Let us wrap

After an overnight fast in preparation for an annual physical exam (my first in 16 years), I'm hungry. Time to go to Yakima Fresh Market for a $20 splurge on fruit and veges.

I look over my loot as I unpack it and consider what I'm hungry for. Quinoa with this stuff? I start cooking 1/2 c. quinoa with 2 c. water and set the timer for 10 minutes.

I wash, slice, and chop leaf basil and the vegetables - cabbage, tomato, onion, red pepper - and grate the carrots and ginger. Into a bowl they go!

Meanwhile, I spot a package of sprouted grains and beans in the cupboard. They only need 5 minutes of cooking and a 10-15 minute "rest." When the timer beeps, I measure 1/3 cup of grains and break 5 stalks of asparagus into the pot. Lid on. The timer gets reset for 5 minutes.

The timer dings. I turn off the gas heat to let the quinoa, bean, and grain mixture settle for 10 minutes. Might as well tidy the kitchen. Knives go back on their magnetic strip, dishes in the DW. There's time to halve and remove the stems from two big romaine lettuce leaves ... and make a cup of tea, too.

Combining the grains and chopped vegetables makes a beautiful arrangement beside the lettuce. I sprinkle on thick soy sauce for flavor ... and plate the food. (See the large tablespoon in the photo for perspective.)

I'm ready to wrap and eat! Half the salad makes 4 substantial lettuce rolls. I'll save the rest of the mix for supper.

Rating: 4.5
Taste: nice combination of bitter (lettuce, asparagus, and cabbage) with savory and sweet (basil, ginger, quinoa, carrots).
Calories: 350-400? for all 4 rolls. Bulky calories!
Time to prepare: 15 min.
Tea: Trader Joe's Well-Rested teabag (sadly). Nice spearmint smell to clear the nose between bites.
Beauty: 4.5 Tighter rolls might be prettier. The color is fabulous and the sizes and textures vary.
Improvements? Perhaps add smashed fresh walnuts and chopped fresh apricot, or - Chinese mustard or wasabi peas, blueberries, and pine nuts. Maybe tonight!

Russian repast

I'm hungry for something heavy. Russian or Eastern European, like my grandma used to make. I have kasha (bulgar wheat) in my cupboard. The back of the package has a recipe. "Boil 1 c. Kasha in 2 c. water and a pinch of salt for 15-20 minutes. Makes 4 servings. "

Eeek. I halve the recipe and cover the pot as the kasha boils merrily.

An optional add-on is browning a diced onion in butter and adding cooked bow-tie pasta. Sounds hearty. Well, butter-ish would be better for this vegan. Add 100 calories, just like that! Oooohhh, I remember that I still have pasta cooked last week. Perfect.

After the onions are translucent from being sauteed in the fat on medium heat, I add the pasta. Shall I include some of the Portuguese olives sitting in the fridge? I flip the stones out of ten before I run out of want-to. Toss those in with the pasta. Stir.

Do I have any Eastern European plates? Nope. Maybe one from Mexico will do; it's painted in a homey style with similar colors (Pier 1).



I peek in the pot. Luckily kasha is not finicky about being peered at, as is rice. I uncover the pot for the last three minutes to steam off the remaining water while I steep some Pumpkin Black tea.

After fifteen minutes, the timer goes off. I stir together the grains and pasta mixtures in the saute pan. While it blends a bit, I have time to chop up a bit of cilantro and lettuce.

I like to line a lunch plate with greens: when they're mixed in they add crunch and vitamins, as well as beautiful color.

When I sit down to eat, it's not salty enough. It tastes too bland... and I don't even like much salt. Oh yeah, I remember now. Grandma used to add a lot of salt when cooking grains. I get the salt shaker and sprinkle some on top of the mix.

Rating: 3/5 Good but nothing special. Needs more inventiveness next time around.
Taste: hearty, somewhat bland (as mentioned earlier). If I weren't a vegan, bacon slivers and browning the whole thing in bacon fat would have "fixed" it (and added another 150 – or more – calories).
Calories: 500 per serving (2 servings)
Tea: Pumpkin Black Tea from leaves, not a tea bag.

Keen on Queen-what? (Quinoa)

Before I know it, it's 12:30. My stomach has long since passed along breakfast and wants refilling. I head for the kitchen when it strikes me: I'm hungry for quinoa (keen-wah), a high-protein grain that we hardly ever eat.

The package says 1/2 c to 1 cup water or broth. I still have vegan broth cubes that my sister-in-law brought from Germany. They're old, so I should use them up. Old old. (About 3-5 years old?) I pop one into water from the hot tap and let it sit while I measure out the quinoa.

After everything's combined in a pot and happily boiling away 15 minutes, it's time to think of accompaniments. At the top of the pantry is a bag of wasabi peas. Perfect! They'll add crunch and heat. But not yet.

Back in the conservatory, I snag the tops off a head of romaine, a carrot, an onion, and a lemon. There's an avocado beside the sink, so I think, "Lemon and avocado. Yup," and put them away for a side dish. Later.

After everything gets washed, I mince a small slice of onion, grate the carrot, and slice the lettuce into fine strips. A splash of oil in a small non-stick pan, onions go in on medium until they wilt, then I add the grated carrots, stir, and turn off the heat.

It's time to finish the quinoa. I turn off the burner, toss the carrot and onion mix on top of the grains, and put the lid on.

What plate shall I use? The meal is colorful, so I choose a subdued pewter green with beautifully ruffled edges (Pier 1 Imports).

Time to cut the avocado and squeeze lemon juice on it. Put lettuce and a few last shavings of carrot line the bowl.

I lift the pot lid: ah, what savory scents. A few stirs of vegetable and grains, then some spoonfulls on top of the lettuce. Time to open the bag of wasabi peas - oh! it's got individual portions. (Goodie! the rest will stay fresh for another time.) Last thing to do is sprinkle peas on top before I take a bite.

What a superb and unexpected mix of fresh flavors! Sweet carrot and lettuce, savory onion and grain, zippy peas, creamy and slightly sour avocado on the side...

Rating: 4/5 I'd make it again. Even for company.
Taste: Excellent texture, taste, and surprises as I bite down on (crunch!) the occasional pea.
Calories: 550
Tea: Lavender Earl Grey, as dessert