The Doctor Cooks

Tempeh Reuben

Here is an easy and delicious sandwich to pack for work or school.  It goes together quicker in the morning if you prepare the tempeh ahead.  This time of year, I serve it with sliced raw vegetables, such as tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers or avocado.  I like roasted root vegetables or steamed greens such as kale as autumn arrives.  A peach or a pear concludes the meal simply and sweetly.  A new ingredient, applewood smoked dulse comes from Goldmine Natural Foods. The salty flavor takes the place of cheese.  You must try it to believe it!

Tempeh Reuben

2 TBSP grape seed oil
8 ounces of tempeh
2 TBSP shoyu or tamari (natural soy sauce.  Please don’t ruin it with commercial brands)
Nasoya thousand island dressing
Sauerkraut
Maine Coast Sea Vegetables applewood smoked dulse
Whole grain bread

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Slice the tempeh cake in half.  Stand each cake on it side and slice it so it is ½ as thick as before.  Put the shoyu or tamari in a bowl.  Dip the tempeh in the shoyu or tamari until well coated.  Cook the tempeh in oil until golden.  Spread the bread with thousand island dressing, top with tempeh, dulse and sauerkraut.  Serve open faced or as a sandwich.  Serves 4.

Hummus Under Pressure

Whether you are new to cooking or just new to cooking this way, we all need helpful cookbooks.  This week I want to introduce you to cookbook author Lorna Sass, the pressure cooking diva.  The pressure cooker is the microwave of whole foods cooking.  Pressure cooking makes whole grain and bean preparation a snap.  Vegetable dishes can be cooked in 2 minutes!  I rely on the charts in her book Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure.  See any of her books or my article Cooking Grains Under Pressure  for the basics of pressure cooker selection and operation.  This week’s menu features pressure cooked dishes.  Please let me know what you think of it by email or by clicking on the comment link at the end of the article.

This week we are entertaining a vegan (VEE-gun) friend.  A vegan does not eat any animal products, and some go to great strides to avoid them in other areas of their lives, such as clothing.  What does that mean for the rest of us?  No cholesterol, and lots of healthy plant protein and phytonutrients.  Here's what I plan to serve him.  In September, I'll post an article on desserts from the my August Kansas City Wellness Magazine column, including a vegan berry crisp that my friend enjoys.

Hummus with Whole Wheat Pita Bread
Roasted Vegetables in Fennel Marinade
Pressure Cooked Brown Rice
Coriander Carrots

Oops! Correction to Salad Recipe

Oops!  I goofed.  I left out the squash in the Quinoa-Garbanzo Bean Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette.  I also goofed the proportions, as I normally make a half-recipe.  Here's the correct version:

Quinoa Garbanzo Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

I recommend quinoa to newcomers to whole grains because is cooks quickly.  I generally prefer dried beans cooked in a pressure cooker over canned beans.  The dried beans taste fresher to me.  Garbanzo beans take 2 – 2 ½ hours took cook on the stovetop without a pressure cooker.  I prefer the squash blanched, but you may like it raw.  Feel free to substitute another seasonal vegetable.  Blanched broccoli florets would be good in the fall.

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/3 cups dried garbanzo beans, soaked over night or 2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
½ pound summer or zucchini squash,, sliced in half lengthwise, then sliced into ¼” thick half rounds
15 pitted kalamata olives, sliced
¼ cup chopped parsley

Mustard Vinaigrette

3 TBSP apple cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 TBSP whole-grain prepared mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Place the quinoa in a bowl.  Rinse and drain about three times to remove any chaff.  Add the water and quinoa to a small saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, drain the garbanzo beans.  If using dried beans, pressure cook on high pressure for 13 – 18 minutes.  When done, place the pressure cooker in the sink and run cool water over it until the pressure is release.  Open the cooker and test for doneness.  If needed, return to pressure and cook a few minutes more.  Drain the beans. 

Blanch the squash, if desired, by cooking them in boiling water for one minute, then immediately drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.

Mix the cooked quinoa, garbanzo beans, squash, olives and parsley in a bowl.  Mix the vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl or screw top jar.  Pour over the salad mixture and toss.  Serve cold or at room temperature.  Serves 4.

Zucchini Abundance!

I hope you are enjoying the first installments of the Doctor Cooks Menu of the Week.  I’d like to hear from you either by email, or by clicking on the comment link at the end of the article. 

The question at this time of year is what to do with the abundance of zucchini, tomatoes, and eggplant.  I do my best to enjoy them fresh.  Every now and then I will freeze what I can’t use from the weeks CSA delivery.  Most vegetables need to be blanched or boiled before freezing.  A good general cookbook, such as The Joy of Cooking, offers detailed instructions on many preservation methods, including freezing.

Sicilian Caponata
Cucumber Soup

Quinoa Garbanzo Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
Gazpacho with Avocado and Olive Oil

Ethiopian Okra with Tempeh
Roasted Beets or Sauteed Turnips

To Good to Be Healthy Pizza.  This is great topped with fresh tomatoes and lightly steamed zucchini or summer squash.  If chard is not available, try arugula.  Last week we made it with sweet potato greens.  Katherine Kelly of the Kansas City Community Farm learned these are a staple in Liberia and brought them to the Farmers Community Market at Brookside for us to try.   

The Doctor Cooks Menu of the Week for August 11, 2006

I can’t believe farmers can grow anything in this heat!  My CSA came through with a bag of beautiful produce yesterday:  tomatoes, okra, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers and a special treat, edamame beans.  I invite you to enjoy this bounty with the little-to-no-cook menus of the past two weeks.  This week I will fill in the gaps by sharing some easy side dish recipes.

Roasted Beets

Beets, like most root vegetables, help us feel solid and grounded.  Our farmers markets are still selling beets, but without the greens.  If beets greens are available in your area, steam them for 6-7 minutes and top them umeboshi plum vinegar.  They are also delicious sautéed with walnuts or pecans in grape seed oil.  Roasting beets is easy and accentuates the natural sugars.  I roast them in the morning before it gets too hot.