Thursday, October 30, 2008

Food, Glorious Food!

Alright, so I know it's the Vegan Month of Food (Vegan MoFo for short), and I have been wanting to get this blog up and running so I can post some of my new fav foods, but alas I have not sat down long enough to type until now. Unfortunately, it's late so I only have time to share one, but I will return tomorrow with another one.

When hubby was out of town earlier this month, I ate alot of really simple dishes. Caring for a four month old by myself was not an easy task, and there was not a lot of time for cooking. However, I discovered collard greens, black beans and rice. Easy peasy and soooo delish!
I always cook my beans from scratch since it's so much more economical, but otherwise, it was a 20-30 minute meal! Here is my recipe:

Smoky Black Beans and Rice over Greens (serves 2)
1 c. brown rice
2 c. vegetable broth
2 c. cooked black beans (or 1 can, rinsed and drained)
2 tbsp. Chipotle Tabasco sauce (adjust to taste)
1 bunch of collard greens
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. vegetable broth
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. liquid smoke
2 tbsp. tamari or soy sauce

I put the brown rice and veggie broth in a pot and brought to a boil. While that was working, I put my black beans in a bowl and sprinkled with the Chipotle Tabasco sauce and stirred to combine.  

In a massive bowl, I tore the collard greens from the stalk into smaller pieces and covered all the pieces with water.  Swirl them in the water a few times to get rid of all the sand and dirt.

Check your rice; once it comes to a boil, you want to turn the heat down to low and cover. Let it cook for 15 or so minutes.

In a medium size saucepan, heat the olive oil over med-high heat. Add the garlic and stir until slightly browned and fragrant.  Add the collard greens (or as many as will fit; you may have to wait for the first few to wilt in the pan before you add more) and the veggie broth, liquid smoke, and tamari.  Cook for approximately 10 minutes or until the collards are wilted and a bright green.

To serve, pile collards on each of two plates, top with rice and then beans. Pour the extra nutrient-rich liquid from the collards over the whole shebang and voila! Dinner is ready!

I think I ate this meal a couple times that week, and once I added a Mac and "Cheese" dish on the side. We're talking good ole Southern comfort food! Here's a pic:
I adapted the recipe from "Macaroni Hates Cheese" on Isa's website. Unfortunately, since it was a couple weeks ago, I don't remember exactly what my modifications were :(. I guess that's what I get for being such a procrastinator. 

Tomorrow I'll share my adventure the other day w/lasagna... yummmmm!! For now, though, happy dreams and happy eats!

2 comments:

Vegan4Life said...

I can't wait to try the rice and beans over greens recipe, thank you for sharing!

Chelsea said...

Absolutely! I'm excited that you're going to try it -- let me know what you think!

(I promise more recipes and pictures within the next few days. There have been some unusual circumstances that have prevented me from posting as of late)