Risi E Bisi (Rice and Peas)

Risi e bisi (pronounced REE-see ay BEE-see) is a classic Venetian dish. It's somewhat like a risotto but a little soupier to where you will be using a spoon. I really enjoyed the simplicity and beauty of this dish in every way. The peas are sweet and pair so nicely with the leeks and other flavors from the broth and light seasonings. This recipe makes a large batch so feel free to cut the recipe in half.

This lovely recipe is inspired and adapted from NPR Kitchen Window, A Fresh Pod Cast: Savoring Springs Green Peas.

I decided to use frozen petite peas for this as I honestly didn't feel like shelling 4 lbs. of peas. Please don't judge me. :) I think this is how most of you will be cooking this as frozen peas are convenient. But of course, fresh peas are best and will yield a lovely flavor. Try not to eat them all before they go into the recipe either. I know I can eat these peas by the handfuls. They are so sweet and tender that I can't get enough of them.

Then we bring in the mild flavors of leeks and bay leaves. I used two medium sized leeks, light green and white parts only, slicing them thinly. I also chopped about 1/3 of the thinly sliced batch so there would be some smaller onion like pieces too (this is optional).

I used this sprouted brown grain rice from Planet Rice that I picked up from my local grocery store. It was about $4 for a 20 oz bag. Using this rice I found that I needed to add a little extra cooking time to achieve the texture I was looking for. They do have a lightly milled spouted brown rice that will cook a bit faster, then you won't need the extra cooking time at the end like I needed. Traditionally the rice used in this dish is a risotto rice like Arborio rice, Carnaroli or Vialone Nano which are grown in Italy.

As mentioned in the Food & Wine recipe, it is said by the cooks in Venetia that for each grain of rice there should be a pea. 

 Risi E Bisi (Rice and Peas)

Ingredients (serves 6 - 8)

• 6 - 8 cups vegetable broth OR water with 3 Repunzel Vegetable Bouillons
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast, optional
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium leeks, thinly sliced OR one onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 cups sprouted brown rice, arborio or any medium grain rice of choice
• 4 cups fresh peas or thawed frozen peas 
• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped and loosly packed
• mineral salt and pepper, to taste
• almond parmesan, for topping (not shown)

In a medium saucepan, place the stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Add in the bay leaves, nutritional yeast and keep broth warm. 

In a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add leeks and cook until just softened, about five minutes (remove and set aside a few tablespoons of the leeks for topping if desired). Add garlic and rice, toss until rice is nicely coated, about 3 minutes. 

Add in warm broth, one cup at a time, the stock should be bubbly. Stir often allowing the broth to be just absorbed. Add in another cup of broth, repeat. Add in peas, more stock and continue the process for another 15 minutes or so, or until the rice is al dente, tender but chewy. The whole process should be about 25 minutes or so. Note: Using the sprouted brown rice, at the end I covered my rice and peas and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes until rice was ready to my liking.

Add in more broth and stir. Your rice and peas should be a little soupy. Remove from heat, taste for seasoning and stir in parsley. Remove any bay leaves that made it into the rice and peas. Serve topped with a nice dusting of almond parmesan and freshly cracked pepper. 

Quick method: After sauteing the leeks and rice as above. Add at least 7 cups broth, peas, bay leaves and nutritional yeast, bring to a boil, cover and cook for 20 - 30 minutes until rice is tender. Remove from heat add in parsley. Let set a few minutes and serve as desired.

• • •

And if you were thinking about subbing quinoa for the rice, go ahead, it's delicious too as pictured below (this is actually my preferred grain, I love everything about it...but then this dish isn't called Risi E Bisi). Top with Almond Parmesan like shown and your good to go. Truly wonderful!

How to make using quinoa...

In large pot, heat oil and saute leeks, about five minutes. Add 2 cups rinsed quinoa and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Add 7 cups broth, bay leaves, nutritional yeast, bring to a boil. Add in peas, do not stir, cover and simmer for about 20 - 25 minutes. Test quinoa for tenderness by tasting. Turn of heat, uncover and let set for about 10 - 15 minutes until broth is mostly absorbed. It will thicken upon standing, add more warm broth as needed for desired soupiness. Remove bay leaves. Toss in parsley, taste for seasoning and serve. 

This method with the quinoa will leave you with wonderful leftovers. Quinoa holds up well and reheats beautifully the next day. 

Enjoy!

