Lex and Learn

I’ve been a bad blogger! Work, life…everything is hectic right now and I haven’t been able to motivate at night much past a few pins on Pinterest and reading my favorite blogs every evening. You can’t keep me away from Living Like the Kings (she’s expecting baby #2!), Running to the Kitchen, Cupcakes and Cashmere or Sequins and Stripes, to name a few.

I ask for forgiveness in the form of a really delicious vegetarian recipe from last week’s Sur la Table cooking class. Despite not having any motivation to cook, I recreated it tonight with just a few changes. Man do I love polenta. Mike seemed quite pleased as well – he really has been a great sport about my pescatarian/meatless journey. But I do the cooking, so he darn well should be!

Polenta with Tomato and Mushroom Ragu

Ingredients

• Quick cook polenta (I had the Sur la Table brand on hand)
• Vegetable broth (I used a vegetable bouillon cube I had on hand)
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Butter
• Olive Oil
• Shredded mozzarella
• Mushrooms
• Garlic
• Onion
• 24-ounce can of whole tomatoes
• Optional: fresh sage and fresh flat-leaf parsley

Prepare the polenta according to the directions using vegetable broth in lieu of water if desired. When it was nearly ready I tossed in about a palm’s worth of shredded Parmesan. If you have one, pour into a small round pan and set in the fridge to form a round polenta loaf. While the polenta sets heat the oven to 350 and grease a baking sheet. Right before the ragu finishes flip the polenta onto the sheet, top with shredded mozzarella and bake until the cheese is melted. I suggest about five – six minutes.

Meanwhile thinly slice your mushrooms if using whole Portobellos or in my case, use the pre-sliced ones from the store. I love cooking shortcuts after a long day at work. Dice the onion, garlic, fresh herbs (if you have them, I did not) and whole tomatoes, reserving the the juice.

To get going on the ragu, melt two tablespoons of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil over moderate heat. Add the diced onion and cook until translucent, about six minutes. Add the garlic and constantly stir for one more minute. Stir in the mushrooms, sage (I substituted a few shakes of dried rosemary) and add salt and pepper to taste. Keep stirring until everything softens and any moisture evaporates. Add the tomatoes and juice. I like to turn the heat down a bit at this point and just let everything simmer. Keep tasting the sauce and add more salt or pepper if desired. Some red pepper flakes are also delicious for a bit of a kick.

Pull the polenta out of the oven and top with the ragu. Sit back, pour a glass of red wine and savor just how fantastic vegetarian cuisine can taste.

Last week I bought most of the fixings for the Moroccan Stuffed Acorn Squash recipe from Door to Door Organics. I omitted raisins (the devil’s food), and chose tofu over chicken (meatless baby!), and swapped chicken broth for vegetable stock.

Vegetarian Stuffed Acorn Squash (adapted from Door to Door)

Extra firm tofu, drained and cubed
2 large acorn squash (halved, seeded)
2 stalks celery (chopped)
2 large carrots (chopped)
1 cup garbanzo beans (drained)
1 (14 oz) can vegetable broth
1 cup quinoa
3 cloves garlic (minced)
2 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs butter (melted)
2 tbs olive oil
1½ tbs ground cumin
salt & pepper (to taste)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Arrange the squash halves, cut-side down, on a baking sheet and bake until soft (about 30 minutes).
2. Dry/pan fry the tofu until cooked throughout. I prefer the texture after about 10 – 15 minutes.
3. While the squash is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the carrots and celery and saute until soft (about 5 minutes), then add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
4. Once the squash are ready, remove them from the oven and flip.
5. Combine the brown sugar and melted butter and brush over the squash. Cover to keep warm.
6. Add the tofu to the carrot and celery mixture.
7. Stir the garbanzo beans into the mixture and season the mixture with the cumin, salt and pepper. Continue to cook until heated through and vegetables are tender (about 3 minutes).
8. Pour the vegetable broth into a separate saucepan and cook the quinoa until all of the broth is absorbed and quinoa is tender (about 10 minutes).
9. Combine the quinoa and tofu mixture and spoon into each squash halve.
10. Serve with additional filling if desired.