Broccoli Meatballs (Vegetarian & Gluten free Recipe)

These meatballs have nothing to do meat, they are completely vegetarian (skip the eggs and cheese -- you have totally vegan meatballs). They are made with broccoli and ground raw almonds with no bread crumbs for binding -- so these are gluten free too.
Recipe is from Vegetarian Times magazine and the use of broccoli in meatballs was interesting to me, so I tried the recipe to see how these would taste. Ground almonds and eggs (or egg replacer) bind the meatballs together.

Almonds give a nutty taste to the meatballs while the broccoli makes them taste earthy and delicious. I was initially worried if the meatballs will hold together and if they would cook all the way through in the oven. I didn't have to worry much, the mixture came together beautifully even with the egg replacer substitution and baked perfectly in the oven.

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Buttery Garlicky Broccoli (Thanksgiving Side dish)

I have started making Thanksgiving side dishes to post here before the big day, so if any of you are looking for simple vegetarian side dishes then you can add these to your repertoire.

This broccoli side dish is truly buttery and garlicky. It's very simple to make -- takes about 15~20 minutes at the most and is sure to be a hit at your Thanksgiving table. My 2 year old absolutely loved it and so it is kid-approved/ kid-friendly dish.

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Swedish Broccoli Soup

This is probably the most simplest broccoli soup ever. As I was making the Swedish meal, I wasn't sure if my daughter would like any of the dishes that was making and since she likes broccoli, I searched for 'Swedish Broccoli' and this broccoli soup came up. Traditionally Swedish broccoli soup is served with local cheese and chili tuiles (fancy name for melted cheese crackers), but I didn't have the time to make them, so this is Swedish broccoli soup without the Swedish element in it.

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Broccoli Chickpea Salad

Blogging Marathon# 41: Week 2/ Day 3
Theme: Picnic Hamper Dishes
Dish: Broccoli Chickpea Salad

It has been an a busy week and I didn't have anything ready for day 3 of the marathon. I wanted to make simple cucumber sandwiches, but of course, I didn't have any sandwich bread at home. As I was wondering what to make, I remembered seeing this simple broccoli-chickpea salad recipe by Sarah Carey and thought it would be perfect to make for a picnic. 

This salad is very simple to make and is almost a no-cook one, except for steaming the broccoli (and cooking the chickpeas if you are not using the ones from the can), there is not much cooking involved. But for the minimum effort involved, it tasted amazing -- I was snacking on it while making it and then for lunch and then the leftovers for snack.

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Broccoli, Rice & Cheese Casserole

Blogging Marathon# 38: Week 2/ Day 3
Theme: Gourmet Rice Dishes 
Dish: Broccoli Rice & Cheese Casserole

Today's rice dish is a kid friendly dish that my 18 month old really enjoyed a lot. She loves broccoli and cheese, so this was a perfect dish for her to enjoy.

When my husband's away traveling and when I have to cook for just me and the little one, I look for dishes that are both easy to make and kid friendly. Rice is cooked along with broccoli and cheese, then baked off in the oven to get the crispy crust.

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Broccoli Cheese Soup in Bread Bowl

Blogging Marathon# 38: Week 1/ Day 3
Theme: Soup or Salad with Sides 
Dish: Broccoli Cheese Soup in Bread Bowl

Today I have a very hearty and creamy broccoli soup served in a bread bowl for Blogging marathon. Soup is another dish I would not order when we eat outside. I consider it more of an appetizer and not real food :-)
I do order broccoli-cheese soup once in a while just because I like it. I have tried it at a few places and except for a couple of restaurants, the soup is usually overpowered by the cheese or the cream. Usually broccoli is the last flavor that you taste.

Recently I got America's Test Kitchen newsletter with the recipe for Broccoli-cheese soup. The experts at ATK say overcooking the broccoli brings out all the flavor out of it and adding baking soda to the cooking water speeds up the cooking process. They also add some spinach which brightens the soup's bright-green color and enhances its vegetable flavor. Finally adding the cheddar and parmesan gave the soup the cheesy flavor without making it heavy.

