A few years ago I was inspired to make a savory bread pudding after a neighbor gave us a day-old baguette. Since last year’s quest for the perfect quiche base, I’ve wanted to revisit this comfort food favorite and make a few changes. We love the new result and I am happy to offer this new version for the So Delicious Spring Fling Dairy-Free Recipe Contest.

While the recipe calls for a full-size baguette, the equivalent amount of any stale bread will work great. The best versions combine a few dry heels of a different types of bread so you get a big variation in the taste and chewiness of the bread, which is awesome. The version pictured here used the ends of three different bakery loaves: Walnut Whole Wheat and Country Brown, both from Ken’s Artisan Bakery, plus a bit of White Sourdough, from Grand Central Bakery (bakeries noted for folks in or visiting Portland).

The Stuff

• 1 stale baguette, coarsely cut up
• 1 medium bunch of kale, washed, stemmed & shredded
• 2 small leeks, white parts only, sliced thin
• 1 large carrot, diced small
• 1 large stalk of celery, diced small
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 12.3-ounce packages lite firm silken tofu, drained of water
• 1/2 cup So Delicious Unsweetened Almond Plus 5X almond milk
• Leaves from 8 stems of parsley, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons tahini
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black salt* (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 T champagne vinegar
• sweet paprika to sprinkle over the top

*Black Salt, or Kala Namak is usually found at a Desi market or a good pan-Asian market that features ingredients popular in Indian and other South Asian cuisines. It is mostly sodium chloride, but it also contains sulfur in addition to the other minerals. It is pink or light purple in color and imparts a more subtle flavor cooked. It can be skipped, just add 1/4 t of sea salt, but it worth the effort to seek it out. If you don’t have any suitable markets in your area, Kala Namak Salt can be purchased online.

The Making

Preheat oven to 375.

In a skillet heat the olive oil on medium-high heat and saute garlic quickly, less than two minutes, until it begins to sizzle. Add in celery, carrots, and leeks. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to sauté until the veggies begin to soften. Add kale, cover and reduce heat to low. Continue to cook, turning occasionally, until kale is softened. After 10 minutes drizzle champagne vinegar into the pan and cover for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl add coarsely chopped up bread, fresh parsley, and sautéed vegetables.

Add the remaining ingredients into a blender. Process until mixture is completely smooth, occasionally scraping down the sides to be sure everything is incorporated. Pour this mixture over the bread and vegetables. Mix all ingredients together, making sure bread is coated with the tofu-custard.

Spray a 9×13 baking dish with Canola oil. Pour bread, custard and vegetable mixture into dish. Lightly press down so that the pan is evenly filled. Dust top with sweet paprika.

Put pan into the oven and immediately reduce heat to 350. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool five minutes before cutting and serving.

Makes 12 servings.

Nutritional Info

Serving Size: 1 slice
Calories: 171
Total Fat: 4 g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 241 mg (10%)
Carbohydrates: 25 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Sugars: 3 g
Protein: 11 g

File under effin’ EASY! If you happen to have all the ingredients prepped, this comes together in minutes and makes for a delicious dinner.

On Sunday I’d gone into a kind of Mise-en-Place Production Frenzy. Setting up the ingredients to make tofu salad, chickpea salad, split pea soup (for Christie and I), and a braised portobello sandwich (for Mom, who hates peas).

In addition to all the chopping we’d been cleaning up and doing errands, so I found I was pretty tired and put the ingredients for the chickpea and tofu salads in the fridge. I also put half the carrots int he fridge after deciding to use up a parsnip that had been lurking in the veggie drawer for a while in the soup. The next day Christie made up her awesome tofu salad, but the rest of the onions and celery went back into the fridge with the chickpeas.

Having all the ingredients prepped for this dish meant all I had to do was throw stuff in a pot, simmer for 25 minutes, chop up the tomato and kale, throw in the kale and tomato, simmer for another 15 minutes or so. I had some with a toasted English muffin for dinner and it made my whole lousy day better. Good soup can do that.

The Stuff

• 3 stalks celery, diced fine
• 1 medium to large sweet onion, diced fine
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 2 t diced garlic
• 1 large tomato, diced small
• 1 bunch of kale, in thin ribbons
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas
• 2 cubes veggie bullion
• 1/4 nutritional yeast
• 1 T poultry seasoning
• 2 T champagne vinegar
• freshly ground black pepper
• 5 cups water

The Making

Heat a 6 qt. pot on medium-high heat and add a spray of canola oil. Add onions and saute 5-7 minutes before adding garlic. Saute together for another 5 minutes and add carrots, celery, and chickpeas. Mix together bullion cubes with water, add to pot along with the poultry seasoning.

