Megan and I bought two grass-fed lambs with the intention of raising them ourselves until late summer and butchering them to provide a good amount of delicious hormone and antibiotic free meat for our families this fall and winter. The only trouble with this was that neither one of us had the space to keep two lambs. With the desire to raise our own meat and no place to do it, my wonderful parents offered to allow us to raise our little lambs at their small farm just outside of Sacramento. Another example of families coming together to help perpetuate the farm to table and slow food movements! It was a wonderful adventure that I am glad my kids were part of! We plan to celebrate by sharing a lamb and harvest feast with our families and close friends in the fall. There is something very satisfying about growing and raising your own food, and I look forward to the day where I can expand my homesteading operation! Until then I feel blessed to have friends and family who also believe in the satisfaction and importance of producing your own food.

Now if you are a meat eater and have never had a lamb burger you are truly missing out! I challenge you to branch out and try this recipe. Rich roasted red pepper aioli, creamy goat cheese and earthy sautéed kale top these delicious lamb burgers; I promise you won’t be disappointed! When shopping for ground lamb try to find organic grass-fed lamb, as it’s typically earthy with a slight sweetness and not gamey tasting. If you aren’t sold that you are going to like the taste of a lamb burger ease into it by mixing the lamb 1:1 with lean ground beef, or even ground turkey.
 
 


 Roasted Red Pepper Aioli 

 2 cloves garlic
½ cup roasted red peppers (1 red pepper)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Roast the Pepper

Rub red pepper with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place pepper on the grill or roast in a 450 degree oven until charred and completely wrinkled. Remove pepper and place immediately in a plastic container with a tightly fitted lid. Keep covered until cool enough to handle. Peel outer skin, cut in half and remove stem and seeds.

Finely chop the garlic in the food processer.
Add the pepper and blend until almost smooth, then add the mayonnaise. With the food processer running, slowly blend in the oil to emulsify. Season the aioli, to taste, with salt and pepper. Transfer the aioli to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate. The aioli can be made up to 2 days ahead.

Sautéed Kale

1 bunch dinosaur (dino) kale a.k.a Tuscan kale, thoroughly washed
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1-2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Chop kale into bite-size pieces removing the woody stems. Heat oil in large sautéed pan on medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and sauté until fragrant about 2 minutes. Add kale stir to coat with the oil and sprinkle with some salt. Sauté kale on med heat until wilted and tender. Stir in red wine vinegar and red pepper flakes, then salt and pepper to taste.

Lamb Burgers (makes 4, ¼ pound burgers)

4 fresh buns
(Kaiser rolls are a great choice great, but I choose to use multigrain sandwich thin to lighten it up)
Fresh goat cheese
1 pound ground organic grass-fed lamb
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh herbs (I use: mint, chives, thyme, parsley and oregano)
½ teaspoon Ground Coriander
¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon Allspice
1 teaspoon Onion powder
½ teaspoon Cumin
2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
1 teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Divide the meat evenly into 4 patties. Sprinkle lightly with salt and fresh ground pepper. Grill until desired doneness.

Assembly:

Grill your buns and spread on some of the creamy roasted red pepper aioli. Place burger on the bun and top with sautéed kale and crumble some soft fresh goat cheese on the top. Enjoy with a marinated vegetable salad or a simple fresh from the garden tomato and cucumber salad! 
 
 

Waste Not Want Not Tip:

Don’t throw out those kale stems or the stems from your herbs! Instead start putting them in a freezer bag along with your mushroom stems. Then once a month commit to making your own vegetable stock! Freeze your cooled stock in freezer bags in 1 and 2 quart batches. Then the next time you make risotto, polenta or even rice you have a flavorful stock without any preservatives! Enjoy!
 
Posted by The Junk-Free Chef at 12:45 PM 0 comments
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Farmers Market Finds

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

The Farmers Market is typically part of our Sunday ritual in the Craine house; we eat a fun breakfast, go to church, stop at our favorite new local coffee shop, The Hub, and the stroll through the farmers market. We have our favorite booths we visit every Sunday with farmers who welcome us back again and again to share their beloved harvest. We can’t go without the fragrant and flavorful salad from Somerset, made with a tasty mix of lettuces, greens, herbs, shoots and editable flowers; or the sweetest most mouthwatering wildflower honey you have ever tasted! We, of course, sample and select a variety of the most succulent stone fruits and melons, because we grow our own tomatoes and berries right in our backyard. After we gather up all of our favorite farmers market treasures we pick a few others to go with dinners for the week. I typically let the kids pick whatever they want and come up with a recipe for their find later.

Oh, and I forgot the most FUN part of it all…we let the kids handle all of the money transactions… We figure it is a good learning experience for them to be able to handle the farmers market finances. Each child is responsible for “their” fifteen dollars. Which usually works out just fine, with the exception of the occasional bickering about who has more money left, etc… So last week as we were winding down our farmers market trip, Liv had the only money left, nine dollars to be exact. She wanted beets and heirloom carrots from one of our favorite stands. When the farmer told her it was going to be “three dollars for the beets and two dollars for the carrots” she stopped and stared at him… Now I know she can handle simple addition, so what was the hold up? She, still looking confused, handed the farmer her four one dollar bills and tightly clutched the remaining five dollar bill in her other hand. I said “Liv, the total is five dollars not four.”She said, “I know I just don’t want to give up the five dollar bill, I don’t like ones!” The farmer laughed and told her to keep it! Not the lesson I was going for, but we all had a great laugh! Liv came home and put the remaining five dollar bill in our farmers market bank to be used next Sunday.
Now for dinner plans…fresh red beets and heirloom carrots in 100 degree weather, hmmmm. On Sundays we always roast a chicken, and in the summer we always grill outside for every cooked meal! After giving it some thought I decided on a grilled beet and heirloom carrot salad with lemon vinaigrette, fresh herbs and goat cheese. It was such a hit… guess what one of Jack’s farmers market veggie picks was this week? You guessed it beets and heirloom carrots! This may be a new part of our Sunday dinner tradition from now on! I’m not sure if it was how tasty the salad actually was, or the designs they made that made it such a hit. Make the salad with roasted chicken and let me know what you think!


The Salad:

1 bunch fresh red beets, washed, peeled and sliced into ¼” rounds

1 bunch baby heirloom carrots, scrubbed, halved lengthwise and then halved again
(peel them if you want…I don’t)

Toss beet rounds and carrot segments in olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill in grill basket until tender but still firm about 8 min on each side.

The Vinaigrette:

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup chopped fresh herbs, reserve 1 tbsp to sprinkle on the top (I used chives, tarragon, parsley and basil)

2 cloves garlic, grated

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

2 tsp honey

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Wisk together lemon juice, 3 tbsp herbs, garlic, lemon zest, honey, salt, and pepper, then gradually wisk oil in a slow steady stream. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with more salt and pepper.

Assembly:

1-2 oz crumbled goat cheese

3-4 cups of your favorite mixed greens

Toss mixed greens, grilled beets and carrots with lemon vinaigrette and reserved herbs and top with crumbled goat cheese! Then make a face on your plate and enjoy your dinner with a well balanced with white Barbara!

Waste Not Want Not Tip:

Never throw away the beet greens! Wash them thoroughly and add them to your favorite salad raw, or sauté them with some garlic, shallot and olive oil! They are so tasty and full of protein, folate, pantothenic acid, phosphorus and zinc!






Posted by The Junk-Free Chef at 8:39 PM 0 comments
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