Influenced by whom you wonder?

I had no idea what to make tonight. All I knew is that I wanted to make something different. I decided to take the first cookbook that jumped out at me and work my way through them until I found something that a) I would like to eat, and b) I could make with the ingredients I had on hand. Luckily, I only had to make my way through 40-some pages of Mollie Katzen’s The Enchanted Broccoli Forest before I found Influenced Vegetable Stew.

It’s a strange name for a recipe and Mollie doesn’t provide any sort of illumination on the matter except to say “…similar to a Greek ‘stifado,’ but with Mexican-style seasonings.” I have no idea what a stifado is (do you?), but the seasonings looked intriguing so I thought I would give it a try.

Oh good mother I am glad I did. It took about 40 minutes to prepare but it was worth my time. Everyone said it was delicious. Me, my step-son, my kids, and my neighbour whom I gave some to because this recipe makes so, so much. (Hubby wasn’t home to try it). It was so flavourful that my taste buds are already craving it again only a couple hours later.

So here you go. If you have a large family (of 6 or more) and want to try something a little bit different, this recipe is for you.

Influenced Vegetable Stew

3 cups sliced potatoes

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 cups sliced onion

2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp cumin

3 Tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice

1 large cauliflower cut into 1″ florets

2 large carrots (I used broccoli)

8-10 medium cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups water

1 Tbsp honey

1 1/2 cups tomato puree/canned crushed tomatoes

2 cups cooked kidney beans (or a 15 oz can, rinsed and drained)

freshly ground black pepper

cayenne pepper to taste

minced fresh parsley

squeezable wedges of lemon or lime

Directions:

Place the sliced potatoes in a saucepan and cover them with water. Boil until tender. Drain well and set aside. (You can save the water to use later).

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large wok with a cover. Add the onion and 1 tsp. salt, and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the cinnamon and cumin and sauté for a few minutes longer.

Stir in the lemon juice, cauliflower, carrots, and remaining salt. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, half the garlic, and the water (saved from the potatoes if you remembered). Stir, cover, and cook until the vegetables are just tender (8-10 minutes).

Stir in the remaining garlic, honey and tomatoes (or purée). Cover and cook about 5 minutes more. Stir in the beans, season to taste with black pepper and cayenne. Serve hot over rice topped with parsley and garnished with wedges of lemon or lime.

Shared at Fight Back Friday, Foodie Friday, Food on Friday, Wholesome Whole Foods, Friday Favourites, Fresh, Clean and Pure Fridays, and Friday Potluck.

Related posts:

1. Foodie Fridays: Vegetable Pie with Grated Potato Crust
2. Vegetarian Foodie Fridays: Chickpea Potato Stew
3. Vegetarian Foodie Fridays: Chard and Vegetable Bake with Quinoa and Mushroom Topping

While the spice amounts are not always the same I took a close look at how much I was using of each spice the last time I made this so you could make it at home.

Melodie’s Coconut Curry

1 Tbsp coconut oil/butter/ghee

1 large onion, diced

1″ knob ginger root, grated

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tomato, chopped

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1/2 – 1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 -1 tsp coriander seeds

1/4 tsp cardamom seeds

1/8 tsp black peppercorns (optional)

1/4 tsp fennel seeds (optional)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp tumeric

3 – 5 curry leaves

6 cups vegetables (In this recipe I used cauliflower, broccoli, butternut squash, celery, peppers, and purple ornamental kale. It was actually very good so feel free to add some greens – or in this case, purples!)

3/4 – 1 cup coconut milk

1 cup cooked chick peas

Directions:

Heat the fat until it is sputtering. Then add your mustard seeds. Watch out! They will hop all over you. If you have one of those pot lid sieves, use it. Oh, and wear an apron. I’ve stained a few blouses doing this. When most of the mustard seeds have cracked open and the sputtering dies down, toss in the onion and turn down the heat. Right now, you are smelling one of my favorite smells. Yum! While the onion sautés measure out all of the whole spices and grind them, either with a mortar and pestle or in your coffee grinder or other spice grinding mechanism. When the onion is almost all cooked, add the ground spices, ginger, garlic and tomato. Cook for a couple minutes more and then add the vegetables. Sauté for a few minutes and then add the coconut milk. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked to your liking. Two minutes before you are ready to turn it off, add the chick peas. Mix thoroughly and serve over rice or whatever other grain you fancy.

