Lentil-Pumpkin Vegan Loaf with Tomato-Balsamic Glaze

The part of transitioning to a healthier diet that is most difficult for me is celebrating my holiday traditions.  Well, that and having to eat vegetables.  I became vegetarian as a child in the early eighties, long before "fake meats" and meat substitutes.  I taught myself to detest the odor of meat, let alone flavor.  So when told something has "real meat flavor" I am automatically put off.  Therefore, my holiday entrees generally center around pasta, such as a lasagne.  

In my quest to learn how to cook and to eat more vegetables, I have been experimenting with a few veggie loaf recipes.  But I don't generally like the texture of beans either.  This recipe for a lentil-pumpkin loaf satisfies all my concerns:  the pumpkin masks the taste of the beans, and the mushrooms add an extra meaty texture.  The walnuts add a "holiday" flavor and crunch.  The sweetness of the tomato-based glaze makes it palatable to even my sweet tooth. 

This is actually the first time I've ever cooked beans myself (though of course I ate them as a kid).  It helped to do most of the prep the night before I wanted to make this dish.  I also added a few new-to-me ingredients to my pantry:  nutritional yeast and liquid smoke.  The nutritional yeast adds a nutty, cheesy taste to a vegan dish, while the liquid smoke, though used in small amounts, adds that meaty Umami flavor.   

The Food Bloggers' Los Angeles monthly meeting gave me the excuse to try this recipe before the holiday season.  We've had a pumpkin-themed potluck before, so it was fun to do something innovative and new for this meeting.  It was also fun to do a savory main dish rather than a sweet dessert.   The meals at our FBLA meetings are often my only home-cooked meals prepared by another now that my family lives states away, so I really look forward to our group both for the company and the food.  We had about ten members show up at this meeting, actually a small group for most of our get-togethers.  The synchronicity that comes into play with no planning involved is astounding:  though our group may be as large as thirty people, there is never any duplication of dishes. 

 

Lentil-Pumpkin Vegan Loaf

Loaf
1 cup uncooked Lentils
1-15 oz. can plain Pumpkin
2 1/2 cup Vegetable Stock, divided
1 cup chopped Walnuts
1-4 oz. can Mushroom Pieces, diced
1 medium Onion, diced
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. Nutritional Yeast
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
2 tsp. Liquid Smoke
2 tsp. fresh Thyme
2 tsp. fresh Rosemary
1 Tbsp. Salt
1 cup Oats
1/2 cup Whole Wheat or GF Flour

Glaze
2 Tbsp. Balsamic
2 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
1 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
1 Tbsp. Mustard
1/2 tsp. Salt

Sort and rinse lentils.  Bring 2 cups low-sodium veggie stock to a boil, then add the lentils and reduce the heat to a simmer.  Keep partially covered and cook until very soft, about 20-45 minutes.  Add a little more liquid if needed.  Allow to cool completely.  [This step can be done in advance.  I like to do it the night before.  Also, I crush the walnuts by putting them into a ziplock bag and using a rolling pin to break them up.]

In a large bowl, mash the cooked lentils and pumpkin together.  Add walnuts, mushrooms, onion, garlic, and all other ingredients except oats and flour, mixing thoroughly.  Add the oats, then the flour, until you have a consistency close to cookie dough.

Press into a greased 8x8 dish.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Whisk together glaze and spread evenly on top of the loaf.  Bake about 45 minutes or until the loaf is cracked and glaze is dark.  If cooking in a small oven, cover with foil for the first half of the baking time.  Allow to set for a few minutes before cutting and serving.

Chocovivo Chocolate Tasting

ChocoVivo's process explained.

Another really cool activity in Los Angeles sure to please any foodie is an artisanal chocolate tasting  in a boutique chocolate factory at ChocoVivo in Culver City.  You can sample ChocoVivo's taste test menu on a walk in basis during normal open hours for just $5.   I was lucky enough to join in on a private lecture and tasting after-hours with an extensive talk from the owner and chef Patricia Tsai. 

Dark chocolate is a heart-healthy "Superfood."  Ms. Tsai uses it in its pure, unrefined form along with whole herbs and spices to make exquisite drinks and bars.  I was in heaven at her boutique, billed as the first Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Factory in Los Angeles. 

A demo grinder in the restaurant for up-close viewing.

Our luscious tasting board.

from the top down, 75% Cacao, Almonds & Sea Salt, Hazelnuts & Sea Salt, Macadamia & Coconut, Shangri-La (Black Sesame & Gogi Berries), and Mayan Tradition (Cinnamon & Hot Spices)

Proprietess Patricia Tsai spoke on chocolate sourcing and production.