Simmer on low for 25 minutes.

Add kale, tomatoes, nutritional yeast, vinegar, and pepper. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes until kale is tender.

Enjoy the chilly autumn evening!

Last summer I finally got the hang of fresh fava beans and we were hooked. This year we haven’t had any yet, but last weekend I picked up a few pounds at the Gresham Farmers Market.

Summer Rolls - Shiso & Favas

The combination of shiso in our garden and fresh favas inspired me to answer Christie’s desire for sushi.

The favas are pretty slippery, which made putting the roll together a little tricky.  I was also rushing a bit with the rice, which meant it was a little thick. Next time I try these out I’ll do a much thinner layer of rice and perhaps a really thin maki roll.

These make me want to get some purple shiso growing. I think the contrast to the bright green favas would be striking.

Although there’s a bit of labor involved in the whole “peel, boil, blanch, peel” process, fresh favas are amazing. I made sure to set aside a few for each of us to enjoy.

Beautiful Favas!

I also made us a very quick salad with purple cabbage, aged brown rice vinegar, and shiso flowers.

And the feast was rounded out by grilled tofu, two ways, and grilled kale.

Grilled Goodness

Yes, you read that right, I grill our kale. It becomes a little crispy, little smoky, a little wilted, and entirely delicious! I’ve also found that a drizzle of tamari and wasabi over the grilled kale is fabulous indeed

Tofu 1 (on the right): “Mushroom Ultimate” seasoning. We bought this seasoning last time we drove down to California. We make a regular stop in Corning to visit the Olive Pit. I used the seasoning like a dry rub for the tofu, then grilled. Really delicious!

Tofu 2 (on the left): “The Old Favorite” being a mix of nutritional yeast, freshly ground black pepper, and granulated garlic. This is such a favorite mix I’m going to start keeping a blend of it in our spice cabinet.

Yet another example of a stew/soup experiment that turned out so well, I had to put a recipe together!

This stew started out as a kind of “get out of my fridge” project after Thanksgiving. We get a big produce delivery every Monday and by Sunday I’m often trying to figure out a dish to use up as many veggies as possible. I also like to make a really big batch of something and we often have it as our lunches or a quick dinner during the week.

Aside from being just the kind of hearty, hot dish you want on a cold night, this stew is packed with vitamins and minerals and the French herbs pair beautifully with the veggies and navy beans. By the time the cooking is done the yams melt and the result is a thick, golden stew dotted with kale, parsley and carrots.

My favorite version is the one that is given, with lots of kale and fresh parsley. I’ve made a variation, pictured, with fresh thyme and white cabbage because that’s what I happened to have on hand that week. The cabbage & thyme variation is also really lovely, but I find it a bit sweeter.

The Stuff

• 3 cups dry navy beans
• 2 large leeks, whites only, sliced in quarter-inch rounds
• 2 medium red onions, half-inch dice
• 4 cloves garlic, diced small
• 3 large carrots, diced
• 4 large stalks celery, diced
• 4 small yams, diced
• 1 t Herbes de Provence
• 1 t dried thyme
• 2 large Bay leaves
• 8 cups water
• 1/3 c nutritional yeast
• 1 T champagne vinegar
• 1/2 c chopped, fresh parsley
• 1 large bunch of kale, stemmed and chopped up
• 2 T white miso
• freshly ground black pepper
• sea salt, to taste

The Making

Pressure Cooker Method:

Pre-cook navy beans in pressure cooker while you prep all the other ingredients. Plan to under cook the beans, only 14-15 minutes at full pressure. Let the pressure release normally. Drain and set aside.

While the beans cook prep all the vegetables.

After the pressure cooker is free, rinse out, dry and put back on stove on medium-high heat. When the pot is hot again, lightly spray bottom with canola oil and add the onions. Saute 5 minutes, until translucent, add garlic and saute another few minutes until the garlic becomes very fragrant.

Add the celery, carrots and leeks into the pot. Continue to saute in the pan for an additional five minutes. Add the yams, thyme, Herbes de Provence, and Bay leaves. Stir together well. Add in par-cooked beans and water, stir once more, and seal the pressure cooker.

Once cooker is at high heat set timer for 7 minutes. Use the release valve to reduce pressure and unlock the lid (it is also fine to just let it come down & unlock naturally).

Stir in the nutritional yeast, pepper, salt, vinegar, parsley and kale. Simmer on low heat for five minutes. Remove from heat and mix in the miso.

