Spring Seasoning

Our mint is thriving and the lemon tree has more lemons than leaves. Combining the two makes one of my favorite seasonings for plain cooked grains. I like it with barley and brown rice, and the other night I made it with oat groats.

Oat groats are the whole grain of the oat - they look very similar to brown rice. Although we most often think of oats for breakfast, I sometimes cook them for dinner as a change. They have a little inherent sweetness, but the lemon and mint override it.

I served these oats the other night with Balsamic Bean Stew and steamed broccoli.

Oats with Mint and Lemon

2/3 cup whole oat groats

1 1/3 cups water

1/4 tsp salt

scant sprinkle of turmeric

2 tbsp chopped mint

1 tbsp chopped shallot

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp whole cumin seeds, toasted

Combine the oats, water, salt and turmeric in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cover with a tight-fitting lid, bring to the boil, and simmer over low heat about 40 minutes until the oats are tender. Stir occasionally to make sure the groats are not sticking to the bottom of the pan. All the water should be absorbed. When they're cooked, remove from the heat and let sit, covered 5 minutes.

Stir the mint, shallot, lemon juice and cumin seeds into the oats. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4

Millet and Arugula

I got in from the garden this evening completely uninspired about cooking dinner. But I opened the pantry cupboard and saw millet, and remembered I had arugula in the fridge, and suddenly dinner became easy.

Arugula is a zesty green that adds spice to even boring millet. This recipe can be made with other greens like chard or purple mustard greens, but arugula really is the best.

Lightly toasting the millet before cooking it helps the grains stay separate. Millet is faster to cook than brown rice, so it makes a quick and easy dinner after a busy day.

Millet and Arugula
1 bunch arugula (about 3/4 lb)
3/4 cup millet
1 tbsp oil
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp tamari (or soy sauce)

Wash the arugula and chop it coarsely. Set aside.

Toast the millet in a heavy skillet over medium heat until golden, about 5 minutes. The grains will start to pop slightly as they cook. Remove from heat.

Sauté the onion in the oil for a minute, then add the garlic and cook until lightly browned, another 5 minutes or so.

Stir the arugula and salt into the onion and cook, covered, 5 minutes. Add the millet along with 1 1/2 cups water and the tamari. Stir well, then cover and cook over medium-low heat until the millet is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes.

Serves 3-4

Greens and Rice

There is nothing better than looking in the fridge and seeing a container of cooked brown rice. Stirred up with some greens, it makes an easy dish for dinner.

The other day I cooked up a bunch of purple mustard greens along with the greens from a bunch of red radishes, then stirred in some cooked brown rice to dampen the heat a little.

It's a simple technique that can work for any cooked grain and any greens you have in your fridge.

Greens and Rice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, diced
1 clove garlic
1 bunch purple mustard greens
greens from 1 bunch red radishes
2 cups cooked brown rice

Warm the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion and garlic until tender, about 3 minutes.

Wash the greens and cut into one-inch strips. Add to the pan, sprinkle on some salt, stir well and cover the pan. Let cook 5-10 minutes until the greens are soft and tender. (The time will depend on the type of green you are using.) Stir in the brown rice, cover and cook until the rice is hot and the flavors are blended.

Season with salt and pepper, lemon juice or hot sauce to taste.

Serves 2-3

Rice and Poblano Casserole

Poblanos and rice - one of the best combinations ever. When I have leftover rice, I always throw it in the freezer to be able to make a simple casserole like this.

Unfortunately, we had eaten all the freezer rice, so I had to cook rice from scratch. That's okay. This casserole was worth it.

Rice and Poblano Casserole
2 poblano peppers
1 tbsp oil
1/4 cup diced onion plus 2 tbsp onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (opt)
5 oz cheddar, grated
3/4 cup frozen corn, defrosted

Toast the poblanos over a gas burner or under the broiler until their skins are charred and blackened. Put in a covered pot until cool, then remove the stems and seeds. Scrape off the blackened skin (if you leave a little on the pepper, that's okay). Dice the flesh and set aside.

Warm the 1/4 cup diced onion over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add poblanos and cook another minute.

Crumble the rice into a large bowl. Add the onion mixture and stir well.

Whisk together the yogurt, cilantro and remaining raw onion. Stir into rice along with cheddar and corn.

Grease a 2-quart casserole. Spoon in the rice mixture. Cover and cook at 325°F for 25 minutes until heated through.

