Chickpea Artichoke Rice with Lambsquarter Greens

This is a hearty brown rice dish featuring protein-rich chickpeas, tasty artichoke, savory herbs and spices, wild-foraged lambsquarter greens, and a dash of zingy fresh lemon. Hands-off and great for a weeknight meal, this is a healthy and delicious way to introduce picky eaters to brown rice and foraged greens (or spinach!)

Do you ever forage for wild plants? I really love to incorporate treasures from our backyard in our meals and each year I try to include more. We have an abundance in our woods that offer themselves at various times of the year. Highbush cranberries, red currants, horsetail, many wild edible flowers, bolete mushrooms, spruce tips, fiddlehead ferns, chickweed, wild raspberries, and lambsquarter. These are just a few; Alaska has so much to give!

I remember foraging lambsquarter with my grandmother and eating it. “Tastes like spinach!”, she used to say. And she was right, it does taste like a mild spinach. It’s very recognizable and has a white powdery substance that coats it. Anything you forage should be washed well and of course it’s vital to be absolutely 100% sure you know what you are picking.

If you’re not able to harvest any wild greens where you are, spinach will work just beautifully in this dish or feel free to just omit the greens completely if you prefer.

What kinds of things do you forage?

Chickpea Artichoke Rice with Lambsquarter Greens

By Kathleen Henry - Produce On Parade

This is a hearty brown rice dish featuring protein-rich chickpeas, tasty artichoke, savory herbs and spices, wild-foraged lambsquarter greens, and a dash of zingy fresh lemon. Hands-off and great for a weeknight meal, this is a healthy and delicious way to introduce picky eaters to brown rice and foraged greens (or spinach!)

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked long-grain brown rice
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups + 2 tbsp (thereabouts) vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small brown onion, diced small
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• ½ tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp seasoning or table salt
• dash of white pepper
• 1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained
• 1 15 oz can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
• 1 cup unpacked foraged lambsquarters leaves or spinach
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• ½ lemon, zested and juiced

Instructions

1. Add the dry rice to a rice cooker. Drain the diced tomatoes, reserving the juice in a liquid measuring cup; add in enough vegetable broth to equal 2 ¼ cups of total liquid (for me this was about 2 cups and 2 tbsp of broth). Add to dry rice, and cook according to your rice cooker. Brown rice takes about 1 hour to cook.
2. While the rice cooks, heat the oil over medium-low heat in a large rimmed frying pan. Add the onion and garlic, sauteing for about 5-8 minutes until the onions are translucent. Stir in the spices, herbs, salt and pepper; cook for an additional 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the chickpeas and artichokes; simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cover; allow to rest until rice is cooked.
4. Wash the greens well. When the rice is done cooking add the greens to the pan and stir until wilted. Add in the rice, parsley, and lemon juice and zest; stir well to combine.
5. Serve hot and topped with additional parsley and lemon zest if you like.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 4

From The Viet Vegan - Grilled Tofu Soba Noodle Bowl with Greens

Greetings from Ohio! Yep, I'm a stateside little elf during this holiday season and having such a blast. Due to said fun, I'm pretty busy and I thought I'd invite over a dear friend of mine to keep you little snowflakes entertained. 

Lisa, from the Viet Vegan is such a treat. She's incredibly talented, with stunning photos and deliciously Asian-inspired vegan recipes. Her writing will keep you giggling all day until your co-workers give you the dreaded stink eye. So, I'll quit hogging my bloggin' BFF. Everyone, meet Lisa!

Hello Produce on Paraders! Paraders? Readers. Let’s go with readers.

Hello Katie’s lovely readers! My name is Lisa and I’m the over-sharing, feminist nerd behind The Viet Vegan (formerly known as Je suis alimentageuse). I’ve been an admirer of Katie’s food blog for a while now, her photography is awesome, her recipes look absolutely delicious, and she makes living vegan look so easy. I even bought Bogs ever since she did her winter gear post because they’re warm, not too shabby-looking, and vegan-friendly. Oh and since they’re made with stretchy material, they fit my calves! (which is a rare and momentous occasion).

