Dad Dinner: Death of Charles Dickens Tacos

Charles Dickens died 141 years ago to the day. He wanted a no-frills burial at Rochester Cathedral but was instead interred at Westminster Abbey. Oops. Confession: I have never read anything Charles Dickens wrote. Oops.

Tonight's dinner was prepared by my father, but I lurked in the kitchen so I know what went down. My mom likes hard shell tacos, and the kind we used have flattened bottoms. "Stand 'em up" tacos, or something. Pretty neat, actually, and they tend to collapse less frequently and sloppily than their round-bottomed cousins.

makes approx. 8-10 tacos

INGREDIENTS:

<1 c. short-grain brown rice

2 zucchini, sliced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 large jalapeño, diced

1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 14.5-oz. can diced fire-roasted tomatoes with garlic

4 green onions, chopped (used these because they were getting old)

2 cloves garlic, minced

cumin

chili powder

chipotle chili pepper powder

dried parsely

oregano

celery salt

ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put on the rice.

2. Sauté the onions with oil in a pot over medium-high heat. After a few minutes, add the garlic, can of tomatoes, black beans, garlic, and seasoning (some of everything, with tons of chili powder). Reduce heat to low and let simmer until the rice is done.

3. Sauté the zucchini with seasoning in oil in a pan over medium-high heat for seven minutes.

4. Pop the taco shells in the oven (325F for several minutes).

5. Assemble the tacos. Besides the rice, bean and tomato stuff, and zucchini, there's raw red pepper and jalapeño, as well as lettuce or other leafy greens and salsa. Some corn would be nice, too, although we didn't have any. And mushrooms! Next time.

After I finished filling my first stand-up taco, it promptly fell over. Poor thing couldn't hold its weight.

 

Exxon Valdez Stir Fry

I'd been in the world less than a year when the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound and spilled 240,000 barrels of petroleum. Boy am I sure glad nothing like that's happened since! I'd post another link to the article I wrote about the justice of eco-terrorism, but maybe it's enough just to mention that I wrote about the justice of eco-terrorism.

Vegansaurus tells me that some women are using fur as hair extensions. That's the kind of choice that'll inspire me to vomit on someone.

This meal did the opposite of make me want to vomit. It's a bit weird because I had to use all the fresh food I had lying around before I leave town for the week. Virginia is for lovers. Or for hanging out with one's parents.

makes approx. 3-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. long grain brown rice

1 yellow onion, diced

1 lb. tofu, cubed

1 crown broccoli, chopped

1 c. baby arugula, tightly packed

1/2 clove garlic, minced

1/2 hot house tomato, sliced

1 avocado, chopped

1/4 c. nutritional yeast

sesame oil

shoyu soy sauce

cayenne

ground Tellicherry pepper

red pepper flakes

curry powder

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook the rice.

2. Sauté onion in a large pan with oil. Add tofu. Once the bottoms start to brown, toss in broccoli.

3. Once you've minced the garlic, throw that in and douse it all with soy sauce and pack the arugula in on top. Let it get cooking for a while.

4. After the broccoli has acquired a bright sheen, add in the tomato, avocado, seasonings, and yeast flakes. Pour in more soy sauce if needed. Mix it all up and cook until the nutritional yeast starts to stick to the bottom of the pan. Cut the heat.

Biggie Smalls Bruschetta and Stir Fry

The Notorious B.I.G. was murdered 14 years ago. We all know the story, so I'll just leave ya with a track. So many classics to pick from, but right now I'm partial to "Juicy". Bringing you back.

The bruschetta's just some slices of bread drizzled with olive oil and topped with leftover sauce from the spaghetti I made a couple nights ago. 18 min. in the oven at 375F.

makes approx. 3-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. long grain brown rice

5 shallots, diced

1 fat clove garlic, sliced

1 lb. tofu, cut into little rectangles

1 1/2 broccoli crowns, chopped

1 hot house tomato, sliced

1/8 c. walnuts, chopped

shoyu soy sauce

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. coriander

1 tsp. black sesame seeds

1 tsp. white sesame seeds

1/2 tsp. turmeric

1/4 tsp. cayenne, 90k Scoville

1/4 tsp. salt

sesame oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Simmer the rice 45 min.

