Teriyaki Romanesco & Beet Bowl

Oh, hi there. Sorry...I haven't abandoned you. You are much too precious. I will say, however, that things might be a teensy bit on the quiet side for a little while. I hope that's okay? If you're feeling lonely, I'll still be quite active on social media. Check Produce On Parade out on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter for food, fun, and Alaskany goodness. 

“We cannot change anything unless we accept it.”

— Carl Jung

Romanesco is a queen amongst vegetables. I brought this one home from our local grocery store and Todd exclaimed, "What is that thing? It looks like a seashell!" Closer to cauliflower than broccoli, (which is contrary to what people initially perceive) it can easily be substituted with either if the stunning romanesco remains elusive to you. It seems every now and again I just can't resist picking one up if I spot it.

In case you hadn't noticed, I am in love with my reusable produce bags (as seen above). No more clear plastic bags to put my produce in! I was gifted these reusable ones some time ago from a friend and I'm so happy to have them.  If you're looking to snag some of your own and ditch the plastic here are some great bags. 

This recipe came about out of, you guessed it...desperation. I needed to use the romanesco and a bunch of golden beets I had before my next CSA box came. A craving for teriyaki had been pestering me all week and I had a bag of cooked red rice in the freezer. And voila! This recipe was born. You might spot some quinoa in my rice. That's because I buy red quinoa and a while back I accidentally added it to my large jar of red rice. Whoops! I wasn't able to get all the quinoa out and so alas, I'm stuck with quinoa-rice...but I kind of like it! 

In this wonderful dish, roasted romanesco and sweet beets perch atop a bed of rice, drizzled with a scrumptious teriyaki glaze. It's sweet and salty, and done in a pinch!

Teriyaki Romanesco & Beet Bowl

Roasted romanesco and sweet beets perch atop a bed of rice, drizzled with a delicious teriyaki glaze. It's sweet and salty, and done in a pinch.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• - Vegetables-
• 1 medium head of romanesco, florets only and chopped (or broccoli or cauliflower)
• 6 small beets, stems removed and quartered (peeled or unpeeled)
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• -Teriyaki Glaze-
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mirin (or 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar with 1 tbsp sugar)
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 cup vegan granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, very finely minced
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• ------------
• 2 cups cooked rice (or quinoa, millet, etc.)

Cooking Directions

1. For the vegetables:
2. Preheat oven to 400 F. Scrub clean the romanesco and beets and chop them accordingly. Arrange the vegetables on a parchment lined baking sheet and drizzle with the oil. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the beets are tender.
3. While the vegetables cook, prepare the rice.
4. For the glaze:
5. Whisk all the ingredients together in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, excluding the water and cornstarch. When all the sugar is dissolved and the sauce is hot, whisk together the cold water and cornstarch in a small bowl.
6. Next, slowly whisk the cornstarch water into the sauce. Continue to whisk, simmered, until the glaze thickens.
7. To serve, place 1/2 cup of the cooked rice in a bowl, topped with a 1/4 of the roasted vegetables and 1/4 cup of the glaze.

Dutch Word of The Day

Quiet (noun) --> stilte (still-teh)

Story of The Day 

It's articles like this that warm my heart! A San Francisco sushi chef is creating beautiful and outstanding vegan rolls. "...with issues like overfishing, bycatch and high mercury levels gaining traction with consumers, it may only be a matter of time before demand kickstarts a faux-fish movement on the heels of the plant-based protein revolution already underway." Read all about his unique sushi in an NPR article here. Faux fish for the win!

Red Potato and Beet Bourguignon

For the last week, I've been going to bed at about 8:30 pm and am still waking up completely and utterly exhausted and depleted. I think our galeforce winds are sucking the life from me...like a Dilbert cartoon or something. Mother Nature is being a real monster.

I can see it, my soul being ripped from me and carried on the winds to god knows where. I need snow and I need to be outside. Neither of which I've been fortunate enough to enjoy for the last week or so. It's no way to live, people. It's no way to live.

My restlessness has been burgeoning, but now it seems to have imploded. I'm like a caged animal! 

Anyways, irritability has seeped into even my grocery shopping! Normally, a bourguignon has pearl onions in it. If you're a skrillionmillionaire, then go ahead and saute them with the mushrooms. I decided not to drain my 401k, and so I left the tiny $6 pack of pearl onions at the store. Annoyed, as I stood there staring at the expensive little cuties, I concluded that my bourguignon would be fine without them. 

Despite the absence of pearl onions, this bourguignon is rich with flavor. Hearty chunks of beets and red potatoes mingle with thick slices of portobello mushrooms and meaty lentils for a filling meal.

Isn't it odd what we decide to spend our money on? $16 vegan Omega-3 supplements, yes. $9 vegan and cruelty-free deodorant, yes. $6 pack of pearl onions...over my dead body!! It's intriguing, because usually with fruits and vegetables I'm pretty liberal with my spending. Except for grapes. What, did I recently win the lottery recently or something?!