Serves 6

(This casserole can be made ahead and refrigerated. Bring it to room temperature before baking.)

Summer Barley Salad

I usually think of barley as a winter food - great in soups and stews. But the other day I used it in a salad that tasted of early summer - full of cherry tomatoes and peas and fresh dill.

This ancient grain is soothing to the digestive tract, balancing to the blood sugar, and healing to the heart. It makes a nice change from brown rice, and takes about the same time to cook. Buy barley at the health food store - it should be a brownish color and will be called pot barley. The pearl barley at the supermarket is whiter and more refined - meaning more of its goodness has been removed.

However, when you're eating this salad, you won't be thinking of the health benefits because you'll be too busy enjoying the flavors.

Summer Barley Salad
3/4 cup barley
3 cups frozen corn
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
3/4 cup cherry tomatoes
1 stalk celery
2 spring onions
3 tbsp chopped fresh dill
3 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon

Cook the barley in 2 1/2 cups boiling water, covered, until the grain is tender and the water is absorbed, about 45 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Steam the corn and peas for about 3 minutes until tender. Halve the cherry tomatoes and dice the celery. Slice both the white and green parts of the spring onions. Combine the vegetables, dill and barley in a large bowl. Stir in the olive oil and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and extra lemon juice as desired.

Serves 4-6

Whole Oat Pilaf

Oats are one of the best foods we can eat to keep our inner microbes happy. There are a wide variety of microbes living inside us - the ones we hear most about are the ones in the large intestine that benefit from yogurt and other probiotics, but there are many many more -  and the fiber and natural sugars in oats do a great job of keeping them balanced and harmonious, which in turn helps us stay healthy.

Rolled oats serve this purpose, so granola is a good way to start the day.

However, whole oat groats are even better for the body.

And they make a fine substitute for brown rice when you're looking for a grain to round out a meal. Make sure to buy hulled oat groats, not the ones with the husks on that are used for sprouting. They should look similar to brown rice or barley.

I took advantage of the fresh peppers at the market to make this cheerful fall pilaf that I served with a bean stew, beets with mint, and wilted greens. It was a colorful meal that our bodies really appreciated.

(And it tasted good too!)

Whole Oat Pilaf
1 cup whole oats
1 jalapeno
1/2 red peppers
1/2 orange pepper
4 mushrooms
2 shallots
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh basil

Bring three cups of water to a boil, add 1/2 tsp salt and the oat groats, cover and simmer until cooked, about 20 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile dice the peppers and shallots. Chop the mushrooms and mince the garlic.

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the peppers, shallots, mushrooms and garlic and cook 2-3 minutes until crisp tender, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat and add the cooked oats. Season with salt and pepper. Toss so all is warmed through. Stir in the basil and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Millet and Arugula

I can never resist arugula when I see it at the farmers market.

This zesty spicy green is great with pasta. I recently stirred it into cooked millet, which improved the grain immensely.

Millet is a small round grain that is much enjoyed by budgies. Practitioners of macrobiotics say that it is the least acid-forming of all the grains.

It's a good source of magnesium, so it is a heart-healthy grain. Magnesium is known for lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of heart attack. Millet also contains niacin to lower cholesterol. So it should be one of the grains in the rotation.

I cook it like rice - 1 cup grain to 2 cups water. It cooks in 15-20 minutes.

So it's healthy and fast to cook - it's only downside is that it's a little boring. Arugula perks it right up.

Millet and Arugula
1 tbsp oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 small clove garlic, chopped
1 lb arugula
3/4 cup millet
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp tamari

Sauté the onion in oil for a minute, then add garlic and cook about 4 minutes until lightly browned.

Wash, trip and coarsely chop the arugula. Stir into the pot with the salt and cook, covered, 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast the millet in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat until golden, about 5 minutes. The seeds will pop slightly as they cook.

Add the millet to the arugula along with 1 1/2 cups water and the tamari. Stir well, then cook, covered, over medium-low heat until the millet is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, about 20-30 minutes.

Serves 4

Welcoming the New Year

Even though I've never lived in the south, I've adopted the tradition of eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. I use a recipe from Diana Shaw's book, Vegetarian Entertaining, which combines the peas with brown rice and smoked cheese for a protein-rich comfort food dish that helped ease us into 2013.

(I'm sure true Southerners would blanch at calling this decidedly untraditional dish hoppin' john.)