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Vegan Gado Gado recipe

Blogging Marathon# 37: Week 1/ Day 1
Theme: National Dishes from around the World
Dish: Indonesia -- Gado Gado

We are starting this month's blogging marathon today and my theme for the first week is 'National dishes from countries around the world'. I didn't really realize each country has it's own national dish until I started researching for this theme. There is a whole list of national dishes on Wiki. Some countries have more than one national dish.

Choosing 3 dishes from countries all over the world was quite a challenge. I was really happy to see 3 dishes that have been on my to-make list on Wiki's list. So for the first day, I have Indonesian national dish "Gado Gado'.

Gado Gado is an Indonesian salad that is served with a creamy peanut sauce. This salad usually has both cooked and raw veggies along with boiled eggs, fried tofu and tempeh. Most of the ingredients for the salad are customizable. I read somewhere that boiled potatoes and eggs are absolute must and everything else is optional. I skipped the eggs and made this a vegan salad.

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Fuzian Stir Fry

BM# 34: Week 4/ Day 1
Theme: Cooking from Sapana's blog
Dish: Fuzian Stir Fry

Week 4 of BM# 34 and the theme for this week is one of my favorite themes, 'Cooking from fellow BMer'. I love browsing through blogs, but these days I hardly get anytime to do that, so this week's theme is great to focus on just one blog, pick 3 dishes and post them.

Valli paired me with lovely Sapana who blogs at 'Cooking with Sapana'. Sapana has been blogging for about an year, but already has about 400 recipes on her blog. So you can imagine how tough it was to chose only 3 dishes for the week :-) I picked dishes based on the limited ingredients in my pantry, because this past week my husband was travelling and I didn't go grocery shopping.

Sapana has a variety of recipes to choose from, both Indian and International. So for the first day, I picked her 'Fuzian Fried Rice' recipe, but instead of making a fried rice I made just the veggie stir fry and served it with rice.

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Vegetarian Wonton Soup

This is our first International Food Challenge and this month we are exploring Cantonese Cuisine, which comes from Guangdong Province in Southern China and it is one among the 8 great traditions of Chinese cuisine.

The basic cooking techniques of Cantonese cuisine includes roasting, stir-frying, sauteing, deep frying, stewing and steaming. Steaming and stir-frying are most commonly used to preserve the natural flavors of the ingredients. The most characteristic cooking methods of this cuisine are cooking in salt, cooking in wine, baking in a pan.

Saras @ Sara's Yummy Bites and Shobana @ Kitchen Secrets and Snippets selected 4 Cantonese recipes to try. I picked 2 dishes that I have always wanted to try -- Vegetarian Wonton Soup & Scallion Pancakes.

Wonton soup involves quite a few steps; making the filling, cooking the noodles and assembling. But the end result is very hearty and worth every minute of the time spent. I followed the recipe given to us to the 'T' and it came out yummy!! 

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Israeli Couscous with Pesto & Carrots

Blogging Marathon# 28: Week 4/ Day 3
Theme: BM Pairs - Chef Mireille's Gourmet Global
Dish: Israeli Couscous with Pesto & Carrots

For the final day of this month's BM, I'm paired with Chef Mireille who blogs at Gourmet Global. Her blog's name says it all. She has tons of gourmet dishes from all over the globe. I was lucky to meet her in person and she is as lively and bubbly in person as she is on her blog.

I've bookmarked a ton of recipes to try from her blog, but today I made this very simple one-pot dish, Pesto Israeli Couscous with Carrots. Mireille used Roasted garlic spinach pesto in her dish, but I made broccoli-mint pesto. Other than that I followed her recipe to the 'T'. 