2. Sauté the shallots in a large pan in sesame oil. After they start to brown, add the garlic for a couple minutes, then toss in the tofu and broccoli. Douse in soy sauce, cover for a while.

3. Once the broccoli starts to turn bright green, uncover and add in walnuts, tomato, and seasonings. Heat through, try to get the broccoli a little crispy on the edges.

Here's my review of Mike Leigh's most recent film, Another Year.

Reichstag Fire Lentil Patties

In 1933 someone set the German parliament building on fire. Been reading about Nazis for my moral psychology class.

The reason I ate these patties on sandwich bread is that Whole Foods (where I had to go to buy bulk nuts) didn't have hamburger buns that were free of both animal products and palm shortening. Palm oil is bad, friends. This spread isn't as good as the others I've made, but it goes pretty well with these patties. Oh, and the avocado was unnecessary. Best keep it simple with tomato.

makes approx. 4-6 patties

INGREDIENTS:

Patties
INGEDIENTS:
3/4 c. green lentils
1/4 c. long grain brown rice
2 small red onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 small carrots, peeled and diced
6 large crimini mushrooms, diced
1/4 c. broth (e.g., water from boiling navy beans)
1 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/3 c. vital wheat gluten
1/3 c. bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS:
1. Simmer the lentils and rice together in a pot until tender. The lentils will be overcooked, but that's fine because you're just gonna mash 'em up anyway.
2. Sauté onion in a large pan with carrots and mushrooms. Add garlic, and couple minutes later add broth, lentils, and rice. Mash the lentils with a spatula. Mix in seasonings.
3. Preheat oven to 350F.
4. Let the mixture cool for a couple minutes. (Eat some to tide you over, it's good!) In a mixing bowl, mash it up some more, then add wheat gluten and bread crumbs. Knead with a wooden spoon — wouldn't want to get your hands dirty.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Form patties and bake for 15 min. each side.
6. Heat some oil in a pan. Fry the patties a few minutes on each side to brown them and firm them up.

Spread
INGREDIENTS:
1 c. frozen edamame, thawed
1/2 c. frozen corn, thawed
1 c. spinach, tightly packed
1/4 c. broth
1/4 c. water
4 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. tahini
1/2 tsp. chili powder

DIRECTIONS:
1. Purée everything in a blender. Get frustrated that it's too thick to get properly smooth. Scrape the sides, stir with a spoon, pulse, shake, etc.

Deep Blue Sort of-Chana Masala

I'm tired. This one had to be quick because I was in class until 6:20, had to go to the grocery store, and my friend's art installation is opening like right now.

Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov in chess 15 years ago. Go computers!

makes approx. 2-3 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 c. rice

2 1/2 c. cooked chick peas

1 15-oz. can fire roasted crushed tomatoes

1/2 medium yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 red chilies, partially de-seeded and crushed

1 1/2 tsp. fenugreek

1 tsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. garam masala

1/2 tsp. coriander

1/2 tsp. chile powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook rice.

2. Fry onion in oil in a medium pot over medium heat. When translucent, add garlic and cook for another couple minutes. Add chick peas and cook for a minute or so.

3. Add in everything else. Cover the pot, bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cook until the rice is done, or until desired consistency.

My review of The Woodmans got published yesterday or today.