Savory Chickpea Pancake/Flatbread (Gluten Free)

The chickpea pancake is a great way to enjoy a savory and filling pancake any time of day. Filled with vegetables and spices of your choice, this pancake will leave you satisfied and able to concentrate on your day. Except you may be thinking about how wonderful it was and when you're going to make it next. It is that good and so easy to make. I know you will add this to your meal rotation somewhere!

You can eat this like a pancake or pull it apart like flatbread. I especially love eating this with hummus, either spread on top or pulling it apart for dipping. For the photos I decided to serve it like a pancake topped with cilantro, avocado and sriracha. And you can bet this way was delicious too!

The base of the pancake, garbanzo bean flour (aka, besan, gram flour, chana flour, chickpea or cici flour ), is a great source of protein and fiber. It contains 110 calories per 1/4 cup of flour and boosts 6 grams of protein while offering 5 grams of fiber. One of these pancakes uses 1/3 cup flour so you're getting 9 grams of protein and about 7 grams of fiber per serving. Not bad at all! This is one of those vegan dishes that will stay with you for awhile making it great to start your day, or eat whenever you need to be fueled for a few extra hours. Fill your pancake with whatever you have handy or plan on picking up some special ingredients to make this extra special for yourself, friends and family. Some of the ingredients you may like to use are roasted garlic & bell peppers along with some dandelion greens. I used these ingredients the first time I made this and it was delicious. I'll break it down in a list...that'll be much easier...try mixing and matching any of the following.

Greens...kale, spinach, arugula, chard, dandelions, parsley or cilantro.

Other veggies...(slice, dice or grate any of the following)...scallions, onion, shallots, garlic, tomatoes or sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, bell peppers, carrots, jalapenos, asparagus, broccoli, peas, green chilies, etc...

Spices...garam masala, cayenne, garlic powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, thyme, nutritional yeast, cracked pepper, curry, coriander, ground chipotle, summer savory, etc...

Toppings...hummus, salsa, avocado, harrisa, sweet chili sauce or hot sauce all come to mind.

I'm sure you will come up with some great versions of this pancake!

Start with your garbanzo bean flour...garbanzo bean flour can be found in most health conscious stores. If your store doesn't carry it, don't hesitate to ask your local grocery store manager to get in in stock...they are there for you!



Add spices and vegetables of choice, mix to combine. I used kale, mushrooms, shallots and grape tomatoes.

Pour 1/2 of the mixture onto preheated griddle or skillet. Use your spatula to spread the veggies around and flatten as needed. Also, you can help make your pancake round by gently pushing in the edges where needed. There may be times when it appears that you have more veggies than batter, don't panic....in a few minutes the batter will puff up from the baking soda and fill in making it look fluffy and full. Cook for 5 minutes.

Flip and cook another 5 - 7 minutes making sure the center gets nice and cooked. I've had a few times of not letting it cook thoroughly enough and have had a center that was too mushy. Leave it on the heat a couple extra minutes if in doubt. Serve with your choice of condiments and topping. As shown I used avocado, cilantro and sriracha. You can also add a nice dollop of your favorite hummus! 

Savory Chickpea Pancake/Flatbread

Ingredients (makes two/serves two)

• 2/3 cup garbanzo bean flour
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/2 heaping teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of turmeric (will give it a yellow color), optional
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• mineral salt, to taste
• juice of 1/2 small lemon or 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 2/3 cup lacinato kale (aka: tuscan/dinasaur) or spinach, julienned and loosely packed
• small handful sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 shallot, diced
• 7 grape tomatoes, halved or quartered depending on the size

Preheat griddle on medium.

In a medium size bowl, combine flour, water, baking soda, optional turmeric, cumin, garlic powder and salt to taste. Mix well ensuring all the flour lumps are gone. Add in lemon, stir and you will notice the batter rise and foam a bit. Add in veggies and combine thoroughly. (Note: I don't really measure the vegetables, so this is an approximation)

Pour 1/2 of the mixture onto preheated griddle or skillet. You can use your spatula to move the veggies around and flatten as needed if they are piled up in areas. Also you can help make your pancake round by gently pushing in the edges where needed. There may be times when it appears that you have more veggies than batter, don't panic....in a few minutes the batter will puff up from the baking soda and fill in making it look fluffy and full. Let cook for 5 minutes.

Flip and cook another 5 - 7 minutes, making sure the batter cooks throughout nicely. 

Serve with your choice of condiments. Pairs well with fresh fruit on the side.

