Meatless Meals :: Chunky Tuna Salad Wraps

I just finished sharing this recipe for one of my new favorite meatless meals over at Shower of Roses and decided I'd share it here at Catholic Cuisine as well! I hope you are all having a blessed Lent!

 Chunky Tuna Salad Wraps

adapted from The Healing Kitchen

Directions and Ingredients:

• 2 - 5oz cans Wild Planet Albacore Tuna (I buy it at Costco.) 
• 2/3 cup red grapes, quartered
• 2/3 cup celery, diced
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, diced
• 1/4 cup green onions, chopped
• 3 tablespoons shallots, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Mix all ingredients together until well combined.

Make Avocado Mayo:  (Note: I halve the cookbook's recipe and use the following.)

• 1 large ripe avocado, peeled and pitted
• 1/8 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Place avocado in blender. With the blender running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until combined. Add the remaining ingredients and puree until smooth.

Add 1/2 cup Avocado Mayo to Chunky Tuna Salad. Mix until combined.

• Baby Spinach or Mixed Greens
• Paleo Wraps - Original or Tumeric (I've had my eye on these ever since I started my AIP diet last March... My husband convinced me to splurge on them during one of our recent grocery shopping date nights. I love them and it's so nice to be able to eat a wrap made with something more than just lettuce again!) 

Place a bed of baby spinach or mixed greens and a scoop or two of chunky tuna on top of a Paleo Wrap and roll up.

Serve with Inka Plantain Chips.

You can read more about The Autoimmune Protocol :: My Journey Towards Better Health & Weight Loss with the AIP Diet over at Shower of Roses. 

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Sprouted Wheat Berry Recipes

Sprouted Wheat Berry Salad - Mediterranean Style

St. Ignatius was bishop of Antioch, the Syrian city on the Mediterranean. A Mediterranean style salad using the wheat berries is a fitting feast day side dish or lunch. Directions for sprouting wheat berries shared in this previous post.

1 cup sprouted wheat berries 

1/2 cup kalamata olives (sliced) 

1/4 pine nuts 1/4 cup feta (grated) 

1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes (diced)

1/8 cup fresh basil (chopped)

1 T. olive oil 

1 t. balsamic vinegar

You can either use sprouted wheat berries raw or cook them. The tastes and textures vary slightly depending on how you use them - cooked slightly sweeter and a little chewier, raw more nutty flavor and slightly crisper. Both ways are good. If you cook wheat berries, put in saucepan with water to cover. Allow to boil. Take off heat and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Drain and cool.

To make the salad simply mix all ingredients together in bowl. Chill and serve. Make approx. 4 servings. 

Sprouted Wheat Berry Bread Stick Croziers

Bread is one of the common uses of sprouted wheat berries. It can be made solely using the wheat berries ground or a combination of wheat berries chopped and wheat flour. If using only sprouted berries, they should be barely sprouted (about 48 hrs.) and not have developed the 1/4 inch tail. If chopped and added to a bread dough with flour can be more sprouted.

The staff or crosier is a common symbol of bishops, and since St. Ignatius was bishop of Antioch, following St. Peter a fun idea is to make crozier shaped bread sticks.

1 1/2 T yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 t. salt
2 T honey
1 egg
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
3 -3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 - 3/4 cup sprouted wheat berries (chopped)

Sprinkle yeast over 1/4 cup water and, when dissolved, add remaining 3/4 cup water, oil, salt, honey, and egg. Beat smooth with wooden spoon. Beat in dry milk and 2 cups flour and wheat berries, then gradually mix in remaining flour until it is completely absorbed into dough. Dough will be somewhat sticky.

Cover and rest for 15 minutes. Shape as desired and let rise 1 hour.

For Bread Sticks: use refrigerated dough because it is easier to handle. Pinch off about 3 tablespoons dough or a 3-inch ball and roll into a log about 10 inches long and just under 1/2 inch around. curve end to shape into crozier. Place on oiled baking sheet. Cover and let rise about 1 hour. Bake for 10-12 minutes

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Mixing up Meatless: Baked Felafel

The following recipe was submitted by Sarah Rose, from Rose's Supposes. Thank you Sarah Rose!  

Sometimes meatless meals can get a little monotonous in our house. Both my husband and my son can be pretty picky, so very often we resort to mac and cheese or spaghetti. Its not that I don't like these things, but I'm the kind of person who likes to mix it up a bit. Much to my surprise one night I decided to feed my husband felafel and he loved it! He says its one of his favorite things that I make. I still need to work on my son, but my baked felafel helps us when we want to mix up meatless.

Felafel is kind of a chickpea fritter that is usually deep fried, but this baked version I adapted from allrecipes.com turns out great!