Chinese New Year Stuffed Cabage with Strawberry Carrot Sauce

Happy Chinese New Year! Instead of crashing my roommates' 2.5-year anniversary dinner, I made these monstrosities. This was a new and exciting kind of failure, though. Instead of having an idea for a meal and not being able to pull it off, I totally pulled it off, the conception just turned out to be flawed. So the stuffed cabbage is good, and the sauce is good, but they're not great together. Reason: the sauce is a smoothie. Also, I learned that tarragon should be used sparingly.

makes approx. 4-6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. red lentils

3/4 c. short grain brown rice

1 medium eggplant, peeled and cubed

6 red potatoes, cubed

1 medium yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cabbage, pulled apart

red wine vinegar

sage

tarragon

oregano

paprika

salt

1/2 lb. frozen strawberries

1 parsnip, peeled and chopped

3 small carrots, peeled and chopped

juice of 1/2 lemon

ground black pepper

oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook rice and lentils in two pots.

2. Cut stuff up. Once lentils are done, drain and refill the pot with hot water. Toss in eggplant and potato, cook on high for a while.

3. Fry the onion with oil in a large pan over medium heat. Once eggplant and potato is somewhat tender, drain and add to the pan. Refill the pot again and bring to a boil. Toss in carrots, parsnip, and all cabbage leaves that didn't make the cut as bowls.

4. Drizzle red wine vinegar into the pan and add a couple shakes of all the seasonings. Get it going on medium-high.

5. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and line with cabbage leaves.

6. Once rice is done, mix with lentils and contents of pan. Dole out into the cabbage leaves and stick in the oven for 15 min.

7. Drain the remaining pot and add parsnip, carrot, and cabbage pieces to blender with thawed strawberries. Squeeze in lemon juice, grind black pepper on top, and blend until smooth.

Once it's all set, take a taste of the sauce. It's too sweet for application on the stuffed cabbages, so fill up a glass as dessert. Fold the cabbage leaves in half and eat like cute little sandwiches.

Mike Patton Eggplant and Potato Curry

I didn't post anything yesterday because me and the roommates went out to a pan-Asian place to "celebrate" the first day of classes. It wasn't too vegan-friendly, so the less said the better. Turns out January 27 commemorates some horrible events. Luckily, today is also Mike Patton's birthday, so this curry is in his honor. He was/is the vocalist for like 8 million influential bands. Haven't really listened to his work since high school, but still got respect. Check out his band Fantômas.

I acknowledged in an earlier post that I'm not too good at making one-pot meals. Why don't I listen to myself? This came out fine, but all of the durations and some of the measurements are approximations based on little more than hunch. And I still haven't figured out how to make thick curry.

INGREDIENTS:
1 c. rice
1 medium red onion, diced
1/2 small bulb garlic, pressed
1 large eggplant, sliced into French fry-esque strips
1 small eggplant, similarly sliced
1 1/2 lb. red potatoes, quartered
3 1/2 c. water
1 14-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 13.5-oz. can light coconut milk
1 small jalapeno, chopped
2 tsp. fenugreek seeds
1 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. cardamom
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. coriander
1/4 tsp. cayenne (90K Scoville)
1/4 c. cilantro
oil

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cook rice.
2. Fry the onion with oil in the bottom of a large stock pot. When translucent, add garlic. After a minute, add the eggplant and potato as you finish cutting. I actually added the small eggplant halfway through cooking because I panicked that the ratio was all wrong. You should probably not follow that example.
3. Add 2 c. water, cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and cook for something like 10-15 minutes.
4. Lower heat to medium-low. Add seasoning, optionally reserve half the cilantro for garnish. If it needs more water, use up to 1 1/2 c. Put the lid on leaving space for the steam to escape. Cook for 30-45 minutes, or until the eggplant is squishy and the potatoes are soft.

Y2K38 Red Lentil Stew Over Rice

This stew is named after a potential computer problem à la Y2K. I guess exactly 27 years from now everything is going to hell (again). You can read about that on Wikipedia. This stew was not a disaster, however. It's not super flavorful, so it's better served less than piping hot. I anticipate it'll be better reheated.