I’ve got a soba noodle bowl for you today. It’s quick and easy, and only needs a minimal amount of prep the night before. I find noodle bowls so easy and comforting. They remind me of my childhood bi-monthly trips to Toronto’s Chinatown with my parents since we lived in a small town that mainly was all about meat and potatoes. After two hours of driving through sleet and snow (because Canada) and before we’d do groceries, we’d go for a big bowl of phỏ.

It was oddly comforting to be around the hustle and bustle of people who looked like me, slurping soup with chopsticks and Asian soup spoons. My hometown was super WASP-y and there were only two other Vietnamese families, and we all went to different schools. We all knew what hoisin sauce was, sriracha, and rice noodles and those fresh spring roll wraps that nobody had ever seen before. We’d come home with a big haul of things we couldn’t buy at home: banh mi sandwiches, bean sprouts, tamarind paste, and tofu.  

Glorious, glorious tofu.

Tofu has a bad reputation. People think it’s a tasteless block of whiteness. But only if you let it be that way! Tofu is like a big sponge, so in order for it to be able to soak up all the delicious marinade, it needs to be squeezed as dry as possible so that there’s room for marinade. If I knew more about physics, I’d say it has something to do with a saturation point. But I don’t know much about physics. So press your tofu so it can soak up as much flavour as possible.

Then you can eat it as it is, pan-fry, stir-fry, add to soup, sandwiches, but I love to grill it.

With a little sugar in the marinade, tofu gets a caramelized coating with beautiful charred marks that remind my taste buds that summer is coming closer day by day, even if dreary winter season is here. Adding frozen peas and fresh spinach adds a pop of colour to the soba noodle bowl, but you can always add in your favourite veggies. Red cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts, cucumber… Add whatever you want.

Just don’t forget the tofu.

Grilled Tofu Soba Noodle Bowl with Greens

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Marinated Tofu

• 1 block extra firm tofu (I used Organic Soyarie 350 g)
• ½ cup tamari
• 1 cup filtered water
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ·1 tbsp agave nectar or maple syrup

For the Dressing:

• 1 ½ tsp grated ginger
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 3 tbsp lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
•  1 tbsp tamari

For the Bowl: 

•  4 servings of buckwheat soba noodles
• 1 cup frozen peas or edamame
• 3 cups fresh spinach, packed
•  sesame seeds to garnish

Directions:

To prepare the tofu the day before:

1.      Wrap the tofu in a clean and dry tea towel, paper towel, or dishcloth. Press between two flat surfaces (say two cutting boards) and place a heavy object on top, such as a couple cans of beans. Allow the tofu to be pressed for at least half an hour to get as much liquid out as possible.

2.      Prepare the marinade in a container that’s at least 2 inches deep.

3.      Cut the tofu into triangles (first in half, then cut those two halves diagonally to get the triangle shape. Slice each triangle until about 1/3 inch thick. Layer the tofu into the marinade and chill overnight for at least 8 hours.

To prepare the bowl:

4.      Combine all ingredients for dressing and whisk well. Set aside.

5.      Preheat a grill pan (or BBQ). Add adequate oil to the grill. Place marinated tofu on the grill. Flip once char marks appear. Continue cooking until both sides are well done. Remove from grill.

6.      Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add soba noodles. Cook for about 5 minutes, until almost cooked.

7.      Add frozen peas and cook until bright green. Quickly add the spinach, stir, and turn off the heat. Wait about 30 seconds until the spinach turns bright green and drain. Run cold water to shock and halt the cooking process so the greens stay bright.

8.       Divide soba and greens between four bowls and add the dressing on top.

9.      Sprinkle sesame seeds to garnish.

10.  Enjoy!

Lisa Le is the blogger behind The Viet Vegan. She’s a self-proclaimed feminist, vegan, and nerd who loves Star Trek and food in bowls. To see more of her recipes and reading about her life, visit her at The Viet Vegan. 

Thank you, Lisa, for visiting and for such a fantastic recipe. Long live the tofu soba noodle bowl!