A raw cacao bean.

The kitchen at ChocoVivo where the magic actually happens.

Meetup participants enjoying the event.

Cacao nibs

A dried cacao pod; the beans must be broken out from within a pod like this.

The actual grinder used at ChocoVivo.  The ingredients are pushed through up to five times to make a bar.

Rustic necklaces of cacao beans are also available for purchase.

Fun Fall Foods with Miss Kitchen Witch

Mulled Spiced Cider

While I've long been a home chef, I tend to have a narrow repertoire.  One of my personal goals since beginning Institute for Integrative Nutrition has been to experiment with new ingredients and learn to cook better for myself from scratch, so that I can model for my clients the benefits and ease of home cooking.

  

I've discovered a great source of cooking classes in Miss Kitchen Witch!  She's teaching three-hour vegan demo classes for only ten dollars each Sunday at the Animal Advocacy Museum in Pasadena.  The discounted rate is for paying in advance via paypal.  Her calendar can be found on her facebook page.  Our class this weekend was "Fun Fall Foods" and included a full meal's recipes.  On the menu was a mulled apple cider, brussels sprouts in a pistachio-cranberry pesto, a lentil-squash loaf entree, and baked apples for dessert.  I posted her event on an IIN forum and was excited to have a classmate join me.  It's fun to feel that I'm making friends through my studies, even though the course is an online study.

Miss Kitchen Witch is entertaining and approachable.  She encourages questions, and fills time with conversation as she cooks.  She gives background and sources on ingredients I don't yet have in my pantry, explaining the uses and why you should stock a particular item as a regular pantry staple.  I have added to my shopping list: liquid smoke (recommended from at Smart and Final), nutritional yeast, Better Than Smoke in the vegan beef broth version, and raw turbinado sugar.  Miss Kitchen Witch is also very knowledgable about food issues, and willing to discuss, but not dogmatic in pushing her views or positions.  One thing I learned this weekend is that most sugar is processed with bone char.  I'm better educated on the brands available that are vegan and not processed in that way.  She also recommended an ethnic market in Thai Town, Bang Luc market at 5170 Highland Blvd, so I'll have to have a field trip in the near future.  My favorite from the class was the baked apples for the sweetness, but the brussels sprouts were also excellent--and this compliment comes from someone who doesn't typically enjoy savory veggies, so it's a high mark!

Rosemary Pesto Brussels Sprouts

Vegan Glazed Roast with Gluten Free Gravy

Baked Apples with Caramel

Photo Essay: the Getty Villa

A friend's visit to Los Angeles recently gave me the excuse to visit a local treasure I'd never explored:  the Getty Villa.  While I've been to the regular Getty, this off-site location houses the Getty's Roman, Greek, and Etruscan treasures.  

The Villa went through a major renovation just a few years ago and was the talk of the town, but because I didn't know exactly where it was, and timed tickets are required, I haven't made it out there until now.  Tickets are requested online free of charge, and the only payment required is a per-vehicle parking fee.   Having seen it in person, the Villa is absolutely worth the investment in planning and time.  In fact, it's difficult to take it all in in a single visit.  I'll be sure to go again the next time I entertain guests.

There are docent-led garden tours and architectural tours hourly.  Inside, one can check out an iPod with an ID as deposit, and listen to self-guided art tours.  While most of the art is pulled from the permanent collection, there are traveling exhibits as well.  My friend and I unknowingly timed our visit well:  the traveling exhibit right now centers on glass! 

The Prometheus Wheel is the focal point of an open-air ampitheater

Beautiful frescoes on the ceiling

Venus, Roman, AD 100-200

Fountain in the Inner Peristyle

Relief of an African Elephant, Roman, AD 79-96

Wall fountain in the East Garden

Center fountain in the East Garden

Bronze waterspout in the East Garden

Mosaic wall fountain in the East Garden

Strawberry bush in the East Garden

Wall frescoes in the Outer Peristyle

Grape arbors providing shade cover

Bearded Irises in the Outer Peristyle

The Outer Peristyle, looking east towards the building

Fountain in the Herb Garden.  Love the colorful leaves of the lilypad!

Looking down the length of the Herb Garden

The fountain in the center of the structure, near the ampitheater, features a wall of flowing water

The Outer Peristyle, looking west toward the Pacific ocean.

Benches and pathways in the Outer Peristyle

Architectural columns and finials in careful detail

The temporary exhibit, Ancient Glass and techniques.  Mind blowing to think how old these pieces are and all they have survived!

