Cooking

Recipe: White Bean Rosemary Stew

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A variant on a recipe from Vegetarian Times, this is a pretty quick meal to make.  The original had peppers, which I dislike in some cases, so I focused on tomatoes.

 
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 medium-large sweet yellow onion, diced
1 Tbsp crushed garlic (about two cloves)
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes or equivalent (A bit over 1 1/2 cups), drained.
1 can (14 oz), about 1 1/2 cups, low-sodium vegetable broth
1 can (14 oz) low-sodium white beans, drained and rinsed.
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp crushed, dried rosemary
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

  1. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion starts to soften.
  2. Add tomatoes.  Saute until onions are soft.
  3. Add broth, beans, black pepper, rosemary, stir.
  4. Bring to boil, then simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add balsamic vinegar, stir in.  Cook another minute

The results?

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Quest for Curry: Cinnamon This Time

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I’ve been trying to find a “just right for me” curry for awhile.  This is a variant of a variant of another recipe I’ve been tweaking, trying to find just the right “edge.”  Last time it was oregano, this time cinnamon.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 cups light coconut milk (one 14 oz can)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp red pepper powder
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
3 tbsp dried basil (should be 1/2 cup chopped fresh)

1) Shake can of coconut milk. Mix sugar, soy sauce, coconut milk.
2) Place the olive oil, red pepper, lemon juice, garlic, curry powder in a wok/pan.  Sautee on high until fragrant (once it starts sizzling this is only about 10-30 seconds).
3) Add milk mixture to the pan/wok.  Add basil if dried.  Add cinnamon  Bring to boil then simmer.  Simmer until it thickents, about 3-5 minutes.
4) If using fresh basil, stir in now and serve.

OK so my quest . . . continues.  I get heat but not enough flavor.  The cinnamon is better than oregano and adds a nice kick (it may in fact be too much) but it’s still a bit high on heat over flavor.  Not quite sure where to go – tempted to just get rid of the red pepper powder.

Served over peas and brown rice, 1 cup each.  Nice meal.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Portabello Mushrooms, “Bella Bellos”

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And for dinner tonight . . .

2 portobello mushrooms
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp soy sauce.

  1. Optionally slice mushrooms.
  2. Mix other ingredients together and let the mushrooms marinate for 10 minutes.
  3. Pour mix into wok or frying pan, and saute for 10-15 minutes until mushrooms are tender (but not too tender) and browned.

This is a great recipe, and the mushrooms’ meaty quality makes them very satisfying.  You can use chopped mushrooms in a wrap, eat it like a steak, or put it on a bun.

Note that if you ‘scale up’ you don’t need to double the marinade if you double the amount of mushrooms – though if you’re not chopping them you can usually only cook 2 at a time.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.