Next time I make something like this I'm going to up the herbs and spices, either increase the amount of lentils or decrease the amount of tomatoes, and cook the lentils separately. One-pot meals are not my specialty. I'm going to be eating these leftovers FOREVER!

makes approx. 5-6 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 c. rice
1 c. red lentils
28 oz. can fire roasted crush tomatoes
4 large stalks and leaves green chard, chopped
1 medium red onion, diced
1 small bulb garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
28 oz. water
2 dried red chilies, chopped
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. cardamom
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. whole Tellicherry peppercorns
1/2 tsp. salt
oil

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cook the rice.
2. Over medium heat, cook the onion in some oil in a large soup pot. When translucent, add the garlic. After a minute or so, add the chard stems. Let cook for a few minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, lentils, vinegar, and 14 oz. water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Add the remaining water, chard leaves, and seasoning. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for another 15 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.

I might have had something to do with this zine, Total Liberation #2.

Leftover Vegetables and Stale Bread Curry

This one came together nicely with stuff I had lying around from previous meals. I had a beer while I was cooking, and somehow I usually get less hungry as I prepare food, so I have TONS of leftovers. Like enough for the whole block.

Also, I wasn't striving for seasoning accuracy and it turned out for the best. Heaping teaspoons all around! Turned out the carrot was less well-cooked than the potato and the parsnip, which totally surprised me. Maybe they teach you that sort of thing in culinary school?

makes approx. 5-6 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 c. rice
1/3 loaf French bread, stale
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 large Bamberg potato, cubed
1/2 large parsnip, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
stems and leaves from a bundle of beets, chopped
3 c. vegetable broth
1/2 c. nondairy milk
1 c. water
splash of beer
2 heaping tsp. curry powder
1 h. tsp. garam masala
1/2 h. tsp. chile powder
1/2 h. tsp. dried parsley
1/2 h. tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cook rice. (1 c. rice, 2 c. water; bring to a boil, then simmer for 45 min.)
2. I did this step the night before by accident while baking some vegetables. Break the third-loaf of bread in half lengthwise, then baste with olive oil. Stick in the oven at 400 for half an hour or so. Break into small pieces with your hands or use a food processor if you've got one.
3. Coat the bottom of a large pot with canola oil. Dice and add onion. Do a whole lot of chopping, then mince the garlic shortly before the onion is ready.
4. Add potato, parsnip, and carrot. Stir, let cook for a while. Add the beet stems but save the leaves.
5. Once things are sizzling nicely, add the vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Add the nondairy milk, water, beer, breadcrumbs, and seasoning. Cover and let cook until the rice is done.

I don't know if I just got lucky, but the curry was at a good place when the rice finished cooking. The carrot could have benefited from a few more minutes in the heat, but I don't mind a little crunch.

UPDATE: I took some of the leftovers to work with me for lunch, and there's still tons of it left.

Navy Bean Mash with Rice

I don't know where the idea for this came from, but it tasted better than it looks. I can't remember what-all I threw in here, so feel free to improvise as the mood takes you.

makes approx. 3 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 c. rice
1 clove garlic, chopped

1 can navy beans, drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1/2 block vegan cheese
red wine vinegar
paprika
oregano
lime juice

DIRECTIONS:
1. Simmer rice with chopped garlic. (I have no idea if this makes sense or did anything to the taste of the rice, but it didn't hurt, either.)
2. Heat canola oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Dice the onion, then add to the pan. After several minutes, mince the garlic into the pan and cook for about a minute, until onion is translucent.
3. Mash the navy beans and add to the pan. Cook for several minutes, occasionally scraping the bottom with a wooden spatula. Drizzle red wine vinegar.
4. Add some paprika, oregano, and lime juice. Don't go crazy with it, but you want to be able to taste them. A little bit of lime juice goes a long way in a simple dish like this.
5. Add the cheeze and cook until somewhat melt-y. I find that fake cheese tends to get gooey unevenly, so unless you're picky about uniform consistency don't worry about having chunks.

Serve with the rice and some grape tomatoes.