Punchy Dill Flavored Stuffed Peppers (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

Spring is coming.

Right?

I have a feeling that I’m not the only one yearning for some sunshine, mild temperatures, and sing –songy birds flying by our open windows.  I am truly a person who genuinely enjoys each and every season for what it brings.  Growing up in the desert, I didn’t have much exposure to real, honest to goodness season changes like I do here in the Pacific Northwest.   After nearly 5 years here, I still get excited for all the firsts of the seasons: each fresh burst of summer sun, each time I notice that the skyline has been taken over by the earthy, fiery colors of fall, every first winter morning when I realize I underestimated the cold and need to better bundle up against the frigid air, and for those first blossoms of spring.

I’ve loved the madness of this year’s winter, but am ready to shed some layers and see some color peeking out from the earth.  My fingers are crossed I’ll be able to enjoy this soon.

In the meantime, I’ll eat this dish.  Well, I already did eat this dish, but perhaps I shall do so again.  Something about dill (one of my favorite herbs) reminds me of spring.  It’s that punchy taste that sort of coats your palette and infiltrates all the senses that I love.  It tastes fresh and new and full of possibilities, just like spring does for me.

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Punchy Dill Flavored Stuffed Peppers (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry brown rice
• 4 large green bell peppers
• ½ tblspn olive oil
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 small-medium carrots, diced
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 1 cup packed spinach, chopped
• 2 tblspns tomato paste
• 1 tblspn red wine vinegar
• 3 tblspns Italian parsley, minced
• 3 tblspns fresh dill, minced
• ½ tspn salt
• ¼ tspn pepper
• Pinch of red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Cook rice according to package directions.  Set aside when finished.
2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a baking dish by coating with cooking spray or a light coating of oil.  Set aside.
3. Slice the tops of the peppers off and clean out the insides, removing veins and seeds.  Place into a baking dish, cut side up and tops removed, and bake for 20 minutes.  If the peppers are uneven on the bottom and will not stand up in your baking dish, you can even them out, by trimming the bottom edges (though be careful not to cut holes in the bottom, as the filling will leak out).  After 20 minutes, remove from oven and set aside until filling is prepared.
4. Meanwhile, warm a large sauté pan over medium heat.  Add olive oil.  When hot, add onion, garlic, and carrot to the pan.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5-6 minutes or until the onions turn translucent.
5. Add zucchini and spinach to the pan and stir to combine.  Cook for 2-3 minutes more.
6. Finally, add the cooked rice, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, parsley, dill, salt, and pepper to the vegetable mixture.  Stir well to incorporate all ingredients.  Taste and adjust for seasonings.
7. Spoon filling into the each partially cooked pepper base until full.  Feel free to pack it in well – there should be plenty of filling!  Carefully sit the removed tops back on to the peppers, place back into the oven (still at 350 degrees) and bake for 20-25 more minutes.
8. Serve alone, or if you prefer, drizzle an easy sauce over the top.  I served mine with a simple can of tomato sauce, sprinkled with oregano and pepper, warmed up on the stove top.

Recipe: Savory Stuffed Acorn Squash

I can’t believe that it’s the middle of November and I haven’t waxed poetic about fall yet.  I haven’t even extolled the beauty of Portland this time of year or praised the glorious weather we’ve been having, because we absolutely have been having the most glorious season.

We’re known for our rain and gray skies, of course, but they’ve been few and far between the last couple of months.  It’s been perfect.  Perfect for running and strolling.  Perfect for sightseeing and adventuring.  Perfect for autumnal baking and for hard apple ciders enjoyed while firing up the oven for a good meal.

As cheesy as it may sound, I frequently find myself being struck by the beauty of the nature that lies right outside my door.  Very often these last few weeks, I have been out on a seemingly ordinary run only to turn a street corner or look up from making sure I don’t trip over fallen branches and I have felt taken aback by just how gorgeous it all is.  And, let me tell you, there’s nothing like a breathtaking view to rejuvenate tired legs.

