Amateur (Vegan) Porn
As you all might or might not be aware, I'm a great fan of food that is simple to prepare, healthy, and inexpensive. I love finding or creating recipes that use a high quantity and variety of vegetables and spices, and yet take little enough time that I can prepare them without a great deal of planning. I've been on a soup craze as of late, but I'm tapering off (possibly due to the Tom Kha Gai, Mulligatawny, and Curried Carrot & Apple soups currently taking up space in my freezer) and leaning more toward stir-fry and such. I give extra points to food that is flavorful but requires no animal products or overly-processed ingredients in its preparation. In short, I want a "student diet" that eschews such things as instant noodles, ground beef, processed cheese, sugary yogurt, and canned chili. What to do?
This evening, I stuck my head in my freezer and noticed guiltily the Costco-sized bag of petite green beans, still unopened more than a month following its acquisition. The problem with green beans, you see, is that unlike corn, carrots, green peas, and salad, they get a bit old after a while of being served with no more than a bit of garlic and olive oil, or salt and pepper. Or maybe I'm just picky. But I'd been rather sick of green beans, and I hadn't had any great revelations about including this particular veggie in my diet as of late. I decided it was time for that to change.
First, I heated a generous drizzle of olive oil in a nonstick skillet, along with a hefty dollop of minced garlic (I keep a jar of this around for just such purposes). I took enough green beans to fill the skillet while still frozen, and stir-fried them up with the oil until they were warmed through. Next, I dumped in a 16-oz can of diced tomatoes, and on a whim, I added a partial can of diced pineapple. I seasoned the mix with freshly ground black pepper, thyme, basil, and oregano (no salt because of the salt already in the tomatoes). This was the result:
I served this over whole-wheat couscous, and it turned out perfectly. The tomatoes added just the right amount of richness and acidity to dress up the beans, and the complement of spices imparted a nicely rounded flavor. The added sweetness of the pineapple meshed well with the garlic and contributed just a hint of welcome sweetness. The green beans were flavorful and crisp without being tough; and there wasn't a bit of mushiness. Next time, I might add some bamboo shoots or straw mushrooms as well, or perhaps some diced new potatoes.
This evening, I stuck my head in my freezer and noticed guiltily the Costco-sized bag of petite green beans, still unopened more than a month following its acquisition. The problem with green beans, you see, is that unlike corn, carrots, green peas, and salad, they get a bit old after a while of being served with no more than a bit of garlic and olive oil, or salt and pepper. Or maybe I'm just picky. But I'd been rather sick of green beans, and I hadn't had any great revelations about including this particular veggie in my diet as of late. I decided it was time for that to change.
First, I heated a generous drizzle of olive oil in a nonstick skillet, along with a hefty dollop of minced garlic (I keep a jar of this around for just such purposes). I took enough green beans to fill the skillet while still frozen, and stir-fried them up with the oil until they were warmed through. Next, I dumped in a 16-oz can of diced tomatoes, and on a whim, I added a partial can of diced pineapple. I seasoned the mix with freshly ground black pepper, thyme, basil, and oregano (no salt because of the salt already in the tomatoes). This was the result:
I served this over whole-wheat couscous, and it turned out perfectly. The tomatoes added just the right amount of richness and acidity to dress up the beans, and the complement of spices imparted a nicely rounded flavor. The added sweetness of the pineapple meshed well with the garlic and contributed just a hint of welcome sweetness. The green beans were flavorful and crisp without being tough; and there wasn't a bit of mushiness. Next time, I might add some bamboo shoots or straw mushrooms as well, or perhaps some diced new potatoes.