Stove-top Method:

The main difference is that you’ll soak the beans overnight and drain them. Once you add them back in, you’ll need to reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the beans are tender. Then follow the steps to add in the kale, fresh parsley, etc.

Serve in a big bowl and add some kind of grainy thing if you want. Rice, whole grain bread, crackers…

Makes 20 servings (freeze some, give some away!)

Nutrition Details

Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 188
Total Fat: 1.2g
Sodium: 146 mg
Carbohydrates: 36g
Dietary Fiber: 11g
Sugars: 3g
Protein: 11g

This time of year there are more tomatoes than I know what to do with, zucchini everywhere, lovely peppers and kale. Chopping it all up and throwing it into a pot is clearly the way forward. This hearty stew, so thick it is more of a stove top casserole, highlights the best of the late summer harvest.

Summer’s Bounty Stew

The Stuff

• 2 cups cooked chickpeas
• 3 medium zucchini, chopped (about 4 cups)
• 6 cloves garlic, minced roughly
• 1 medium onion, sliced into thin petals
• 1 poblano pepper, diced fine
• 2 bunches of kale, stemmed and torn into small pieces
• 2 pounds of fresh tomatoes, chopped into pieces of varying size (a nice mix of large and rather small bits is perfect)
• 1 t dried oregano
• 1 t dried basil
• 1 t dried marjoram
• ½ t dried rosemary, rubbed together in your palm to break it up a little
• ⅓ c nutritional yeast
• 1 t sweet paprika
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

The Making

Heat a 4 qt sauce pan or cast iron dutch oven on medium-high (if using cast iron, reduce to medium-low once the pot is hot).

Lightly spray the pot with canola oil. Saute onion until it begins to brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and continue to saute another 3-5 minutes; onions will begin to caramelize. Add poblano pepper and saute for another 5 minutes. Add in zucchini, chickpeas, and tomatoes.

Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until zucchini is tender. Add kale and all the herbs and spices then simmer until kale has softened, another 5 minutes.

Serve with some crusty bread or with quinoa.

Makes 3+ quarts of very tasty stew.

Notes:

• Yes, fresh herbs would totally rock. I just didn’t have any on hand. Next year we’ll have an herb garden going. I’d use up to a tablespoon of each herb, fresh. Parsley would be a great addition.
• This recipe reminds me a lot of the Japanese-inspired winter stew I make, which uses canned tomatoes. They would work perfectly well in this recipe, however, my main goal was to use up some of the pounds and pounds of fresh tomatoes from our garden.
• I use a mix of heirloom tomatoes, because that’s what we grow in the garden. Don’t worry if these are far too expensive to consider — just use any fresh tomatoes or go ahead and used canned, diced tomatoes.
• You could replace the sweet paprika with smoked paprika and it would be delicious. I think I sometimes go a little crazy with the smoked paprika so I skipped it this time.
• Want a spicier stew? Replace the paprika with cayenne and add a ½ teaspoon dried chili flakes – this would be fantastic too!

Nasty Flash + Ugly Counters

By the bye — check out the much better picture I used at the top of this post! Christie gave me a light tent set for my birthday so I can start taking better pictures of my food and art work. I still have a lot to learn about this kind of photography, but even the first attempt with the light tent on the picture above is so much better! For proof take a look at the best possible picture I was able to take at night in my kitchen.

This came about as a good way to use up the surplus bread dressing and roasted squash we had left after a big Thanksgiving dinner at our house. This year I roasted the stuffed squash directly in the pan with extra dressing along side it. Although I covered it tightly in foil, the result was a bit dry. In the past I’ve made this with the intention of transporting to a potluck and therefore wrapped the stuffed squash in many layers of tinfoil. It really seems like this also helped to retain a lot of moisture as well as making it easy to travel with!

Squash & Dressing in Roasting Pan

I make a great Savory Kale Bread Pudding that’s a huge favorite of ours and it seemed like a a logical step to take with the leftover dressing. I also used some red curly kale we had in the house along with some of the leftover roast squash. It made for a very full pan, but I didn’t need to modify the recipe any further.

The result was incredibly tasty and we think we’ve found the new way to use up the leftover dressing in the future! It was so good with the little bits of chestnut and Field Roast sausage here and there. I roasted some red and yellow beets that we enjoyed with the bread pudding.

Hurrah for Leftovers

The flash photo doesn’t do justice to the loveliness of the bread pudding, but it gives some idea!

Last summer we picked up a raw kale salad from the deli at a co-op in Davis, California, and enjoyed it a lot. This salad doesn’t really recreate it, but it was that salad that encouraged me to try using more raw kale in dishes. You can mix & match things like dressing, veggies used, etc., but this is generally what I stick with.