I know that it’s common for many people to think of spring as a season of rejuvenation and hope, but I think differently.  For me, it’s that magical time between mid-September and December, when cooler temperatures refresh me and warm foods nourish me.  It is this time of year when I feel the most in touch with my own sense of optimism, accomplishment, hope, and gratitude.  I hope this dish conveys even a bit of that to you.

Stuffed squash recipes abound, but what makes this one a bit different for me is its straightforward savory nature.  Rather than playing up the sweetness of the squash with fruit or similar ingredients, I’ve countered it with a bit of spice and bundles of warm, comforting flavors.  It is a meal best enjoyed with a view of the leaves and the laughter of others.  A crackling fire and a bottle of wine wouldn’t hurt, either.

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Savory Stuffed Acorn Squash

Serves 4

A Move Eat Create Original Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 acorn squash, halved lengthwise, seeds removed
• 1 cup uncooked brown wild rice mix
• 2 cups water
• ½ tblspn olive oil + extra for brushing squash
• ½ white onion, diced
• 1 medium leek, white part only, sliced thin
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bell peppers, diced
• ½ cup diced parsnips (or other root vegetable)
• ½ tspn each salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes
• 1 tspn each dried oregano and basil
• Cayenne pepper (optional for those that like a little bit of heat)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place squash (cut side down) on a baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray or oil and bake for 30 minutes.
2. Place rice in a small pot with the water.  Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.  Once boiling, reduce to a low simmer and continue cooking, covered and undisturbed, for approximately 30 minutes or until all water is absorbed.  When water is absorbed, turn off heat and let rice sit for 10-15 minutes before uncovering and fluffing with a fork.
3. Warm ½ tblspn olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat.  Add onion and leek.  Saute for 5-7 minutes, until they are translucent.
4. Add garlic, bell peppers, parsnips, herbs, and spices to the pan.  Stir well and continue to cook for 5-7 minutes, until all vegetables have softened.
5. Turn off heat.  Stir cooked rice into the vegetable mixture and toss to combine well.  Taste for seasoning.
6. After the squash halves have cooked for 30 minutes, flip them over on the baking sheet.  Brush the flesh lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with cayenne pepper, if using.  Spoon prepared rice and vegetable filling into the squash generously.  Return filled squash to the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Recipe: Iron Boosting Spinach Pesto Rice with Navy Beans

I have an iron deficiency.  Have I mentioned that?

One of those pesky side effects of the gluten-damaged system that I am still healing is a lack of nutrient absorption.  Combine that with all the running I do and it adds up to a significant lack of iron in my body.

Iron deficiency is no joke, as it results in poor oxygen delivery throughout your system and can leave you feeling weak, tired, and cranky.  And, really, who wants that?

While taking iron supplements is great for getting that very low level up initially, I don’t want to have to rely on supplements forever.  I’d prefer to get as many of my nutrients from food as possible, and as such, I offer this dish here – brimming with iron boosting ingredients.

Spinach is a favorite of mine, anyway, and I don’t need any extra excuse to eat it.  But it certainly is a bonus that is so iron rich.  One cup of spinach has just as much iron as 3 ounces of chicken.  So, for all my fellow vegetarians and vegans out there, feel free to fire that fact back at those who think iron has to come from animal products.  It’s just not so.

Continuing to up the iron ante in this dish, I’ve included navy beans (which, seriously, are just like overflowing with the stuff), the bell pepper (one standard green pepper has the same amount of iron as the aforementioned cup of spinach), and pine nuts.  To top it all off, I’ve included lemon juice.

Why is the lemon juice important, you may ask?

Well, besides the fact that it’s delicious, consuming vitamin C (as is found in citrus) with iron increases your body’s absorption rate.

How ‘bout that?!

So if you’re looking to address an iron deficiency of your own, I highly recommend this meal.  It will have you covered, nutritionally speaking, and will certainly be more satisfying than popping a supplement.

If your iron levels are just fine and where they’re supposed to be, I still highly recommend this meal.

It’s delicious.  And nourishing.  And simple to prepare.  And, did I say delicious?

Iron or not, that’s a winning combination.