This recipe uses Harissa, a Middle Eastern chili sauce. Luckily I had a jar of harissa in my pantry, an impulse buy from a Turkish grocery store. The combination of pesto and harissa gave this dish a very unique and interesting taste that I totally loved. I loved it so much that I added them both again to a 3 grain pilaf I made the very next day :-)

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Vegan Breakfast - Tofu Broccoli Scramble & Home Fries

Blogging Marathon# 25: Week 4/ Day 3
Theme: Breakfast on the Run
Dish: Tofu Broccoli Scramble & Home Fries

After 2 days of indulging in something sweet for breakfast, I thought it was time to have a spicy breakfast and that too a Vegan Diner brunch style. Of course the whole meal comes together in less than 30 minutes. Recipes are from Vegan Brunch cookbook by Isa Chandra.

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Broccoli & Corn Stuffed Parathas

Under the theme, "Stuffed Breads", Valli wanted us to make a stuffed roti/ paratha with a twist. The twist can be the use of a vegetable or a spice that is not usually used in the parathas. So my twist is the use of broccoli and corn in the stuffing.

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Broccoli Basil Pesto

VeganMofo Day 30: Super storm Sandy has created quite a havoc in the tri-state area. Thankfully we were not affected too badly; few of our sidings flew away due to the wind but my husband was able to bring them back this morning; a ton of broken branches in the backyard, but no damage to the property. 

Even though Sandy did not affect us directly, we have been impacted by it indirectly. We are in the middle of changing our kitchen counter top and the guys ripped out our old counter and sink last week. We were expecting the new counter installed today, but thanks to Sandy the counter guys are not even picking up their phone. So now here we are with a kitchen with just a working stove and everything else gutted out, keeping our fingers crossed on when we can get the fully functional kitchen back. 

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Brown Rice - Vegetable Bowl with Tahini Dressing

We start the 4th and last week of Blogging marathon for this month today. My theme for this week is "Calcium Rich Foods". Here's some information to know about Calcium intake.

Calcium is the most vital mineral for strong bones. It is also essential for blood clotting, muscle contraction, and nerve function. If we don't take in enough calcium, our body uses the calcium reserves in our bones to supply the muscles, heart and nerves. So it's important that we take the required daily dosage of calcium -- milk and other dairy provide over 50% of dietary calcium, it is also found in beans and legumes, some green vegetables, such as spinach and broccoli, and nuts and fruit.

Vitamin D is vital for proper absorption of calcium and produced when the skin is exposed to sunlight. About 15-20 minutes of sunlight a day on the face and arms during the summer months enables the body to store enough vitamin D to last the rest of the year. 

High intake of protein and sodium (salt) increases the excretion of calcium in the urine. Also high intakes of caffeine can reduce the absorption of calcium. 

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Broccoli Pulihora (Lemon Rice with Broccoli)

Peanuts are one of my son's favorite and he loves Lemon rice (pulihora) with lots of peanuts. So to make traditional pulihora a little more nutritious, I added some cooked broccoli. My son seemed to like it with some extra crunch from veggie straws.

Being from South India where rice is the staple food, rice features in almost all of the meals. Growing up, we used to have left over rice made into pulihora (lemon rice) or daddojanam (curd rice) or aloo bhath (potato rice) and the list goes on and on. 

This is my last dish under "Breakfast" theme for blogging marathon #16. As usual it was fun running the marathon and looking forward to the next one that is coming up in June in a new format. Big thanks to Valli for organizing these marathons and coming up with interesting and challenging themes.

 

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Pasta with Broccoli

Vegan Mofo Day 23:

This is a very simple pasta dish that comes together in no time if you have cooked pasta on hand. I had some leftover Brown rice penne pasta in the fridge along with a bunch of broccoli that needed to be used up. Having stuck in traffic and coming home late from work, I was in no mood to cook anything elaborate, so this simple and quick pasta came about.