Pumpkin-Coconut Soup

 

This is the kind of soup that you serve in a mug, not a bowl, because you'll just want to guzzle it down.  Really.  It's really that good.  I'm posting it, even though my nighttime lighting is really not suitable for fussy food-blog photography.  But I've gotta share.  

As usual, I riffed this off a take on another person's blog.  That recipe had brown sugar, and a fairly long list of spices.  I'm in a keeping-it-simple mood these days, so I made up my own recipe.  The true genius is in the garnish:  dried cherries along with the expected pepitas.  The heat from the garlic and smoked paprika is balanced so nicely with just a few cherries.  If only I could get them to float better!

Tomorrow I'm making a side casserole of cheesy grits that will make a filling lunch alongside this soup! 

Pumpkin-Coconut Soup

1/2 Medium Diced Onion or to taste
3 Cloves Minced Garlic or to taste
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
32 Fl. Oz. Vegetable Stock
29 oz. Canned Plain Pumpkin
2 14 oz Cans Light Coconut Milk
1/4 C. Real Maple Syrup
1 Tbsp. Smoked Paprika
1/4 Tsp Ground Sage
Garnish

1.  Heat olive oil in bottom of large stock pot.  Cook onions and garlic until aromatic and tender.  Onions should be translucent.

2.  Add veggie stock.  Whisk canned pumpkin, then coconut milk, into the liquid.  Add paprika and sage.  Turn heat to medium and bring to simmer.

3.  Add maple syrup in thin stream, stirring constantly.

4.  Reduce to desired consistency (I like my soups thick and creamy).

5.  Ladle and garnish with pepitas, dried cherries, and a sprinkling of goat cheese, if desired.  Beware:  Cherries may sink if whole, so you may want to dice them up a bit.  This soup is great served as cold leftovers too!

Oven-Roasted Smoked Paprika Cauliflower

As a vegetarian, I have always associated "smoke" flavor with meat and tried to avoid anything with that label.  My favorite meal as a kid was cauliflower, but only when slathered with an equal amount of cheddar cheese sauce, so that the vegetable was not flavor-detectable.  

As I've tried to expand my adult palate, I've been hearing (thank you, Facebook) that cauliflower roasted with smoked paprika is really tasty, and I finally decided to give it a try.  There are many recipes on blogs and on Pinterest, and I did a quick survey before improvising this evening.  The Shiksa had a great point:  she mentioned that flat surfaces caramelize better, so rather than cutting the cauliflower head into individual florets, she used more of a rough chop.  

All the blog posts I surveyed recommended laying out the cauliflower pieces on a cookie sheet, drizzling with oil, sprinkling the spices, and then mixing by hand to coat the cauliflower.  I am much less messy.  And besides, since I wanted a mild smoked flavor, I knew that I not only wanted the smoked paprika on the outside edges of the pieces, but actually to permeate the florets and get into the heads of cauliflower.  If the coating had not been even, but had been more smoky in one area of the bite than another, I might have found it to be too hot or spicy and thus wouldn't eat it.  My solution:  I put the cut cauliflower into a large Ziploc bag, added the oil and spices, and shook until all was combined and very evenly coated.  

I then emptied the bag into my 8x8 baking dish, and roasted in my toaster oven rather than heating the large oven range, which was an epic idea given that it was 99 degrees in my part of town today.  Because I used a smaller oven space, I took the roasting temperature down by 25 degrees, instead of the high of 450 I saw in my blog recipe survey.

Since cheese is typically at least seventy-five percent of my diet, and I'm beginning to watch the levels of fat I'm consuming, my goal of late is not to be dairy free, but just to be more portion conscious.  I did garnish this dish with grated Parmesan, but it was a true sprinkling, not the two cups I would normally use on a casserole sized dish.

Roasted Cauliflower with Smoked Paprika

Cut one head cauliflower into rough chop about two inches or basic florets.  Rinse and let drain.  Place cleaned and cut cauliflower in a gallon Ziploc bag.

Mix 1 1/2 Tbsp Smoked Paprika, 1 Tbsp Garlic Salt, and 1/2 tsp grated Sea Salt.  Pour 3 Tbsp Olive Oil into the bag, spreading it over as much of the cauliflower as possible (don't just pour it all in one spot).  Add the spices.  Seal the bag and shake until well coated.  Dump bag into 8x8 or 9x13 dish (bigger the better--more surface area exposed will mean more caramelization).  

Roast at 425 for 35-40 minutes, until browned and caramelized, and the cauliflower can be easily pierced with a fork. Garnish with shredded Parmesan cheese, if desired, and serve hot.