Red Potato and Beet Bourguignon 

Serves 6

Notes: If you'd like this more stew like, just double the wine and vegetable stock.

• Lentils:
• 2 cups green or brown lentils, dry
• 4 cups water
• Sustenance: 
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 medium beets, peeled and chopped
• 4 medium red potatoes, chopped
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• Flavoring:
• 8 oz. red wine
• 16 oz. vegetable stock
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste 
• Mushrooms:
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 large portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 10 crimini mushrooms, quartered
• Thickening:
• 2 tsp. arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
• 1 Tbsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

In a medium saucepan, combine the lentils and water. Over high heat, bring to a boil. Then, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until almost tender. Drain and set aside. 

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium. Add the onion and garlic. Saute a few minutes, until the onion begins to turn translucent. Add in the remaining sustenance ingredients and cook for 5 additional minutes. Add in the flavoring ingredients and continue to cook, covered, for 20 more minutes. 

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and add in the mushrooms. Saute for about 5 minutes over medium-low, until shrunken and dark and all the water has evaporated.

In a small bowl, mix together the thickening ingredients then pour into the soup pot and stir to combine.

Add the cooked lentils and mushrooms to the soup pot and stir.

Remove bay leaves and serve hot!  Top with nutritional yeast if you like. 

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Rosemary Balsamic Beet Layered Phyllo Tart

Salutations! First, I just have to tell you how much I adore BlogLovin'. If you lost a subscriber today or yesterday, it may have been me. Never fear though! I added all the blogs I follow to BlogLovin'! I'm still following, it's just that now I don't get 60 emails in my inbox everyday. It's fantastic! I am in no way affiliated with BlogLovin', I just really, really like it! If you are a follower of a few or more blogs yourself, go check it out. It's definitely made my e-mail and blog following so much simpler. You can add any blog you want! Okay, back to the recipe.

Last night, when I told Todd what I was making for dinner he told me, "I'm not much of a beet man." Not yet. That may have all changed after I made this Rosemary Balsamic Beet Layered Phyllo Tart, though! This really is a beautiful little tart. I love that it can be a fancy appetizer or a light, snazzy entree. It's easy, fairly quick and it's dressed to impress!

This post is dedicated to Dwight from The Office. 

Crispy, light and buttery phyllo dough is topped with a creamy rosemary cashew cheese then adorned with layered tangy and sweet maple-balsamic roasted beets. Perfect for holiday company!

Rosemary Balsamic Beet Layered Phyllo Tart

Adapted from Keepin' It Kind

Serves 4-8

• --Cheese--
• 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked 15 minutes
• 1/4 cup fresh water
• 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary
• 1/2 Tbsp. Worcheshire sauce
• large pinch of salt
• --Tart--
• 4 small beets, washed and sliced thinly
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. real maple syrup
• pinch of salt
• dash of pepper
• 6 phyllo sheets
• slathering of softened vegan butter

First, if your phyllo dough is in the freezer, you'll want to thaw it out according to the package. 

To make the cheese, first place the cashews in a bowl and cover with an ample amount of boiling water. Allow to soak for at least 15 minutes, while preparing the rest of the tart. Then, drain and rinse well. When the cashews are done soaking, add all ingredients to a food processor and process for about 3 minutes, scraping occasionally, until it's smooth like ricotta. 

Preheat the oven to 350. With a mandolin, slice the beets very thinly. Or, if you have better knife skills than me, feel free to go at it with a knife. Place all the beet slices in a 9x9 or larger baking dish. Add in the balsamic vinegar, syrup, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat and roast at 350 F for 15 minutes. Stir and flip the beets halfway through.

Once the beets are done, remove from the oven and set aside. Be sure to reserve the beet liquid. Leave the oven on.

Coat a tart or pie dish with a nonstick cooking spray. Carefully place one sheet of phyllo dough into the dish and press in. Brush the top with vegan butter. Continue with remaining sheets, layering them, alternatively along the edge. Be sure not to let the sheets dry out excessively while assembling the tart or else they will just break when folded. You'll want to work fairly quickly. Phyllo dough is pretty persnickety. 

Next, spread the cashew cheese evenly along the bottom of the dish, on top of the last phyllo sheet.  

Then, layer on the beets to fill the bottom. Fold or tuck in the excess edges of the phyllo dough. Brush butter along the top of the dough as well as the beets. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes. 

While the tart is baking, pour the beet liquid into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Then, whisking, turn down to low and allow to simmer until it's reduced by about half. Whisk occasionally.

Once the tart is done baking, remove from the oven and pour the balsamic beet liquid over the tart.

Serve the tart slices warm and with love!

Fancy pants and oh so beetylicious!

Beet-utiful, no? Okay, I'll stop...

This post is dedicated to Dwight from The Office. He gives my blog the,

Musical support for this post comes from, Capital Cities – Farrah Fawcett Hair - feat. Andre 3000

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