Serves 4-5

Linked up at Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum, Finer Things Friday at Amy’s Finer Things, Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade, Food on Friday at Ann Kroeker, Wholesome Whole Foods at Health Food Lover, Friday Potluck at EKat’s Kitchen, Not Baaad Sundays at Lamb Around, My Meatless Mondays at My Sweet and Savory, Meatless Mondays at Midnight Maniac, Tasty Tuesday at Who Is Dr. Laura, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop at Frugality and Crunchiness With Christy, Tuesday Twister at GNOWFGLINS, Tempt My Tummy at Blessed With Grace.

Related posts:

1. Pumpkin Coconut Squares
2. Vegetarian Foodie Fridays: Peach Coconut Pancakes
3. Foodie Fridays: Maple Muffins with Coconut Streusel Topping

The weather on the west coast of British Columbia has been wet enough this Fall that our woods have a bumper crop of mushrooms!

Last time I was at the Farmer’s Market I bought some chanterelles, fir needles, dirt and all.

I bought some shitake mushrooms too. Not that they are local, but I have been really into making Asian dishes with them lately.

My husband actually put this all together for us and he really wanted to use traditional egg noodles. You can use a whole grain pasta if you like. It will still taste excellent. He is partial to egg noodles though and since we we hardly ever eat pure white flour foods, I was fine with it.

For this recipe he married the chanterelles and shitakes, but you can use any kind of mushrooms you want.

Lobster and pine mushrooms are some other wild ones in our area, but you can even use button mushrooms if you want.

Wild Mushroom Stroganoff

1 package of egg noodles

1 medium onion, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 carrot, grated

1 bell pepper, diced

1 lb wild mushrooms of your choice, sliced

1-2 tsp dill (or more to taste)

1/2 tsp nutmeg (or more to taste)

1/2 tsp paprika (or more to taste)

1/2 tsp chili powder (or more to taste)

1/4 cup white wine

1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

chives, green onions or parsley for garnish

Directions: Cook noodles, drain and set aside. Sauté onions until soft, add garlic and spices and cook for 2 minutes. Add carrot, pepper, and mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms are soft. Add sour cream or yogurt. Mix well then add the wine and cook a minute or so until the flavours have combined. You may need to add more herbs and spices. I sprinkled a little as I went and added a bit more at the end too. As long as you don’t add too much nutmeg you can’t really go wrong. Same with the wine. My husband poured it in while the veggies were cooking and the flavour got lost so we had to add more at the end. Enjoy!

Serves 4-5

Linked up at Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum, Finer Things Friday at Amy’s Finer Things, Fresh, Clean and Pure Fridays at Bella Vita, Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade, Food on Friday at Ann Kroeker, Wholesome Whole Foods at Health Food Lover, Friday Potluck at EKat’s Kitchen, Not Baaad Sundays at Lamb Around, My Meatless Mondays at My Sweet and Savory, Meatless Mondays at Midnight Maniac, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop at Hunger and Thirst, Tuesday Twister at GNOWFGLINS, Tempt My Tummy at Blessed With Grace.

Photo credit for mushrooms: Arild Storaas

Related posts:

1. Vegetarian Foodie Fridays: Chard and Vegetable Bake with Quinoa and Mushroom Topping
2. Foodie Fridays: Udon Noodle Miso Soup
3. Foodie Fridays: A Beltane Wild Edibles Salad

Sometimes it’s the simple dishes that can be the most satisfying.