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Iron Boosting Spinach Pesto Rice with Navy Beans

Serves 6

Ingredients: 

** For the pesto (makes about 1 cup):

• 3 cups packed baby spinach leaves
• ¼ cup pine nuts
• ¼ cup packed basil leaves
• 1 tblspn fresh oregano
• 1 tblspn fresh thyme
•  ½ tspn black pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 tblspns vegetable broth
• 2 tblspns lemon juice
• ½ tspn salt
• 2 tblspns olive oil

The rest:

• 2 tblspns vegetable broth
• ¼ of a large white onion, minced
• 3 small carrots, cut into matchsticks
• 1 bell pepper, cut into strips about ½ inch long
• 2 cups cooked navy beans
• 2 medium zucchini, cut into half moons
• 1 cup of spinach pesto (recipe above), divided in two
• 3 cups cooked brown rice (about 1 ½ cups dry)

Directions:

1. First, prepare the pesto.  Place all pesto ingredients, except olive oil, into a food processor and pulse a few times to chop ingredients.  Then, let food processor run while you slowly pour in the olive oil.  Continue to process until ingredients are well chopped and combined.  Set aside.
2. Warm large sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Add vegetable broth first, then add onion, pepper, and carrots.  Saute vegetables in the broth for 5-7 minutes, until vegetables have softened.
3. Add beans and zucchini to the pan and continue to cook all ingredients, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
4. Add cooked rice and ½ cup of spinach pesto.  Stir all ingredients together and mix well over heat.  Let all ingredients cook for 3-4 minutes, to warm everything through and combine.  Serve immediately with the remaining ½ cup pesto to be drizzled onto individual servings as desired.

Recipe: Broccoli and Mushroom Risotto

Risotto is an easy, cheap version of therapy for me.  Well, I should clarify that cooking risotto is an easy, cheap version of therapy for me.

Eating it is good, too.  I’ll never forget my first taste of risotto (made by a professional chef – not by own hands).  The experience stunned me.  That creamy, rich and bright delicious first bite ranks high amongst my greatest food experiences.

But cooking risotto is even better.

People say it’s difficult.  They say it’s tricky or precarious or too easy to ruin.

I say: Bah!

None of that is true in my own experience.  Risotto takes more attention than a casserole or a soup, maybe, but it is attention that I’m glad to give.  The slow, deliberate process behind a good risotto is better than meditation or a good sleep for calming any negative energy or frayed nerves that I my be harboring.  I’m drawn to the smell of the dry rice toasting up before any liquid is added.  Then I am soothed by swirling the small batches of broth into the pan, time and time again.

The gentle stirring is like a lullaby and the scents like the very best aromatherapy.

Plus, I am continually fascinated by the transformation of a small pile of dry rice into a heaping mound of creamy, rich risotto.

It’s pure culinary brilliance.

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Broccoli and Mushroom Risotto

A Move Eat Create Original Recipe, inspired by countless recipes viewed over time

Serves 4-6

Feel free to use this recipe as a guideline for quantities and method.  If broccoli isn’t your thing, you could easily sub asparagus, for instance.  No mushrooms on hand?  Try zucchini or yellow squash.  The vegetables, as well as the herbs, can easily be adapted to your preference and pantry staples.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups mushrooms, diced (I used a mixture of portobello and white button)
• 7 cups vegetable broth (consider making your own)
• 1 tblspn olive oil
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium shallots, minced
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1 tspn salt
• ½ tspn black pepper
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2 cups (about 1 small head) broccoli, chopped finely
• 1 tblspn Earth Balance (may sub butter or other butter substitute)
• 1 tblspn nutritional yeast (can sub Parmesan if not vegan)
• 1 tblspn fresh marjoram, chopped
• 1 tblspn fresh basil, chopped

Directions:

1. Pre-cook your mushrooms by tossing them into a large non-stick pan over medium heat.  Cook for 3-4 minutes, until they shrink in size a bit and start to brown.  Remove from pan and set aside.
2. In the meantime, pour your vegetable broth into a large saucepan over medium-low heat.  You’ll want to keep the broth warm through the cooking process, as it should not be added to the rice cold.
3. Add oil to the pan.  Once warmed, add shallot and garlic.  Cook 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until they are translucent and fragrant.
4. Toss your rice, salt, and pepper into the pan with the shallot and garlic.  Toast the rice briefly, about 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Increase heat slightly, then add wine.  Mix ingredients together and let the wine deglaze the pan and cook off for 1-2 minutes.  Once the wine has cooked down, lower heat again to just below medium.
5. Begin to add your warm broth in ½ cup increments.  Between each addition, stir rice frequently, mixing the broth into the ingredients slowly and deliberately.  When most of the broth is absorbed, add the next ½ cup full.  Continue this process until all but 1 cup of the broth is used and rice has become soft and very plump.  This process should take somewhere around 30 minutes.
6. When its time to add in the second to last ½ cup of broth, add broccoli to the pan.  Stir together broccoli, rice, and broth.
7. With the last ½ cup of broth, add pre-cooked mushrooms.  Stir mushrooms and final batch of broth into the rice.  When all broth has been absorbed, turn off heat.
8. Add Earth Balance, nutritional yeast, and fresh herbs to the pan and stir gently to incorporate all ingredients together.  The heat from the risotto will melt the Earth Balance and help blend all ingredients together.  Serve immediately.

Recipe: Koshari (Pre-Race Dinner and One of My Favorite Meals)

In the weeks leading up to my first half-marathon, I spent quite a bit of time reading and planning for how I would prepare.  What would my taper look like?  Should I have a pre-race meal 2 hours or 3 hours beforehand?  And, of course, there was the question of what to eat the night before the race.

Since I wasn’t running a full marathon, heavy carbo-loading wasn’t necessary, but I did want to increase my carbohydrate intake somewhat in the days leading up to the run, just to be sure I had the stored energy that I would need.  I also wanted to eat something familiar and delicious; something that I knew would provide me with necessary nutrients, as well as comfort to calm some of my nerves.

It didn’t take long for me to decide on koshari as my pre-race dinner.  Many runners turn to pasta dishes before runs.  Whether it’s a group of runners gathering together or a quick meal at home, pasta dinners have long been a tradition before races.  Koshari is a take on a pasta dinner, but with a decidedly different cultural twist.

As I understand it, koshari is Egyptian in origin and is a traditional mixture of pasta, lentils, and rice with a somewhat spicy tomato sauce and onions.  I’ve seen several different recipes for koshari and the one I will share with you here is the one I have created from a culmination of various sources and my own trial and error.

This is a simple dish, but it is consistently one of my favorite and most satisfying meals.  I also like to think that it really is ideal to include in a healthy menu for runners and other athletes, as it packs a nice combination of nutrients.  The pasta and rice give you the carbohydrates you need for sustaining energy levels.  The lentils provide a substantial dose of protein, fiber and B vitamins.  The tomato sauce delivers powerful antioxidants and a good amount of potassium, and the onions provide protection for your heart, as well as overall anti-inflammatory properties.  How perfect is that??

Plus, this stuff is good.

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Koshari

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried lentils, rinsed and picked through
• 1 cup rice
• 1 cup dried small pasta (macaroni/orzo/elbows)
• 1 large white or yellow onion, diced
• 2 tblspns olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2.5 cups tomato sauce
• ¼ tspn red pepper flakes
• 1 green chili, diced
• 1 tblspn red wine vinegar
• (optional: extra onion to fry and top with cooked koshari)

Preparation:

1. Place lentils in a pot with 3 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer about 30-40 minutes, until tender.  Drain and set aside.
2. Simultaneously, cook rice in 2 cups of water as directed on package. When finished, set aside.
3. Also, cook pasta until al dente.  Drain and set aside.
4. Saute onions, garlic and chili in olive oil until browned.
5. Add tomato sauce, red pepper flakes, and red wine vinegar.  Heat to boiling and reduce to a simmer.  Add salt and additional red pepper flakes to preferred taste.  Simmer for 3-4 minutes.
6. Combine cooked lentils, rice and pasta with the sauce and mix to combine.  If desired, serve topped with caramelized onions, chopped parsley or cilantro.