I used dried black eyed peas that I buy at the Hollywood Farmers Market. I find they cook in about the same time as the brown rice so I don't pre-soak them. If your beans are older, soak them overnight or for a few hours in cold water, then drain them before adding them to the pot. I suppose you could use canned beans, stirring them in at the end to cook through, but I'm not sure the flavor would be as good.

The color comes from a roasted red pepper. Since pepper season is finished here in southern California, I pulled a roasted pepper from my freezer. Each fall when organic peppers are overflowing at the Tutti Frutti stand, I buy dozens to roast and freeze. (Click here for my post on roasting peppers.) They defrost well for any cooked dish, and have that great roasted flavor.

For the liquid I used one cup of my roasted vegetable stock and 3 cups water.

The final touch is the smokiness of the cheese stirred in at the end. Diana calls for smoked mozzarella, but I prefer smoked firehouse Mike cheddar from the jersey cows at Spring Hill Organic Farm (sold at the Hollywood Farmers' Market). It adds a little kick along with the smoke.

With this gooey, soft dish (which Larry says is very hard to photograph attractively), I served Brazilian-style collard greens and an Indian flatbread. Later we sat by the fire with port and stilton, and felt very well-fed by vegetarian dishes from around the world.

Hoppin' John
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp oil
1 large red pepper, roasted, seeded and chopped
1 cup black-eyed peas, picked over and rinsed
1 cup long-grain brown rice, rinsed
4 cups water or vegetable stock
1/3 cup minced parsley
3/4 cup diced smoked cheese

In a large pan, sauté the onion and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in the red pepper, black-eyed peas, rice and water or stock. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over low heat until the beans and rice and cooked through, 45-60 minutes. Add liquid if needed. If the beans and rice are cooked and too much liquid remains, remove the lid and cook until it evaporates.

(It can sit off the heat now until you're ready to eat. Reheat gently before stirring in the cheese.)

Stir in the parsley and cheese. Serves 6.

Reheats well and makes great leftovers.

Spiced Lemon Quinoa

Quinoa is a high-protein grain that makes a quick main dish. The other night I served it with broiled eggplant, steamed broccoli, and baby turnips with their greens. It was a colorful meal full of good flavor.

I cooked the quinoa with Indian pilaf flavorings, and even went so far as to cook a couple of tablespoons of channa dal (yellow split peas) ahead of time to add to the authenticity of the dish. You can skip the dal if you like, but it adds a nice texture and variety.

Do not skip pouring boiling water over the uncooked quinoa. It removes the saponins, bitter chemicals that give quinoa its bad name. Without them, it's quite a tasty grain.

Spiced Lemon Quinoa
2 tbsp yellow split peas or channa dal
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 serrano chile, seeded and diced
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp salt
5 oz loosely packed spinach (6 cups)
1 cup quinoa
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped cilantro (optional)

Cook split peas in boiling water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

Put quinoa in a sieve and pour boiling water over it a couple of times to remove the saponins. Cook in 4 cups boiling water with 1/2 tsp salt until tender, about 10-12 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat oil over medium heat. Add mustard seeds, cover the pan, and cook until they pop, 1 minute. Stir in cumin and cook until sizzling. Stir in split peas, chile, tumeric and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook, stirring often, until split peas start to turn golden brown. (If not using the split peas, cook until spices are fragrant.) Scrape into a bowl.

Add spinach to hot skillet, increase heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring, until wilted, just a few minutes. Drain any liquid. Stir in cooked quinoa, split pea mixture, and 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice. Toss to mix. Season with salt and more lemon juice to taste. Scatter cilantro on top and serve.

Serves 4

Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

This was our Thanksgiving day menu:

Halftime appetizer:
Pumpkin empanadas with cilantro-mint dipping sauce

Dinner:
Honey-baked ham (for Larry and Trace)
Homemade bread with honey butter
Green bean and mushroom casserole
Baked kabocha squash
Spicy brown rice with mushrooms and chipotles
Kohlrabi greens and roots with garlic
Beets with mint
Salad with persimmons and pomegranate seeds

Dessert:
Lemon pudding cake with cranberry syrup

Kamut Pilaf with Basil

Last week I served Larry kamut for the first time.

He thought the dish was good, but was a little uncertain about the kamut itself.

You see, although kamut looks like brown rice, it has more of the munchy pop of wheat kernels. Which makes sense, since kamut is an ancient form of wheat.