Baked Felafel

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 1 15oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) or equivalent amount of cooked from dried*
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• Cumin and curry powder to taste. My husband usually asks me to add a little cayenne too.
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Put the onions, chickpeas, parsley, garlic, baking soda, flour, egg, and seasonings into a food processor.

Turn on the food processor and drizzle in the olive oil. Process until smooth

Form into patties or balls (I personally prefer balls) and let sit for 15 minutes.
note: This recipe makes a very soft felafel that can be difficult to handle when it is still uncooked. If you feel it is too soft feel free to add more flour or even breadcrumbs to help thicken it up.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Put a pan with a little olive oil in it over medium heat and brown the felafel. This will give it a little crunch on the outside.

Put the felafel on a sheet pan and bake for ten minutes.

Serve in pitas or on a salad! Some great accompaniments are lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and plain yogurt.


*How to cook dried chickpeas (this method works for any dried bean)

1. Sort through the beans and remove any debris.
2. Cover the beans with water and soak at least 4 hours. I usually let mine soak overnight.
3. Drain and rinse the beans. Recover them with water, add a little salt and put on the stove on high heat. Sometimes I'll add in a bay leaf here.
4. Let the beans come to a boil. Once they reach a boil, turn the heat down to low and cover. Let the beans cook for 1 hour.

Canned beans are just fine and very convenient, I have used them before. But dried beans are cheaper and you can control things like the amount of salt you use. You just have to plan ahead! Sometimes I'll cook more than I need and keep them in the refrigerator.

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Lenten Fish Dinner: Tilapia, Spinach, and Couscous

The following Lenten dinner was submitted by Eliana Murphy. Thank you Eliana!

This healthy dinner works well for any day requiring abstinence from meat, so for those Catholics who observe abstinence on all Fridays of the year, instead of offering a substitute sacrifice, it does not have to be used only during Lent.  It could be served with a green salad, and afterwards, grapes could be served.

Baked Tilapia

2 lbs. of thawed tilapia, basa swai, cod, or other white fish fillets
McCormick California Style Coarse Grind Lemon-Pepper Blend (This type of lemon-pepper does not have artificial coloring and preservatives, unlike other lemon pepper blends.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse fish fillets and arrange in metal or glass rectangular baking dish. Add enough water to lightly cover the bottom of the pan (but not enough to drown the fillets!). Sprinkle with McCormick California Style Coarse Grind Lemon-Pepper Blend. Cover pan with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes.


Fresh Garlic Spinach

1/2 or 1 head of garlic
2 bunches of fresh spinach leaves* (if you are short on time you may use 2 large bags of pre-washed baby spinach)
Olive oil

Peel garlic cloves. Rinse spinach very carefully to remove dirt and gravel if not already pre-rinsed. Use a large covered pot (7-10 qt) to cook this dish because the spinach leaves take up a lot of space until they cook down. Pour enough olive oil into the pot to cover the bottom, and add the garlic cloves. Saute for a few minutes on medium-high, then add the spinach leaves and a tiny amount of water, cover the pot, and cook until the spinach is wet and tender (approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally). If you are cooking a larger amount, you may have to add the spinach in batches and allow it to cook down before adding more.


Vegetable Couscous

5 or more garlic cloves
1 onion
2 zucchini
1/2 cup or 1 cup of sliced carrots (carrot chips, shredded carrots, or sliced baby carrots also work)
Olive oil
2 cups pearl couscous (you can also use regular couscous, but the water proportion and cook time is different from pearl couscous.)
4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste

Peel and slice the garlic and onion. Slice the zuccini (I prefer to slice the zucchini in half lengthwise, then slice horizontally to get smaller pieces) and the carrots. Pour enough olive oil into a 4 1/2 qt pot to cover the bottom. Saute the garlic, onion, carrots, and zuchini for five minutes over medium-high heat. Add the couscous and saute a few minutes more (add more olive oil if necessary to prevent sticking). Add the 4 cups of water, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and cover and simmer until couscous is fluffy and the water is all absorbed, about 15 minutes. If you wish to have a greater proportion of couscous to vegetables, use 2 1/2 cups of couscous and five cups of water. For a quick version, substitute garlic and onion powder to taste for the fresh garlic and onion.

 For the sake of His sorrowful passion, 

have mercy on us and on the whole world.

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Simple Meals for Lent :: Tehri

Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

Tehri 

from India

Sautéed vegetables, onion and chili peppers served over hot rice. A splash of cumin and turmeric gives this dish a rich, warm aroma.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 green chili peppers, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 4 cups various vegetables of choice, chopped (peas, carrots, green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, potatoes)
• 2 cups rice
• 4 cups water
• salt to taste

Directions:

Heat oil in a pot, add cumin seeds and cook for 2 minutes. Add green chilis, onion and turmeric and sauté for 2 minutes. Add chopped vegetables and sauté until slightly fried. Add rice, salt, and water. Cook until rice and vegetables are cooked and water completely absorbed (about 20 minutes).