Healthy Baked Beans with Rainbow Chard and Quinoa

Confession time! I've only had baked beans probably like twice in my entire life. I think both times I found them as side dishes that someone brought to some random BBQ. Why only twice? I can't be sure, but maybe it's because I've never liked ribs and baked beans usually accompany ribs. Right? Eh, who knows. My family certainly never made them, though I don't know if there was a particular reason for that. Maybe they're not really an Alaska thing? Or maybe baked beans are something that my family just never really embraced. A shame I should think, reflecting.

Either way, I have embraced them. I saw this vegan recipe for baked beans a little while back and for about a week now, I have been transfixed, yearning for baked beans! I'm so weird. Hey, if it's sweet, I'm on board.

So, these I am sure are not "authentic"...whatever that means with regards to baked beans. I'll freely admit I have no idea. I can tell you though, that this dish was awesome. It was sweet, creamy, warm and comforting. The best part may have been how super easy it was to make. With Todd's birthday party tomorrow (I'll be making homemade veggie burgers, vegan potato salad, grilled corn on the cob and a surprise homemade cake) and working to get back into the swing of things with work and home, I just didn't have time or energy to make something that required a lot of effort. Okay, any effort. Other effortless meals this week included pasta with beet greens, Amy's dairy-free bean burritos and copious smoothies. I didn't record those though. Sorry!

Doesn't that look like the perfect end-of-summer-beginning-of-fall meal? Yes, I agree that it does.

So, if you're short on time but don't want to sacrifice a great, nutritious and comforting early fall meal, then this dish is for you!

Healthy Baked Beans with Rainbow Chard and Quinoa

Inspired by the wonderful Girl Makes Food

Serves 4-6

• 3 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups dry quinoa, rinsed
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, minced
• 1 large bunch of rainbow chard, washed, de-stemmed and chopped (or kale, spinach or any kind of chard)
• 1-2 large handfuls of spinach
• 2 tsp. stone ground mustard
• 2 15 oz. cans of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup vegan BBQ sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground chipotle chili powder
• sprinkle of ground black pepper

Bring the water to boil in a small saucepan. Add the rinsed quinoa and stir. Turn to low and allow to simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Once done cooking, fluff with a fork.

While quinoa does it's thing, heat the oil in a medium saucepan and add the onion, pepper, spinach and rainbow chard. Saute for about 5 minutes over low heat.

Drain and rinse the beans. Add them to the saucepan with the onion, red pepper and greens, along with the remaining ingredients.

Cover, turn to low and allow to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve the baked bean mixture over a bed of quinoa and enjoy!

That was easy enough, right?

I am fairly ignorant to proper baked beans, so if you have a family or a favorite baked bean recipe let me know! I'd love to hear about it. Are beans popular where you live? I imagine they're found a lot in the South. I have no science to back me up on this one, it's just a hunch.

Healthy Baked Beans with Rainbow Chard and Quinoa

Recipe Type: Entree

Author: Katie - Produce On Parade

Serves: 4-6

If you’re short on time but don’t want to sacrifice a great, nutritious and comforting fall meal, then this dish is for you!

Ingredients

• 3 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups dry quinoa, rinsed
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, minced
• 1 large bunch of rainbow chard, washed, de-stemmed and chopped (or kale, spinach or any kind of chard)
• 1-2 large handfuls of spinach
• 2 tsp. stone ground mustard
• 2 15 oz. cans of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup vegan BBQ sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground chipotle chili powder
• sprinkle of ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Bring the water to boil in a small saucepan. Add the rinsed quinoa and stir. Turn to low and allow to simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Once done cooking, fluff with a fork.
2. While quinoa does it’s thing, heat the oil in a medium saucepan and add the onion, pepper and rainbow chard. Saute for about 5 minutes over low heat.
3. Drain and rinse the beans and add to the saucepan along with the remaining ingredients.
4. Cover, turn to low and allow to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Serve the baked beans mixture over a bed of quinoa and enjoy!

3.2.1251

I had lots of yellow leaves on my car this morning. Fall is coming. Now back to preparing for a special birthday!