Once you get used to the texture, it's a great substitute for brown rice in any pilaf. And it is a highly nutritious grain, containing more protein, vitamins and minerals than wheat.

You can buy whole kamut at any health food store.

This is a fresh-tasting recipe to try it with.

Kamut Pilaf with Basil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, diced in 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup whole kamut
2" sprig rosemary
3 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

Sauté onions, carrots and garlic in olive oil until softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in kamut and rosemary sprig. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until kamut is tender and stock is absorbed, 40-60 minutes. Stir in green onions and basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve sprinkled with a little extra basil.

Serves 4

Fava Bean Risotto

We grew our own fava beans this year.

In the garden I corralled them in a cage of stakes and string and they pretty much took care of themselves.

In the kitchen, however, they are more complicated. First they have to be removed from their pods, and then the hard skins over the individual beans (peas?) slipped off. It's even more work than shelling peas.

But the flavor is lovely - so spring-like. The other day I picked a few beans and turned them into this lovely spring-like risotto.

Fava beans are great in risotto because they keep their color, and you don't need a lot of them to make a good impact.

(I suggest 1-2 lbs in this recipe, which I know is vague but it depends on how big the beans are inside the pod and what percentage of bean to rice you like. If you blanch more fava beans than you want to add to your risotto, refrigerate them overnight and then warm them in a little butter in a skillet. Add a little chopped mint and you have a simple side dish.)

I use my basic risotto recipe, and stir the blanched fava beans in at the end to warm through. If you don't have fava beans, you can use 3/4 cup of defrosted baby limas or peas instead.

As in all risottos, it's important to use a well-flavored vegetable stock. You can find my favorite here.

Leftover risotto can be formed into burgers, dredged in bread crumbs and gently fried in a little olive oil. It's almost better than the original dish, so it's always worth making more risotto than you will need.

Fava Bean Risotto
1-2 lbs fava beans in their pods
1 small onion or shallot, finely diced
1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup arborio rice
1/4 cup white wine
4-5 cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper
parmesan (optional)
mint for garnish

Pop the fava beans out of their pods. Blanch the beans (peas?) in boiling water for 1 minute, then drain and plunge into ice water. When they are cool, peel the thick outer white layer off each bean, revealing the bright green inside. This is the part that will go in the risotto.

Heat the stock in a covered pot on the back burner. Keep it at a simmer while you're cooking the rice.

Melt the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook gently until it's translucent.

Stir in the arborio rice, letting it toast slightly but not brown. Stir in a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

Add the white wine and cook, stirring, until it is evaporated.

Add 1 1/2 cups of the hot stock. Stir. Let it cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is evaporated. Add more stock as needed until the rice is tender. If you run out of stock, use hot water from the kettle. The rice should be toothsome and quite liquid-y. Not like ordinary rice. More soupy, but not too watery. Experiment until you like it.

When the rice is almost perfect, stir in the bright green fava beans. Season with a little more salt and pepper to taste if needed.

Serve in shallow bowls, garnished with shredded mint leaves.

Pass parmesan on the side.

Serves 2-3

Autumn Stew

If you're uncertain what to serve the vegetarians at Thanksgiving dinner, consider this lovely wild rice and squash dish that is both autumnal and protein-rich. Everyone will eat it as a side, and the vegetarians will thank you for a satisfying meal.

The vegetables can be prepped ahead, and the stew stirred together on the stove while the turkey rests.

We ate it for dinner Monday night. I pre-cooked the beans and wild rice, and diced the squash. It all sat on the counter until 30 minutes before dinner, when I stirred it together for an easy and excellent meal.

The stew is really good with parmesan shavings on it, but don't do that unless you know there are no vegans at your table (vegans don't eat eggs or dairy products). Instead, serve the parmesan on the side so people can help themselves.

Autumn Stew
1/3 cup dry lima or cannellini beans (or 1 can, drained)
3/4 cup wild rice
1/2 oz dried mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
8 oz mushrooms, halved or quartered
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp fresh thyme (or 1 1/2 tsp dried)
3 cups vegetable broth
1 lb butternut squash
1 tsp salt
4 large chard leaves
parmesan

Cook the beans in plenty of boiling water until tender. This will take 2-3 hours depending on the freshness of the beans. Make sure they're cooked all the way through before you drain them.

