Seaweed Soup with Dried Shiitakes and Silken Tofu

A soup made of sea vegetables is as good as a cure in my book! Sea vegetables contain virtually all the minerals found in human blood. Ocean water and human blood are close in mineral composition. Maybe that's why the sea speaks to so many of us, but I digress...

In the last Life Chef's "What's Cooking? Class" at Sevananda Natural Foods Market, we focused on meal planning, and using just three main meals as the focus of our shopping to keep us on the path to eating healthy and saving time and money. That short sentence really doesn't do the two+ hour class any justice, but suffice to say there's a chart, a grocery list and some shopping, cooking and eating involved!

One of the dishes we made was a shortcut version of my famous Curried Chick Peas with Kale, and the other was a take off of a favorite Tofu, Mushroom and Sea Vegetable Soup.

This version used:
1 block silken tofu
8 dried shiitake mushrooms, broken into pieces
1/2 package of Instant Pacific Sea Salad by Emerald Cove
3-4 Tbsp organic soy sauce and
6 cups of water.

Very simple. I finished with a splash of dark sesame oil, well, just cuz I like the flavor. Talk about fast. I dare say folks who initially wrinkle their nose up at the idea of a seaweed soup enjoyed this one.

I admit I'll poach an egg in this soup and call it breakfast. A super-powered breakfast!

Read about some of the ancient health benefits of eating sea vegetables (anti-inflammatory properties, promoting healthy thyroid function, preventing cardiovascular disease and more) at this like to World's Healthiest Foods website.

Crispy Seitan with Spicy Dipping Sauce

Photo from www.bokchoybohemia.com

Sometimes you just need something battered and fried! This Crispy Seitan hits the spot with a light crust made from whole-grain organic cereal flakes. It's a surprising and delicious way to add whole grains to your diet (and possibly offset the twinge of guilt for eating fried food). I made these delectable crispy nuggets during the Life Chef "What's Cooking? Whole Grains for Heart Health" Class on February 14 at Sevananda Natural Foods Market.

When foods are fried at the proper temperature and for the shortest amount of time possible, they actually absorb less fat than you may think. So splurge with this tasty treat every now and then. It's fast and delicious and will be a winner with the entire family. Don't have seitan? Use extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into 2" strips.

What is seitan? It's wheat gluten. It may sound kind of scary if you're new to meat-alternatives, but it's used a lot in making "faux meats" like vegan pepper "stake" and vegan "chick'n" patties. Seitan is very mild in taste and has a meaty texture, even more so than mushrooms. Learn more here.

Crispy Fried Seitan

8oz “chicken style” seitan, drained
2 cups organic multigrain cereal (crushed or run through a food processor)
1 teaspoon each (or to taste)
ground garlic powder
smoked paprika
salt
ground black pepper
ground turmeric
ground cayenne pepper
ground cumin
ground coriander
vegetable oil for frying

Heat vegetable oil to 375 degrees in a fryer, pot or deep skillet.
Add spices and pulverized cereal crumbs into a plastic bag and shake to combine.
Place drained seitan into a bowl and sprinkle enough of the seasoned crumb mixture over the seitan pieces to coat thoroughly.
Fry seitan in the heated oil until crisp and golden brown.

Serve with this Dipping Sauce:

3 Tbsp ketsup
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Sriracha (or other spicy sauce)
2 Tbsp honey

Curried Chick Peas with Kale

Nope, it's not deja vu, this recipe has indeed resurfaced! Each time I make it it's a little different. This time I omitted coconut milk altogether and added a prepared Indian simmer sauce, Calcutta Masala. Why? One, to cut some of the fat of the dish and two, to show the short cut, yet flavor enhancing method of making the dish by using the simmer sauce. Saves a few minutes when you've gotta get dinner on the table in a hurry.

This dish was recreated, on the fly, as part of the Life Chef "What's Cooking? Meal Planning" class I taught last Saturday at Sevananda Natural Foods Market. The first hour of the class highlighted time saving, money saving, calorie saving tips while keeping healthy and delicious foods on hand and realistically planned into your life. Hopefully you can catch the next one!

Curried Chick Peas with Kale
1 can chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 inches of ginger, peeled and grated
1 large tomato, diced
2 cups kale, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon each (or to taste):cayenne, cumin, coriander, ginger, garlic, black pepper, smoked paprika, cinnamon, allspice
1 cup Calcutta Masala Sauce
1 cup water
1 lime, cut into wedges (for garnish)
1 bunch cilantro (for garnish)

In a large pot, heat 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the onions and garlic until tender, about 3 minutes.

Add ginger and tomato and continue cooking until tomato breaks down, about 5 minutes.

Add chick peas and spices (cayenne through allspice), and stir rapidly to toast spices.

Add water and Masala sauce, cover the pot and simmer for at least 10 minutes to combine flavors.

To serve, garnish with lime wedges to be squeezed over each plate and fresh cilantro sprigs.

Mahogany Rice with Curried Butternut Squash and Kale

This colorful and beautiful dish was created during the Life Chef "What's Cooking? Whole Grains for Heart Health" class at Sevananda Natural Foods Market. It was hearty, delicious and very flavorful. A wonderful vegetarian entree or a hearty side dish. If you haven't had the Japonica Rice Blend before please try to find it. You'll never eat boring old generic brown rice again!
Serves 6-8

Mahogany Rice with Curried Butternut Squash and Kale

½ butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp masala curry powder
1 Tbsp agave nectar
¼ cup water
2 cups mahogany rice (see picture)
½ tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs sun dried tomato slices
2 cups kale, stemmed and thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

In a small pan, heat 1 Tbs of oil over medium high heat and saute the butternut squash for about 3-4 minutes. Add the cinnamon and curry powder and stir occasionally until the squash starts to brown. Add the water and agave nectar and cook until the squash is tender.

Meanwhile in a large pot bring 4 cups of water up to a boil and add the rice. Stir in the sun dried tomatoes, cayenne and garlic powder and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pot with a lid, reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking until rice is tender, about 20-30 minutes. Stir in the kale in the last five minutes of cooking.

To serve, stir the rice and the squash together and garnish with fresh herbs.