The Stuff

• 1 bunch of kale, any variety
• 2 medium carrots, shredded
• 1 bell pepper, diced small (I prefer a red just for contrast in colors)
• 1 medium sweet onion, diced small (you can use red or yellow, I’d just saute it first)
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas (or one 15 oz can, rinsed & drained)
• 1/2 cup pesto or balsamic salad dressing

Optional Stuff (tasty, pick a couple of these!)

• 1/4 cup sun dried tomato pieces, cut up small
• 1/3 cup green olives (oil cured, not canned, go to the olive bar if your market has one), sliced small
• 1/3 cup thin sliced basil
• 1/3 cup fresh dill, chopped up fine
• 1 cup cooked quinoa, brown rice, barley, or wheat/spelt berries **You’ll need more pesto or salad dressing (this option makes for a nicely hearty dish – great for picnics)
• Fresh tomatoes and cucumber (if this is going to be eaten right away), drained capers, raw cauliflower, beets and peas. Any additional veggies should be chopped up into small pieces.

The Making

Stem, wash and shred the kale into very small pieces and add to large bowl. Add in all other ingredients, pesto or salad dressing last. Toss well to evenly coat all of the kale and to keep the grated carrots from clumping together. Let stand at least 30 minutes before serving. Serves 8

This salad keeps very well and does very well being made a day ahead of serving. It travels great too.

This is not the recipe, I have to recreate this one. This post is just the food porn about how good this salad turned out! I wanted a nice salad, but something that would be very hearty for dinner. I’ve had some raw kale salads in the past and really wanted to give another go for one.

What I had was green curly kale, golden beets, carrots, chick peas, red quinoa, fresh basil, and a young Walla Walla onion. I shredded all the veggies up fine and put everything into a bowl to toss. I actually shredded up the kale very fine first and tossed it with apple cider vinegar while I worked on the other veggies.

In the dressing department I discovered we were out of tahini so I soaked about half a cup of raw cashews in hot water for several minutes. I put these into the food processor along with a bulb of raw garlic, balsamic vinegar, white wine vinegar, fine flake nutritional yeast, and some other dried herbs. Everything was processed until quite smooth and then poured over all the veggies, chick peas & quinoa.

Toss well, coating everything, serve and and bask in the appreciative compliments. This got even better the next day or two. Will be recreating this very soon with a full recipe!

A couple of blocks from our house lives a neighbor who runs a catering business. Christie & I were out for an evening stroll last week and ran into the neighbor as she arrived home after an event. She greeted us with a baguette in her arms, asking us if we wanted one. We said sure and as we walked we ate a few bites off the top. The rest came home, went onto the counter and promptly went stale & hard.

Usually at this point the compost pile is involved, but this time I thought I’d try out an idea for savory bread pudding. It turned out fantastic and Christie asked me to jot down a recipe.

The custard for this is based directly on a recipe from the Fat Free Vegan blog site for Mini Crustless Tofu Quiches. This is a fantastic recipe we’ve made several variations of, mostly because we don’t like mushrooms, so we always wing the ingredients to fit something we’d enjoy more. I’d wondered for some time if I could adapt the tofu custard for other purposes so it immediately came to mind as a way to make the bread pudding.
The Stuff

• 1 stale baguette, coarsely cut up
• 1 medium bunch of kale, washed, stemmed & shredded
• 1/2 medium red onion, diced small
• 1 medium carrot, diced small
• 1 stalk of celery, diced small
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 12.3-ounce packages lite firm silken tofu, drained of water
• 1/2 cup plain soymilk
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons tahini
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• sweet paprika

The Making

Preheat oven to 375.

In a skillet heat the olive oil and saute onion until they begin to soften, add garlic and continue sauteing until the garlic and onion begin to caramelize. Add in celery and carrots and saute until they begin to soften. Add kale, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Continue to cook, turning occasionally, until kale is softened. Remove from heat. Put coarsely chopped up bread and sauteed vegetables into a large mixing bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients into a blender. Process until mixture is completely smooth, occasionally scraping down the sides to be sure everything is incorporated. Pour this mixture over the bread and vegetables. Mix all ingredients together, making sure bread is coated with custard.

Spray a 9×13 baking dish with canola oil. Pour bread, custard and vegetable mixture into dish. Lightly press down so that the pan is evenly filled. Lightly dust top with sweet paprika.

Put pan into the oven and immediately reduce heat to 350. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool before cutting and serving with a lovely salad.