Cook the wild rice in plenty of salted boiling water until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and stringy flesh. Peel off the skin, and dice the squash in 1/2 to 3/4 inch pieces.

Cover the dried mushrooms with 1 cup boiling water and let steep 10 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the soaking liquid, make sure they have no grit on them, and chop them coarsely. Strain any grit from the soaking liquid and keep it separate.

Warm olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté onion, mushrooms, pepper and thyme, stirring occasionally, 8-10 minutes until lightly browned.

Add the broth, cooked wild rice, cooked beans, squash and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, until the squash is tender when pierced with a thin knife, 12-15 minutes.

Add mushrooms and their soaking liquid.

Rinse the chard leaves and chop them, including their stems. Add to the pot, cover, and let cook until stems are tender, about 10 minutes. Season to taste.

Serve with parmesan shavings.

Serves 6 as a main course, more as a side dish.

Bad risotto

I have had two bad risottos recently, both in restaurants. One had too much lemon oil added at the end, and the other was missing the finishing touch of truffle oil that would have given it flavor.

Even if the chefs had been skilled in adding their flavored oils, the risottos still would have been one-dimensional. Risotto, like most complex dishes, requires layers of flavor cooked into the food. The rice is first turned in olive oil, butter and wine, then cooked gently in a well-flavored stock. A few vegetables can be added for color and texture. I sometimes grate some parmesan or lemon rind over at the end, but that's an extra layer, not a required flavoring.

Vary the flavors in this simple technique to make Asparagus Risotto or Corn Risotto - two of my favorites.

I think the trouble with both restaurant risottos was the lack of flavor in the vegetable broth. Few restaurant chefs know how to make a good vegetable stock - the essential basis for an excellent vegetarian risotto. Instead they rely on flavoring oils and end up with at best a one-dimensional flavor, at worse something inedible.

The best vegetable stocks are made by roasting the vegetables before boiling them - just as you would roast bones when making a meat stock. Add to this some dried mushrooms, and a little soy sauce to get that umami, and you have a great stock, suitable for the best risottos, soups and stews.

I love this stock from Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson, an excellent source for stews and soups that are ready and waiting when you get home from work.

Once the vegetables are roasted, the stock bubbles away without me. When it's done, I store it in 2-cup containers in the freezer, ready to make delicious meals.

The parsnips add another dimension to the stock, and I make many batches during parsnip season. However, it's a good stock even without them.

With a few containers of this great stock in the freezer, you will be ready to make delicious soups and stews to warm your evenings in the winter months ahead.

Roasted Vegetable Stock
1 large onion
2 large carrots
1 large potato
1 large parsnip (optional)
1 stalk celery
3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
4 dried shiitake or porcini
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp tamari
7 cups water

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Remove the papery peel from the onion and slice it thickly. Scrub the carrots and potatoes and cut in 1" chunks. Peel the parsnip and cut in 1" chunks. Chop the celery in 1" lengths. Place the garlic cloves, unpeeled, on your cutting board and crush with the side of your big knife.

Place the above vegetables in a lightly oiled baking pan. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until lightly browned, turning once, about 30 minutes total.

Meanwhile, soak the dried mushrooms in 1 cup water until softened. Remove them from the water and check for dirt or grit. Pour the soaking water through a coffee filter, straining out any grit. Reserve mushrooms and soaking water.

Put the roasted vegetables in a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Add mushrooms and soaking water, bay leaves, peppercorns, tamari, 1 tsp salt, and water. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Let cool slightly, then strain through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. Press the vegetables against the side of the sieve with a wooden spoon to get the most liquid possible. Discard the vegetables. The stock will be a rich golden color. Either use it right away, refrigerate it for a few days, or freeze for longer storage.

Makes about 8 cups.

Quick Dinner

The other night I prepared a quick dinner of rice and greens. The secret to the speed was the wise use of leftovers.

I keep cooked rice in the freezer for meals like this. The greens were leftovers I found in the fridge. Stirred together, they made a filling main dish.

Before I went to work, I moved the cooked rice from the freezer to the fridge to defrost. I had leftover white rice from Thai takeout, but I could have used brown rice, or any other cooked grain. The greens were leftover lacinato kale that I had cooked a couple of days earlier as an omelet filling. Any cooked green would have been fine.