Whole Wheat Spaghetti With Chick Peas and Broccoli

Enough spaghetti to feed a family of 4

2 heads of organic broccoli, cut up into small pieces

1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil

10 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 jar organic tomato sauce

salt and pepper, to taste

freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions: Cook spaghetti and set aside. On low heat, sauté garlic and red pepper flakes in half of olive oil until garlic turns golden. Add tomato sauce and broccoli and cook until broccoli turns bright green, cooked but still crunchy. Toss with spaghetti and drizzle with remaining olive oil. Serve with parmesan cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 4.

Linked up at Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum, Recipe Swap at Grocery Cart Challenge, Fresh, Clean and Pure Fridays at Bella Vita, Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade, Food on Friday at Ann Kroeker, Wholesome Whole Foods at Health Food Lover, Friday Potluck at EKat’s Kitchen, My Meatless Mondays at My Sweet and Savory, Just Another Meatless Monday at Hey, What’s For Dinner Mom, Meatless Mondays at Midnight Maniac, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop at Frugality and Crunchiness With Christy

Related posts:

1. Vegetarian Foodie Fridays: Broccoli & Potato Soup
2. Vegetarian Foodie Fridays: Curried Chick Pea Soup
3. Vegetarian Foodie Friday: My “I’m-Too-Tired-To-Cook” Pasta

Cutting hard-skinned squashes is not easy. I take the biggest, sharpest knife we have, look around to make sure there are no small children behind me, then swing the knife from behind my back onto the squash with a “High-ya!” It goes about an inch down, I lean on the thing and rock it back and forth, managing another inch or two, and then I can barely get the knife out to give it another swing. There is no way I am ever able to cut my squashes lengthwise. I’m either depressingly weak or I buy super hard squashes. Anyway, I managed to cut my acorn squash widthwise, but then, like a bowl without a base, it rocked itself onto its side on the baking sheet. Whatever. I scooped out its insides, poured some extra virgin olive oil on it and cooked it for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

What you’ll need:

1 acorn squash

1 small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 cup mushrooms, diced

1 cup cooked grains (rice, quinoa, millet, or even just breadcrumbs)

1 cup vegetable broth

1/2 tsp poultry seasoning or a combination of sage, marjoram, oregano, thyme and rosemary

salt and pepper

Optional: cheese

Directions:

While the squash is roasting in the oven, sauté the onion, garlic, celery and mushrooms until soft. Add grains, broth and herbs and mix well. Spoon into the squash and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. If you want, top with cheese. Cheddar or feta is good.

Serves 4-6.

I’m sharing this at my very own Vegetarian Foodie Fridays, Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum, Recipe Swap at Grocery Cart Challenge, Fresh, Clean and Pure Fridays at Bella Vita, Friday Food at Momtrends, Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade, Food on Friday at Ann Kroeker, Wholesome Whole Foods at Health Food Lover, Friday Potluck at EKat’s Kitchen, Family Food Fridays at Get Healthy Cheap, Friday Foodie Fix at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang, My Meatless Mondays at My Sweet and Savory, Just Another Meatless Monday at Hey, What’s For Dinner Mom, Meatless Mondays at Midnight Maniac, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop at A Moderate Life, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays at Blessed With Grace, Real Food Wednesdays at Kelly The Kitchen Kop.

Related posts:

1. Winter Squash Soup
2. Coconut Curry
3. Foodie Fridays: The Best Whole Grain Pancakes Ever!

Potato Leek Soup

1 Tbsp organic butter
2 large leeks, chopped
5 cups potatoes, diced
1 stalk celery, chopped
4 leaves kale, chopped
Enough water to cover veggies by 2″
salt, pepper, marjoram and thyme to taste
1 cup raw or organic milk or milk alternate (optional)

Directions: Fry leeks in butter until soft. Toss in the rest of the vegetables. Add water until it is 2 inches above the veggies. Cook until vegetables are soft. Add salt, pepper and thyme to taste. If you want, add one cup of milk or milk alternate. Using a blender, food processor, or blender wand, puree until soup is at your desired consistency.

Serves 6.

These biscuits were posted at my Vegetarian Foodie Fridays carnival last week by Who is Laura – Dr. Laura’s Adventures. I modified them a little but the original recipe is here.