Ingredients:

Penne Pasta - 8 oz., cooked according to package directions (I used Brown Rice Pasta from Trader Joe's)

Broccoli florets - 2-3 cups, chopped

Onion - 1 medium, thinly sliced

Garlic - 3 cloves, coarsely chopped

Red chili flakes - 1/2tsp

Salt & Pepper - to taste

Method:

• Heat 2tbsp olive oil in a sauté pan on medium high flame. Add the red chili flakes and once they sizzle, add onions and garlic and sauté until onions turn translucent, about 3 minutes.
• Next add the broccoli and little salt; cook on medium high flame until broccoli starts to brown around the edges.
• Lower the heat, cover and cook for another 3-5 minutes, until broccoli is tender, but still bright green.
• Season with salt & pepper; add cooked pasta and mix well. Serve hot.

Tofu-Udon Noodle Stir fry

Have you tried freezing tofu? I did when I had a package which was reaching its prime and I really liked the texture of frozen tofu. It turned out to be slightly chewier than regular tofu and what I realized was that frozen tofu marinates very well as it gets very spongy and sucks in any liquidy marinade you put it in.

I stir fried the marinated tofu with veggies & udon noodles and it made for a great lunch this weekend.

Ingredients:
Extra firm Tofu – 1pkg (regular or frozen), well drained and cubed
Carrot – 1 medium, cut into thin half moons
Broccoli – 1 cup, cut into small florets
Onion – 1 small, thinly sliced
Green onions – 4, chopped
Ginger – 1” piece, grated
Garlic – 2cloves, minced
Udon Noodles – 1 pkg
Tamari (or soy sauce) – 2tbsp
Asian chili sauce – 1tsp

For the Marinade:
Low sodium tamari - ¼ cup
Asian Chili sauce – 2tsp (as per taste)
Rice vinegar – 2tbsp

Method:

• Mix the ingredients for marinade in a shallow dish and add the tofu cubes. Frozen tofu absorbs the marinade in practically no time. But if using regular tofu marinate for at least 1 hour.
  
• Cook udon noodles according to package directions and set aside.
  
• Heat 2tbsp oil on medium-high heat in a large pan; add ginger & garlic and stir fry for 30sec or until fragrant (but not burnt).
  
• Add the veggies & tofu; stir fry until crisp tender and lightly browned around the edges. Add soy sauce, chili sauce & salt.
  
• Mix in cooked noodles & stir to combine everything. Serve hot.

Creamy Broccoli Soup in Bread Bowl

This recipe is adapted from Nupur’s Broccoli soup, my only addition is the extra carrot. Nupur’s original recipe here.

Ingredients:
Broccoli florets – 3 cups (from a medium size head)
Carrot – 1 medium, peeled and chopped
Onion – 1 medium, chopped
Garlic – 2 cloves, minced
Butter – 2tbsp
Flour – 2tsp
Vegetable broth – 2 cups
Milk – 2 cups (I used 1%)
Sharp cheddar cheese – 1 cup grated
Nutmeg – ¼tsp freshly grated
Salt & Pepper – to taste

Method:

• Microwave broccoli & carrot with ¼ cup water for 5-6 minutes or until the veggies are almost tender.
  
• Heat butter in a medium size sauce pan; add onions and garlic; sauté until onions turn translucent.
  
• Sprinkle flour on the onions and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium-low flame until the flour doesn’t smell raw anymore.
  
• Whisk in broth & milk; bring the mixture to a low simmer whisking occasionally.
  
• Next add the par-cooked veggies and bring the mixture to a boil. Season with nutmeg, salt & pepper. Turn off the heat.
  
• Blend the mixture to a smooth consistency either using an immersion blender or in a blender.
  
• Return soup to the saucepan; stir in grated cheese. Serve hot.
  

I served mine in a sour dough bread bowl. I scooped the inside out of the bread, poured soup in, topped it with some cheese and broiled for couple of minutes so that the bread is toasted and cheese is melted and bubbly.

