Rice and Potato Bake

This was a last-minute meal on a busy work day. It was good, but needed a sauce, so I topped it with Frontera brand Roasted Tomato Salsa and served it with avocado (because I had lots of ripe avocados on the counter) and Tillamook White Cheddar Cheese.
Ingredients:
  • 2 cups veggie broth
  • 1 cup long grain brown rice
  • 1 medium sized yellow onion, chopped
  • 1/2 lb potatoes, rinsed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1/2 cup veggie broth
  • 1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (please feel free to use black or kidney beans)
  • 2 cups chopped spinach
  • 6 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup veggie broth
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 TB Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 TB onion powder
  • 1/2 TB dried cilantro
  • red pepper flakes, to taste
First, bring 2 cups of veggie broth to a boil. Add the rice, stir, lower the temp to simmer, cover, and cook (45-50 minutes, most likely- read your rice instructions if you bought a package). Half-way through your rice cooking, preheat the oven to 375.
Heat a separate saute pan on medium-high and add the chopped onion. When it starts to sizzle, add 1/2 cup veggie broth, bring it to a boil, and soften the onions. Next, add the potatoes and cook until they are just done. Add the beans and spinach and turn off the heat.
In a large bowl, add the eggs, 1 cup veggie broth, olive oil, Worcestershire, onion powder, cilantro, and red pepper flakes. Whisk this well, and add the cooked rice and the onion, potato, bean, and spinach saute. Mix this well and pour into a large Pyrex baking dish. Notice that I do not add extra salt. Veggie broth is loaded with sodium, and the salsa topping has a lot of sodium also, so this dish does not need any more added salt. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Enjoy.

Local Free-Range Eggs vs. Whole Foods Cage Free Eggs

This is a photo of a local, free range hen. I had the pleasure of eating some of her and her friends’ eggs, so I decided to compare and contrast them with cage free eggs from Whole Foods.
These 4 eggs are from local and free-range hens. The two white-ish eggs actually have a green shell and come from Aracauna hens. All of the local hens spend lots of time walking around outside and get to eat lots of kitchen scraps and surplus from the owner’s garden.
The egg on the left is a cage free large brown egg from Whole Foods. These are the eggs I usually buy. The one on the right is from one of the local hens. There is a big difference in the color and size of the yolk and the albumen (egg white), especially up close. The photo doesn’t do the best job demonstrating this, but the difference is quite clear.
This is 4 store-bought cage free eggs beaten.
This is 4 local eggs beaten. Big color difference here. Also, the store-bought eggs were thinner and kind of frothy, while the local fresh eggs had a thicker consistency. Maybe this is because there was more yolk in the local fresh eggs.
I made a simple scramble. I sauteed some red onion in olive oil. Added some green pepper, and then the eggs to make two identical scrambles. Both were lightly salted and peppered. I didn’t make anything fancy so I could truly judge the taste of the eggs. The scramble on the left is from the Whole Foods eggs. It is much paler than the local eggs scramble on the right. Also, the flavor of the local eggs was really amazing. They were simply the best eggs I can ever remember eating. The store-bought eggs were bland, and not pleasant to eat next to something so far superior. They revealed themselves as better suited to be masked with other flavors, such as cheese, sauces, etc., than to be enjoyed for what they are, like the local eggs, which were exceptionally delicious.

Best BBQ Tofu

As always, please follow the rules to make good tofu- Buy firm or extra firm (I prefer Denver Tofu), freeze it, thaw it, press it by placing it on a hard surface with paper towels on top and bottom and a heavy surface (like a cutting board stacked with cook books) on top for 30 minutes, slice it, marinate, and bake.
For this tofu, I used my Best BBQ Sauce recipe.
Mix 1 cup BBQ sauce with 2 cups water. Pour some in a Pyrex baking dish, arrange the tofu, then pour the rest of the sauce on top. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Enjoy.
I served this with my Blue Corn Cakes and sliced avocado.

Blue Corn Cakes

I love using blue corn. It makes dinner more fun when corn bread and corn cakes are blue instead of yellow. Look for it in Whole Foods or in the natural and organic section of your local supermarket.
Ingredients:
  • 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2/3 cup blue corn meal
  • 1 TB onion powder
  • 1/2 TB garlic powder
  • 1.5 tsp (or 1 tsp if at altitude) baking powder
  • 1 tsp (or 3/4 tsp at altitude) baking soda
  • pinch sea salt
  • fresh ground black pepper
  • pinch Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 TB evaporated cane juice
  • 1 cup plain rice milk (go ahead and use real milk if you stock it)
  • 3 TB walnut oil
In one bowl, combine the dry ingredients, and in another, mix the wet. Whisk the wet into the dry and pan fry like pancakes (300-350 on a lightly oiled griddle) for a few minutes on each side. Serve with something delicious and enjoy.

BBQ Vegetable Soup

This hearty soup is great to make when you know you won’t have time to cook for a couple nights in a row. The protein from quinoa and kidney beans as well as vitamin-rich yams will leave you full and satisfied.

Ingredients:

  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 cups white wine
  • 5 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 stalks celery, washed and coarsely chopped
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 large yams, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 4 large carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/4 inch thick rounds
  • 1 carton (4 cups/1 quart) organic veggie broth
  • 1 cup quinoa, rinsed in cold water and drained
  • 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 cup of my Best BBQ Sauce
In a large stock pot, add the onions, turn heat up to medium high, and wait until you start to hear them sizzle. Then add the wine, stir, and cook a few minutes before adding the garlic, bay leaves, and celery. Next, add the water and bring it back to a boil before adding the yams and carrots. Stir this well and wait until it comes to a boil again before adding the veggie broth. Stir this well, bring it to a boil again, and cook 10 minutes or so before adding the rinsed and drained quinoa and beans, which will need 15 more minutes to be done. Finally, add the BBQ sauce, stir well, lower heat to low, and simmer until you are ready to eat.
I served mine with Best BBQ tofu and blue corn cakes.

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A Bolder Table is a place where I bookmark my favorite recipes for later along with some occasional musings. It's my personal digital recipe compilation... Let's say it's my cookbook. Thanks for stopping by! -Megan
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