At dinner time, I sautéed a chopped onion in a little olive oil in a large skillet. When it was soft, I stirred in the rice, added a little water, and let it cook, covered, until the rice was warmed through. Then I stirred in a lightly-beaten egg, some leftover greens and a little grated cheese. I covered it again and let it warm through and then seasoned with salt and pepper. I served it with steamed green beans and leftover curried kidney beans for a great meal.

Black Bean and Yellow Rice Salad

Larry and I went to a potluck barbecue on Sunday.

I tend not to take vegetables to grill on a communal barbecue - I know that meat juice is going to fly.

So I took this colorful salad - a nutritious combination of rice and beans that looks like a party.

It's good warm or at room temperature, and there's no mayonnaise in it to go bad if it sits outside on a picnic table for a few hours. I made it with white rice so the yellow color would be more obvious, but when I make it just for us I use healthier brown rice.

Best of all, it gets stirred together and cooked in the rice cooker. Easy and fast. If you don't have a rice cooker, cook it in a pot on the stove, but keep an eye on it so it doesn't scorch on the bottom when all the water is absorbed.

Black Bean and Yellow Rice Salad
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups basmati rice
1 bay leaf
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed (or 1/3 cup dry beans, cooked)
1 green pepper, cored, seeded and chopped (or 2 stalks celery, diced)
15 cherry tomatoes, halved

Dressing
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Sauté onion in olive oil until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, tumeric, cumin, salt, pepper and rice. Cook, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. Transfer to rice cooker. Add 1 3/4 cups water and bay leaf. Cook until done.

Put the rice into a large bowl and remove the bay leaf. Add the black beans, bell pepper and tomatoes. Gently toss. Add the dressing ingredients and adjust seasonings as needed.

Serves 6-8

Zucchini casserole

Back in the '80s my mother bought Frances Moore Lappé's groundbreaking book, Diet for a Small Planet, and its companion volume Recipes for a Small Planet. As a new vegetarian, I used Recipes so much its pages started falling out.

The books were innovative in the way they addressed the concerns of protein in the vegetarian diet. Lappé showed how grains, beans, seeds, nuts and dairy products can be combined to create large amounts of complete protein.

The recipes in these books are heavy on the dairy. As I learned more about the protein and complete nutrition in vegetables, and eased away from the regular eating of dairy products, the books drifted to the back of the bookcase.

However, I pulled Recipes out the other day when I bought some St. Benoit yogurt at the Hollywood Farmers Market, and was inspired to make this creamy and delicious casserole for the first time in years. St. Benoit yogurt is made from the rich milk of organic Jersey cows in Sonoma county. It makes a wonderful topping for this brown rice and zucchini dish. You can use thick Greek-style yogurt or whole-milk yogurt if you can't find some made from the milk of happy Jersey cows.

Zucchini Casserole
1 1/2 cups raw brown rice
4 cups (4 small) zucchini, in 1-inch dice
2 cups yogurt
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup grated cheddar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives or scallions
1/3 cup toasted sesame seeds
bread crumbs
butter

Cook the rice in 3 cups of boiling water with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp paprika until tender. Drain if necessary (it probably won't be).

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine the yogurt, toasted sesame oil, cheddar and salt in a small saucepan. Warm over low heat until the cheese melts. Remove from stove and stir in the beaten egg and chives. Make sure the sauce is not so hot that it curdles the egg. (That's an esthetic issue -- it will taste good either way.)

Stir the cooked rice and sesame seeds together. Spread on the bottom of a 7 x 11 shallow baking dish. Spread the zucchini cubes on top. Pour the yogurt sauce over, then top with a layer of bread crumbs and dot generously with butter.

Bake 25 minutes until the crumbs are browned and the squash is tender but still firm.

High-Protein Granola

This is my current favorite granola. The protein from the soy flour keeps me going all morning. And Larry says it tastes like a granola bar - I understand that's a compliment.

The recipe is from a '70s hippie commune called The Farm. I have a few old cookbooks from intentional communities in the '60s and '70s. They are full of earnest recipes by people trying to live the good, earth-friendly, socially-responsible, self-sufficient life. And while vegetarian tastes have evolved in the past 50 years, this granola has stood the test of time.

High-Protein Granola
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup bran
1 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup organic soy flour
1 cup brown sugar dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla

Stir everything together in a large bowl.

Pour onto two cookie sheets and cook in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes until golden. Turn the granola a few times with a spatula so it browns but doesn't burn.