Makes 4-5 servings

Catholic Relief Services' mother and child health programs in India and around the world train health workers to care for families with young children. For more information please visit Operation Rice Bowl.

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Simple Meals for Lent :: Ifisashi

Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

Ifisashi 
from Zambia

Hot rice casserole served in a thick, buttery peanut sauce. Collard greens and tomatoes add a garden-fresh flavor to this creamy dish.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups water
• 1 cup chopped peanuts
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 2 bunches fresh collard greens (or spinach), washed and chopped
• Salt to taste
• 2 cups cooked rice

Directions:

Bring water to a boil in medium pot and add peanuts, tomatoes, and onion. After a few minutes, add chopped greens. Stirring occasionally, continue cooking for about 15-20 minutes, or until peanuts are soft and mixture has become a thick buttery sauce. Serve hot over rice.

Makes 4-5 servings

Photo by Kim Pozniak/Catholic Relief Services

Catholic Relief Services' microfinance programs in Zambia help people earn more money to support their families and save for the future. In’utu Kokola and her husband are farmers living in Mongu, Zambia. Recently In’utu Kokola opened a shop in the market where she sells vegetables and corn meal from her farm. She didn’t believe this day would ever come, but it did thanks to a Savings and Internal Lending Community (SILC) started with the help of Catholic Relief Services. In a SILC, the group saves money and makes small, interest bearing loans together. With her market stall, In’utu Kokola and her husband now have a reliable income to feed their family, buy medicine and pay school fees for their grandchildren.  For more information please visit Operation Rice Bowl.

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Meatless Meals :: Three Sisters Stew

This following recipe was submitted by Dust Thou Art.  She says, "I made this for St. Katharine Drexel this past Saturday, but it would also work very well for Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha (July 14th), and it is meatless also." 

March 3rd was the commemoration of St. Katharine Drexel. As I wrote in my monthly planning post:

St. Katharine is kind of a hilarious story. She was an American heiress (think Paris Hilton with a brain) who read books about the plight of the poor, and in particular about the suffering of American Indians. So (being rich, naive, and headstrong) she went to Rome to ask the Pope, in private audience, to do something about it. And the Pope was like "Um... what are YOU doing with your time?" And to her (everlasting) credit, instead of reacting like "What do you mean, I was thinking more along the lines of me holding 'awareness' events and cocktail parties," she was shocked into actually really thinking about what he was saying. It didn't happen overnight, but she began to do more and more, and soon she actually gave up all her wealth and founded an order of religious sisters. Anyway. Since it's also an ember day, I was thinking a hearty meatless stew with native North American ingredients--corn, beans and squash. Often called "three sisters soup", so doubly appropriate for a religious sister. :)

Three Sisters Stew

If you Google around for this soup, nobody makes it the same way. Nobody even makes it close to the same way. One recipe will include pureed pumpkin, hominy, and kidney beans. The next will be chunks of butternut squash, frozen corn, and green beans. The only must for this recipe is some kind of squash, some kind of corn product, and some kind of bean. You MUST have one of each of these three categories, as they are the "three sisters" of the title. They go together because they grow well together. But other than that you can really go for whatever's in season and your own tastes.

Accordingly, this is more like a blueprint for you to follow. I'm giving what I put in this time, but I don't expect you to put the same things in your soup. I don't expect me to put the same things in next time I make it. Many different indigenous groups planted using the Three Sisters technique. I had some southwestern ingredients handy so I followed that style.

AROMATICS:
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. sliced mushrooms
(or other aromatics, such as shallots, celery, etc)

FAT:
1 T olive oil
1/2 T butter
(or however you like to saute)

LIQUID:
4 c. vegetable broth
(or other broth, or water)

MAIN VEG:
1 butternut squash, peeled and cleaned, cut into large dice
1/2 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and broken into bite sized pieces
1 lb baby yellow potatoes, large dice
2 c. frozen corn
(or other soup veg, making sure you include corn and squash!)

PROTEIN BEANS:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. dry lima beans, soaked overnight and drained
(or other protein beans, are you getting the idea yet)

SEASONINGS:
cumin seeds, ground cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, oregano, chili powder... all to taste
(this parenthesis intentionally left blank)

1. Take a large stock pot and heat up the fat in it over medium heat. Add your aromatics once the fat is hot and "sweat" them. You can add some seasoning at this time (like cumin seeds) also. The aromatics will release their lovely scents, as well as water, which will evaporate so that the mixture reduces somewhat in volume, and maybe even caramelizes. We like this.