Pasta with Broccoli and Mozzarella in Red Pepper Sauce

I like to add veggies to my pasta dishes, so it makes for a complete meal. This is one of my favorite ways to have my pasta, sautéed veggies with lots of sauce. For this dish I decided to puree store bought roasted red peppers out of the jar with some roasted peanuts and almonds for a quick weeknight dinner. I also had some cherry mozzarella in the fridge that I put in the dish to make it creamy & cheesy.

Ingredients:
Short cut pasta – 1lb. box, I used tri color rotelle pasta
Red Onion – 1 medium, chopped
Broccoli florets– 2 cups, chopped
Chickpeas - 1 16oz. can, drained & rinsed
Tomato – 1 medium, chopped
Garlic – 2 cloves, minced
Roasted red peppers – 4-5, drained
Roasted peanuts – 3tbsp
Almonds – 2tbsp
Red pepper flakes – 1tsp
Cherry size Mozzarella (Bocconcini or Ciliegine) – 8 oz. container, drained
Salt & Pepper – to taste

Method:

• Cook pasta according to package directions and set aside.
• In a large sauté pan, add 2tbsp oil and sauté onions for 8-10 minutes or until translucent.
• Add garlic and cook for another minute or until fragrant.
• Next add broccoli; cover and cook till they are tender.
• In the meantime, blend the roasted peppers, peanuts & almonds into a paste. I wanted some texture to the sauce, so I left the sauce a little coarse.
• When the broccoli is almost cooked add the sauce along with tomato, chickpeas, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper. Simmer for 5-7 minutes. Turn off the heat.
• Stir the pasta into the sauce along with mozzarella. Mix well and enjoy hot.

Moroccan Vegetable Tagine

First some Wiki Gyan: “Tagines in Moroccan cuisine are slow-cooked stews braised at low temperatures, resulting in tender meat with aromatic vegetables and sauce. They are traditionally cooked in the tagine pot, whose cover has a knob-like handle at its top to facilitate removal. While simmering, the cover can be lifted off without the aid of a mitten, enabling the cook to inspect the main ingredients, add vegetables, move things around, or add additional braising liquid”.

I would love to buy one of those cute looking Tagines, but I’m not sure if I’m going to use it that often to be spending money on it. Well anyway I used by saucepot to make this delicious vegetable tagine that tasted awesome the next day after all the flavors had a chance to marry.

Recipe is adapted from vegetarian times. I changed it a little bit since I didn’t have some of the ingredients on hand. Also the recipe uses the oven to cook the vegetables, but I used the good ol’ stove as I was pressed for time. It took about 30-40 minutes to make this very filling and nutritious dish.

Recipe adapted from Vegetarian Times
Ingredients:
Onion - 1 small, chopped
Sweet potato - 1 medium, peeled and cubed
Carrot - 1 medium, peeled and chopped
Green Beans - 1 cup, chopped (I used frozen green beans)
Broccoli - chopped into florets, about 2 cups
Chickpeas - 1 16 oz. can, drained and rinsed
Tomato puree - 1 cup
Garlic - 2 cloves, minced
Ginger - 1" piece, minced
Vegetable Stock - 1 cup
Cinnamon stick - 1" piece
Ground cumin - 1tsp
Ground Coriander - 1tsp
Sweet paprika - 1tsp
Cayenne pepper - 1/2 tsp
Salt & Pepper - to taste

Method:

• Heat 2tbsp oil in a large sauce pot; add onions, garlic and ginger and cinnamon stick; cook until the onions start to soften, about 5 minutes.
• Add ground cumin, coriander, paprika, salt and pepper. Saute till the spices are fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add all the veggies, cover and cook till they are slightly tender, about 6-8 minutes.
• Add tomatoes & stock, bring to a boil; lower the heat and simmer until the veggies are completely tender, but not mushy; about 8-10 minutes.
• Just 5 minutes before the stew is done, add the chickpeas. Stir in chopped parsley before serving.

I served this hearty stew with whole wheat couscous for a complete wholesome dinner.

Only 5 more days left for A.W.E.D-Morocco, rush in your entries before the end of day Friday, Oct 2nd.