Hearty Grain Soup with Beans and Greens

I mentioned this recipe when reviewing recipes from the February 2007 Vegetarian Times. But today, I really wanted more of a stew than a soup. So, I altered the recipe quite a bit. I'm so glad I did as it hit the spot. Today started as a rough day, as the air quality was terrible from the wildfires that are now in Florida. So I have had my air conditioning on to help filter the air, even though it feels really cold with the air on. But by this afternoon we got some desperately needed rain. And it has helped a lot to clear the air. I hadn't posted the original recipe for the soup, so here it is.

Hearty Grain Soup with Beans and Greens
Serves 6, Vegan

2 Tbs olive oil, divided
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (2 is better though)
4 cups filtered water or low-sodium veggie broth (plus more if needed)
1.5 cups cooked kasha or barley or brown rice
1 15 oz can (I think 24oz works better) crushed or chopped tomatoes or add 2 or 3 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 can or 2 cups cooked kidney beans (either cooked from scratch or from a can. If canned, rinse well before adding)
1/4 tsp dried oregano (or a sprig of fresh)
1/4 tsp dried rosemary (or a sprig of fresh) or Italian seasoning
1/2 lb kale (or chard), washed, trimmed and chopped
3 Tbs chopped fresh parsley (optional)
2 to 3 tsp balsamic vinegar

1. Heat 1 Tbs oil in large pot of medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until onion is lightly brown, about 5 minutes. If you are using fresh tomatoes, simmer them with the onions until soft.
2. Stir in broth, kasha or grain, tomatoes, 1 cup of the beans, and the oregano and rosemary. Bring to a boil. Press kale or chard into liquid, bit by bit, submerging it. Reduce heat to medium or simmer, for 15 minutes or so, until greens are tender. (If you use chard, it takes about 7 minutes).
3. Puree remaining beans in food processor. Add pureed beans, parsley and remaining 1 Tbs oil into soup. Stir in vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and serve.
Per serving: 201 cal; 8G prot; 5G total fat (0.5 Sat Fat); 34G carb; 0MG chol; 535MG sod; 8G fiber; 4G sugars

As you can see from the picture, I added some extra ingredients. I added one potato, 1 large shredded carrot, 1 leek, and I had added 1/2 cup of uncooked barley to cook along with the stew. Because of that, I simmered the liquid much longer than the directions before adding the greens, to give the barley the extra time to cook. Plus, the extra veggies needed time to simmer until tender. Once everything was nearly tender, I added all of the beans and greens and let them simmer until the flavors developed and the greens were tender. I didn't puree any beans before adding them, as my pot was already very stew-like, because I was simmering everything in as little water as I could get away with.

Millet-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

This recipe for Millet-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms appeared on page 79 of the February Vegetarian Times magazine. I made a few variations on the original recipe. I am writing the recipe the way I made it last night, as I found I liked the flavors better than the original recipe.

Millet-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms, Serves 4

• 3 cups water
• 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped (I actually used the ones that are not packed in oil, and used about 1/4 cup)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided (can use the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes if you used the oil-packed)
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced, or 1/4 cup minced white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small bell pepper, minced (I used yellow)
• 1 grated carrot
• 1 cup millet
• 4 large portobello mushroom caps
• grated cheese for topping (I used organic sharp cheddar)
• 4 slices of tomato

1. While the 3 cups of water are being heated to a boil in a separate pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until the onions are becoming transparent. Then add the garlic, pepper, carrot and sun-dried tomatoes and saute until the vegetables are soft, stirring constantly. Add millet and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
2. Add the boiling water to the millet mixture, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for approximately 30 minutes, or until the water has evaporated and the millet is tender. Remove from heat.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
4. Rub the portobello mushroom caps with paper towel to clean. Then, remove the stems and scrape out the gills. Brush them with the rest of the olive oil and coat the baking pan with olive oil as well.
5. Place the mushroom caps upside down on the baking pan. Divide the millet mixture between the four mushroom caps, filling in the bowls of the mushrooms, mounding slightly. (I mounded too high, so they spilled while cooking!)
6. Sprinkle the tops with shredded cheese.
7. Adorn each with a slice of tomato. I also added blanched asparagus spears for extra color, as I had cooked asparagus to go along with this dish.
8. Bake for 20 or 25 minutes, or until the mushrooms are cooked and the cheese has melted and/or browned.