2. Once this mixture is looking brilliant, we add in everything else, liquid last. If you want it thick, only add liquid up to the point where it barely covers the veg. If you want more liquid... add more! Turn the heat up to high.

3. Once the soup hits boiling, reduce to a simmer. The temperature will depend on whether you cover the pot, how big the pot is, how hot your stove is, sunspots, etc. On my stove it was on medium-low uncovered.

4. Let it simmer for an hour or so, until vegetables are tender to your liking or you get too hungry to wait any more. This is assuming that you are like me and like your soup vegetables very tender. If you like your green beans (or what have you) more crisp, you'll have to divide your vegetables into two groups. One group being the squash, carrots, potatoes, and other things that need to cook for a while. The second group being green beans or other quick cooking veg. Add the first group, and reserve the second until ~10 minutes before serving.

ACCOMPANIMENTS:
ripe avocado slices
shredded cheddar cheese

The avocado and cheese suited the Tex-Mex style of the soup. You might try sprigs of fresh herbs or croutons, or if you want to get advanced, corn fritters or fried squash blossoms.

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Simple Meals for Lent :: Vegetable Spring Rolls

 Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

This recipe was submitted by Catholic Relief Services. "Sample the food of the Operation Rice Bowl featured-countries with your family and friends by preparing a simple, meatless recipe shared with us by the people we serve around the world. "

Vegetable Spring Rolls 

from Vietnam

Fresh herbs and vegetables rolled in thin rice paper wrappers. The garlic and wine vinegar dipping sauce is the perfect topping for this tangy and tasty meal.

Ingredients:

Sauce

• ¼ cup water
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced and crushed
• 2 Tbsp sugar

Spring Rolls

• 1 cup cooked thin rice noodles
• ½ cup bean sprouts
• 1/3 head of green cabbage, chopped
• 5 green onions, chopped
• ¼ cup carrots, grated or julienned
• ¼ cup fresh herbs (cilantro, basil or mint)
• 1 package rice paper wrappers

Directions:

Combine all sauce ingredients in small saucepan and simmer for 3-5 minutes, stirring until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to thicken. Cool before serving. Cook rice noodles as described on package. Lightly steam cabbage, green onions, and carrots together until slightly tender. Toss noodles, vegetables, and herbs in large bowl. Quickly submerge a rice paper wrapper in warm water and lay on a smooth surface. Place about 2 tablespoons of mix on each wrapper and fold wrapper into shape.

Makes 6 - 8 servings

Photo by Laura Sheahen/Catholic Relief Services

Catholic Relief Services' education programs in Vietnam promote quality education for all people. Finding services and programs for disabled students was a challenge for Giap and his family living in Hanoi. But recently Giap started a web design business after enrolling in a residential school for students with disabilities. There he and his fellow students gained skills and confidence to work in the growing field of web design. With support from Catholic Relief Services, Giap’s school offers programs and accommodations for students who are blind or physically disabled so they can fulfill their potential and realize their dreams. For more information please visit Operation Rice Bowl. Pin It

Simple Meals for Lent :: Vary amin'anana

 Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

This recipe was submitted by Catholic Relief Services.   "Sample the food of the Operation Rice Bowl featured-countries with your family and friends by preparing a simple, meatless recipe shared with us by the people we serve around the world. "

Vary amin’anana

from Madagascar

Hot rice served with fresh greens and juicy tomatoes. A dash of ginger makes this a fragrant and delicious dish.  

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• ½ small onion, minced
• 1 tsp ginger, minced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 3 cups collard greens, thinly sliced
• 1 cup rice
• 2 cups water
• salt, to taste

Directions:

Heat oil in a medium pot. Add onion, ginger, and tomato. Sauté for about 2-3 minutes, until tender. Add greens and stir for 1 minute. Add water and bring to a boil. Add the rice and salt. Cover and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes or until water is absorbed.

Makes 4-5 servings

Catholic Relief Services' agriculture programs in Madagascar help farmers in the poorest communities improve their harvests using environmentally sensitive techniques. For more information please visit Operation Rice Bowl. Pin It

Tri-color pasta salad for Trinity Sunday

I came up with this recipe on my way to Mass yesterday morning. I was hoping to add three different kinds of cheeses, but I wasn't able to get the ones my kids liked, so I just bought one kind, although I included three of them in my recipe below.

1 box of tomato, carrot and spinach blend pasta
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 pound of Cheddar cheese, cubed
1/2 pound Jack cheese, cubed
1/2 pound Mozzarella cheese, cubed
1 pound of sliced boneless ham, cubed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Salad Supreme seasoning mix
2 tablesspoons olive oil

Boil the pasta, drain it and drizzle it with olive oil. Put it in the refrigerator to cool. Chop the peppers, cube the ham and cheese and add the remaining ingredients to the pasta salad. Enjoy! Pin It