Enjoy!

Inspired and adapted from Cake Maker To The Stars. She has various versions on her blog, check it out for more inspiration!

Carrot Miso Soup

This wonderful soup comes from the Smitten Kitchen. It's the simplest of ingredients with such great flavor. Yes, there are a lot of carrots involved but carrots are really on the cheap. I can pick up a 5 lb bag of organic carrots for under $5 making this a very inexpensive soup to prepare (double the recipe and store in the freezer for later if you like). The miso costs a bit more at around $8-9 a tub but will last up to a year + in the fridge. If you follow my recipes you will be sure to use it more than once. The miso compliments this soup beautifully making it a classic favorite. I love miso for its flavor and health benefits, it is quite unusual and irreplaceable. The only changes I made to Deb's recipe was adding a little tofu to round this soup out with some protein. I have chosen to use a silken tofu, sliced and topped with a bit of cayenne for a little kick of spice. The tofu is soft and silky blending in almost seamlessly with each bite and the cayenne adds a bit of warmth. So delicious! Feel free to omit the tofu if you're not a fan. And if you are a fan, feel free to add more for extra protein. 

Lot's of carrots for a colorful, nutritional and flavorful soup that I know you will love! Another great soup for The Simple Veganista collection.

Carrot Miso Soup 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 - 2 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 large onion, diced
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely grated 
• 4 cups water or vegetable broth (I used water)
• 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) white miso paste
• 8 oz. organic silken tofu, sliced thin and at room tempature
• cayenne pepper as garnish, to taste
• chives, chopped OR scallions, thinly sliced

In a large stock pot or saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and garlic, saute until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add liquids and ginger. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes, or until carrots are tender.

Let soup cool a bit. Puree soup with an immersion blender, food processor or in regular blender. You may have to puree the latter two methods in batches.

In small bowl, add 1/4 cup miso and 1/2 cup of soup. Whisk together until combined, add back into the pot of soup and stir to mix. Add a bit more water as needed. Taste for seasoning adding salt, especially if you didn't use veggie stock you may like to add salt. Add pepper, more miso or grated ginger to taste.

Slice your tofu, ladle your soup into serving bowls, top with tofu, a sprinkle of cayenne and a nice bunch of chives or scallions.

Enjoy!

Carrot, Pineapple & Ginger Juice

As I get back on track with juicing, this is my favorite tropical juice. I have two juices that I make on a regular basis and hope to share the other soon. The other is my 'everything' juice and it's not as pretty as this one so I'm saving that one for later. I started juicing two years ago and stopped after six months or so. I can see a big difference in my outside appearance and overall feeling when I do it on the daily. It's so revitalizing in every way and I'm glad to be back in the swing of it. It feels good to feel good and juicing is a regime that is right in line with that feeling. I will make two large juices for the day when I'm away from home along with bringing some finger foods to munch on like veggies and hummus or pea shoot pesto as dip, an orange, grapefruit, etc...something healthy, easy and raw as possible. I always feel at my best when I take the time to put this together before heading out. It takes me about 20 minutes or so to prepare both juices with my Breville. I bought this one just to see if I would juice regularly before spending loads of money on a juicer, they can run upwards of $300 - 400. It works great although I do have to clean in between making two juices as this is a compact juicer, but it's easy to use and easy to clean. I think it's about time to upgrade to something like this Omega which I've heard great things about in taste, juicing ability and ease. It runs a little slower than the Breville but that is where the flavor and ability to extract the most juices comes in to play. I encourage everyone to do your best to add a juice to your daily routine. You will feel an overall difference in just a few days if you can replace a meal with a juice or two. And if you don't have a juicer...take a look at this post by Minimalist Baker on How to Juice without a Juicer. There's also a great recipe for an apple, carrot, beet & ginger juice. I'll be trying that one soon!

Lately I've been buying a 25 lb. bag of organic carrots. It only costs me $13.99 for this large amount and I go through one bag every other week on juicing alone for one person. I know not everyone has the room for this amount of carrots and I am lucky enough to have an extra refrigerator that I can store bulk items in. It comes in handy having them around and you can be sure that more carrot recipes will be coming soon! I love carrots with their sweet flavor, vibrant color and versatility. And if you like to buy carrots with the tops, by all means add those into the juicer too. It will change the color a bit but the carrot tops are full of their own nutrition and can be juiced without being thrown away. You may also like to add an orange if you have one on hand, it'll add a nice citrus flair.