Vegetarian Times Recipes Tested: Feb 2007

Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of these dishes, as I had not even thought of doing a food blog until now. I received the subscription as a Christmas gift, and I am loving it! Here are the recipes I have tried so far from the February 2007 issue of Vegetarian Times:

pg 38: Mini Chocolate Lava Cakes (Thanks to Mausmi for posting the recipe on her hub page)
They were OK, but not as tasty as I would have liked. I was disappointed with the flavor. I might have overcooked them by a few minutes, so be careful about that. I think maybe a dash of vanilla would have helped bring out the flavor.

pg 41: Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
Very easy and quick to make! I used veggie broth instead of the cup of water. Oh, and I didn't bother to put a sour cream heart on top.

pg 46 Indonesian Tofu-Peanut Fondue
Tasty. It's funny but we liked this dish a lot, until we tried the Thai Satay sauce featured in the March issue. Now we prefer the Satay on pg 86 of March issue.

pg 54: Caponata Stew and Hummus Cakes (pictured above)
Both are delicious! And they go well together. We've made them more than once already. Very comforting food. An addition I make to the caponata is to add bell pepper in addition to the jalapeno. I also add a bit of Spanish paprika. I use whatever mushrooms are on sale. Actually the version in my photo doesn't have mushrooms, but zucchini instead. Since this is good to eat at room temperature, I have brought it on picnics and it's great for that. (As I live in Florida, I have been on picnics recently). As for the hummus cakes: they are tricky to make. The batter tends to get very sticky. Mine end up looking more like cookies than bean cakes. The ones in the photo are unusually brown because I didn't have enough garbanzos, so I used some pintos! And, I also add some finely chopped cilantro to the batter, and that is a great touch. The bean cakes can tend to be a bit dry and crumbly, even when undercooked. I'm not sure how to prevent that.

p 79: Millet-stuffed portobello mushrooms
Mmm. Nice!

p 80: Quinoa Curry [For a beautiful photo of this dish and a description on how to make it, check out the Desert Culinary Blog.]
Very good and satisfying! I've made this twice already. You could also add other beans and onion. And I don't serve it w/mango chutney. Mango allergy.

p 80: Hearty Grain Soup with Beans and Greens Great! I used barley instead of kasha, as that's what I had on hand I also added red poblano pepper, carrots and celery. And, I used a 24oz can of tomatoes rather than 15oz, and I doubled the quantity of beans.

p82: Mozzarella-Stuffed Arancini [Many thanks to the Kitchen Space Blog for posting the recipe with a great photo!]
Quite good! Although, my dough was too wet and sloppy so it was hard to form the balls. Next time, I will add one egg and a time, because one egg is probably enough, rather than two. I also think I will make the rice w/3 cups of water rather than 3.5. I ended up adding bread crumbs to my mixture to make it less wet. I also used cubed mozzarella instead of fresh balls. Also of note: Pedro got home late the eve I made these, and they got dried out in the oven on warm. I'm not sure if having the extra bread crumbs in the mixture contributed to them having a dry consistency, or if it was just being in the oven.

p87: Tortilla Lasagna With Swiss Chard (recipe was published by the magazine, click link to see)
Nice! Funny to call it lasagna, it's basically chilaquiles. I suppose the point was to make a Mexican dish Italian. But, I recommend using enchillada sauce instead of tomato sauce. You can substitue hot basil for regular basil. I also added a red poblano, mushrooms, zucchini and garlic.