Spelt Flour Biscuits

2 cups light spelt flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup cold organic butter

1/2 cup plain full fat organic yogurt

1/4 cup raw or organic milk

Directions: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in the butter with a fork or pastry cutter until mixture is crumbly. Add yogurt and milk all at once and mix until the dough sticks together. Knead dough 10-15 times on a floured surface until its soft and smooth. Roll until 1/2 ” thick, cut as desired and bake for 10 minutes.

Serves 6

Serve the soup and biscuits with a big vegetarian chef salad (my version includes hard-boiled eggs, toasted seeds and chick peas) and enjoy.

Linked up at Vegetarian Foodie Fridays at Breastfeeding Moms Unite!, Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum, Recipe Swap at Grocery Cart Challenge, Fresh, Clean and Pure Fridays at Bella Vita, Friday Favourites at Simply Sweet Home, Friday Food at Momtrends, Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade, Food on Friday at Ann Kroeker, Wholesome Whole Foods at Health Food Lover, Friday Potluck at EKat’s Kitchen, Family Food Fridays at Get Healthy Cheap, Souper Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen, My Meatless Mondays at My Sweet and Savory, Just Another Meatless Monday at Hey, What’s For Dinner Mom?, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop at Frugality and Crunchiness With Christy, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays at Blessed With Grace, Real Food Wednesdays at Kelly The Kitchen Kop.

Related posts:

1. Vegetarian Foodie Fridays: Broccoli & Potato Soup
2. Vegetarian Mulligatawny Soup
3. Foodie Fridays: Udon Noodle Miso Soup

Earlier this week I was walking through China Town with my girlfriend Diana. We were remarking on all of the interesting vegetables there: the pimply bitter melon, the purple water caltrop that resembles a Halloween bat (check out the link to see a picture), and my favorite, the holey lotus root, when we simultaneously noticed that fresh shitake mushrooms were on sale for $4.99/lb. The shitake mushrooms made me remember that I’ve been wanting to replicate a breakfast I had at Lady Marmalade a couple months ago, a restaurant I finally got to try on when I was single and childless for three days. So I grabbed a bag of them (only paying $2.30 which I thought was a steal) and some baby bok choy and headed home to play with my fantastic idea. At this point my mouth was watering just thinking about it.

Here’s what I did:

6 organic free run eggs

1 small onion, chopped thin, vertically

8-10 shitake mushrooms, sliced

1-2 bunches of baby bok choy

2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil

3-4 Tbsp tamari

Green onions

Sesame seeds

Directions: Break eggs into a bow with the enthusiastic healp of your young children (if you are lucky enough to have any). Admire the bright orange yolks of your free run chicken eggs (if you are lucky enough to get any). Whisk eggs in a bowl. Coat skillet with sesame oil and place over medium heat. When warm add onion and cook until soft. Add mushrooms and baby bok choy. Cook until bok choy is wilted but not overcooked and mushrooms are soft. Remove veggies from the skillet, add a little more sesame oil and pour eggs. Cook eggs to desired consistency. When eggs are done put veggies back in the pan and toss with tamari. Garnish with green onion stalks and sesame seeds. Serve with bread.  I recommend this Sprouted Gluten Free Bread by Coconut Mama. Vegans can make this using organic tofu.

This served two adults and two picky young girls, so let’s say it can reasonable serve 3.

Linked up at Vegetarian Foodie Fridays at Breastfeeding Moms Unite!, Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum, Recipe Swap at Grocery Cart Challenge, Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade, Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home, Friday Food at Momtrends, Food on Friday at Ann Kroeker, Wholesome Whole Foods at Health Food Lover,  Family Food Fridays at Get Healthy Cheap, Just Another Meatless Monday at What’s For Dinner Mom, My Meatless Monday at My Sweet and Savory, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop at Hunger and Thirst, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays at Blessed With Grace.

Related posts:

1. Vegetarian Foodie Fridays: Lotus Land Linguine
2. Wild Mushroom Stroganoff
3. Foodie Fridays: Udon Noodle Miso Soup