This juice is a classic all around great drink. The pineapple and ginger pair so well with the carrots giving it a tropical feel that's so refreshing. I consider this my dessert juice. This recipe makes about two cups. I have this shown in the 3 cup mason jar and have added extra water. Feel free to dilute your juice with a little purified or clean water of choice.

Vibrant colors for a vibrant life! 

 Carrot, Pineapple & Ginger Juice

Ingredients (makes two cups)

• 7 - 9 large carrot stalks 
• 1/4 pineapple, flesh only
• 1 inch nob of ginger

Juice according to your equipment and enjoy. Juice will store nicely in an air tight container for up to 48 hours in the fridge but is best fresh within a few hours.

Enjoy...

Do you have a favorite juicer? I would love to hear your experiences and thoughts. :)

Broiled Grapefruit with Ginger & Coconut

The grapefruit, a beautiful tangy fruit that is rich in color, a bit tart and sweet all in one. If you're a lover of grapefruits this will be a perfect way to keep your options for serving them varied and fresh. This recipe is quick and simple making it easy to pull together in no time. You can serve your broiled grapefruit for a light breakfast or any time of day snack or dessert. 

My favorite way of having this is topping it with unsweetened shredded coconut. The toasted coconut is a perfect complement. If you love coconut, this is must try. Just be sure to add the coconut after the first couple minutes or it will toast up too much. I've also used ground ginger instead of freshly grated and it was wonderful! This grapefruit shown above with the shredded coconut is a Texas Red, it has a wonderful sweetness to it...simply delicious!

There are many reasons to add grapefruits to your diet. They are high in vitamin C which helps support the immune system. Grapfruits are full of antioxidants which help fight free radicals throughout the body keeping it clean and free from disease. The pink and red varieties contain lycopene, which is a type of antioxidant that has anti-tumor effects. They also contain naringenin, a flavonoid concentrated in grapefruits that help repair DNA. The limonoids in grapefruits help the body with detoxification by encouraging the formation of enzymes that help make toxins become more water-soluble, allowing them to be easily flushed from the body. Grapefruit juice is helpful for the prevention of kidney stones. You can find out more about the wonders of grapefruits from this article from Whole Foods: Grapefruits. Lots of great reasons to add this colorful citrus to your basket.

This is truly an easy recipe...just slice your grapefruits in half, top with ginger and sugar...

Broil for a few minutes and enjoy! As you can see my coloring is varied between grapefruit halves. You may have early burning and you may not. I've had various outcomes with the times so just know that your time and outcome may vary. Just be sure to keep an eye on them so they don't scorch too much. I've also had a batch that didn't get any charring on the rind at all. All outcomes were delicious...the grapefruit is warm and the sugar & ginger all come together with the juices of the grapefruit to make for a really nice treat. Well worth the minimal effort. 

Broiled Grapefruit with Ginger & Coconut

Ingredients (one serving)

• 1 grapefruit per person (I used ruby red)
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar, divided 
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated ginger or a generous sprinkle of dried ginger, divided

optional toppers

• shredded unsweetened coconut (add after the first two or three minutes)
• dash of cinnamon

Preheat broiler. You can alternately use a toaster oven for this using a high temp.

Slice grapefruits in half. You may have to slice a tad bit off the bottom if your grapefruits don't stand straight. Place each half, cut side up, on your rimmed cookie sheet or baking dish. Top each half with 1 1/2 teaspoon or so sugar and 1/4 teaspoon or so ginger. Use your fingers to blend and spread the ginger on the grapefruit halves.

Place in broiler and cook anywhere from 4 - 7 minutes. I find it best to set your timer for 2 minutes, check grapefruit, if sugar is not caramelized or there is no excessive charring of the grapefruit rind (white part), add another minute and repeat the process until sugar is caramelized and rind is gently colored but not overly burnt all around. If using shredded coconut, sprinkle on top of the grapefruit halves after the first two minutes.

Once done, serve immediately or let cool and serve at room temp.

As with all recipes, adjust seasonings to your tastes.

Segmenting: Segmenting can be done before broiling or after. Once you have sliced your grapefruit in half, use a grapefruit knife or a serrated paring knife and cut each segment so the pink flesh is cut away from the membrane. Next, gently par around the whole outside area of flesh cutting away from the rind. It will make your grapefruit eating a little easier and less messy.

Enjoy the simples!