Let cool a little, but don't let it get cold or it will stick to the cookie sheets. Store in an airtight container.

3/4 cup of granola and 1/2 cup soymilk provides 15 gm of complete protein.

Romantic Risotto

We took a spring trip to Paris. Then we watched Woody Allen's love letter to the city, Midnight in Paris. I was having Paris withdrawal, so last Friday night I decided we would have a romantic dinner under the stars on our fireside patio.

I planned to make Larry's favorite risotto. It's more work than most recipes I cook, but the flavor is worth it. And cooking risotto together, standing by the stove and stirring, with a glass of wine in hand, is a lovely way to start an evening.

But northeast LA is not Paris.

As Larry was preparing the asparagus purée that flavors the risotto, I looked out the window and saw black oily smoke. I rushed to the street and saw that a van down the block had caught fire. We joined the neighbors lined up on the street to watch. Two fire engines. Eight police cars. The obligatory police helicopter circling overhead.

It wasn't a hostage situation, but it was definitely a two-hour stand-off of some sort. We wandered in and out, cooked a little, turned off the stove and went out to check on the action, cooked some more. I learned that risotto is much more tolerant of abuse than I realized.

With the helicopter continuing to circle, we decided not to eat outside. We sat at the dinette, enjoying our risotto, but distracted by the noise and commotion. As we put down our forks, the helicopter went away, the police tape was taken down, and the neighborhood returned to normal, except for the burned out van and the scorch marks on the house it was parked in front of.

This is a good meal even without the show.

Risotto with Asparagus
1/2 lb asparagus
1 small potato, peeled and chopped
2 cups vegetable stock, approx.
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 small clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tbsp butter
parmesan

Snap ends off asparagus. Cut off the tips and set aside. Chop the stems in 1-inch pieces.

Place the potato and stems into a saucepan, add 1 cup of water and a pinch of salt, and cook until tender, 10-15 minutes. Purée in blender.

Place the reserved tips in a saucepan, add 1 cup water and a pinch of salt, bring to a boil and cook 2-3 minutes. Drain and set aside for garnish.

Heat vegetable stock until barely simmering, keep covered.

Heat oil in a heavy saucepan. Add onion and cook gently until translucent. Stir in the garlic. Add the rice and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes. Add the wine. Allow nearly all of it to evaporate, then begin adding the asparagus purée about 1/4 at a time, adding more as the liquid in the pan evaporates. When you've added all the asparagus purée, start adding the stock a ladleful at a time. Cook, stirring regularly but not continually, until the risotto is plump and offers a little resistance to the bite. The risotto should be very moist. You might not need all the stock.

Stir in the butter and serve at once, garnished with the reserved asparagus tips and parmesan cheese on the side.

Serves 2-3

Wheat Berries and Red Quinoa

The other day I passed on the brown rice in favor of this wheat berry and quinoa medley.

The wheat berries hold their shape and make a little pop in the mouth, and the quinoa boosts the protein content. It doesn't photograph well, but it tastes good, and is a great centerpiece to a meal of roasted vegetables and greens.

I rinsed the bitter saponins off the quinoa by pouring boiling water over it before cooking. If you've tried quinoa before and haven't liked it, try doing this. It makes a big difference.

I found the organic red quinoa at Trader Joe's. You can find wheat berries at any health food store. Make sure to get organic ones - most non-organic wheat has been genetically modified.

I used 2 cups of vegetable stock from my freezer and about 3 cups water. The stock enhances the flavors of the grains - if you use plain water season it with salt and pepper while the grains are cooking.

I stored the leftovers in the fridge and reheated them on the stove, adding a little water as needed, to make a healthy side to many dinners during the week.

Wheat Berries and Quinoa
1 2/3 cups wheat berries
1 large onion, finely chopped
2-5 cups vegetable stock
3/4 cup red quinoa

Rinse wheat berries and combine in large saucepan with onion, 2 cups stock and 2 cups water (or 4 cups stock), and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer over moderately low heat until the wheat berries are tender but chewy, about 1 hour. Remove from the heat.

Put the quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer. Pour boiling water over it, then cold water. Drain and put in a medium saucepan with 1 1/2 cups water and 1/4 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat until the quinoa is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 12 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir, cover, and let stand 5 minutes.

Add the quinoa to the wheat berries. If it seems dry, add an extra 1/4 - 1/2 cup water or stock. Cover and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Serves 8