Cassoulet is a term of French origin for a braised bean dish, usually with tomato sauce and meat. The name comes from cassole, the distinctive oval covered earthenware pot in which the beans are traditionally baked. So cassoulita is a Mexican and, in this case, vegetarian, twist on the original.

I found the recipe in several places, and wasn’t able to sleuth it’s origin. My version is vegan, and I’ve also made a couple of changes based on the contents of my pantry at the moment. So I’ve decided to post the modified recipe without attribution.

Cassoulita Guajillo

1. Soak Beans

• 1 lb. Anasazi beans

Pick over beans, wash, cover with spring water and soak overnight.

2. Cook Beans

• 1 carrot, chunked up
• 1 onion, halved and stuck with 4 whole cloves
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 5 large cloves garlic

Drain and rinse the soaked beans. Put beans and ingredients into pressure cooker. Cover with about a half inch of water. Bring to pressure; reduce heat to low, and cook for 40 minutes.

3. Guajillo Braising Sauce

• 2 Tbs Canola oil
• 2 oz dried Guajillo Chiles, stemmed, seeded, torn into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 c almonds, blanched, chopped
• 4 c Pacific Vegetable Broth
• 1/2 tsp cumin seed
• 4 plum tomatoes, cored, seeded, quartered
• 1/2 Onion, quartered
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 Tbs firmly packed golden brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Heat oil in a large pot over hight heat. Add chiles and almonds. Saute until chiles darken and almonds are golden, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer chilies and almonds to bowl.

Toast cumin seeds in heavy small skillet over medium-low heat until aromatic, about 1 minute. Crush cumin seeds in a small morter.
Add cumin, chili mixture, tomatoes, quartered onion, garlic, sugar and salt to stock. Simmer until all ingredients are very soft, about 45 minutes.

Working in batches, puree stock mixture in blender. Return to pot. Boil until reduced to 3 cups, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated, or can be frozen.)

4. Braise Beans

• 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1 c celery, minced
• 1 c carrot, minced
• 1 c onion, minced
• 1 c fresh (or frozen) corn kernels (about 2 ears)
• 1/4 c parsley, minced
• 1/4 c cilantro, minced
• 1 c Tofutti Soy Sour Cream (garnish)
• 1 Avocado, peeled, seeded, cubed (garnish)
• 1/4 c fresh Cilantro sprigs (garnish)

Saute the chopped vegetables and parsley in oil over medium high to golden, stir in chili sauce, cook for another few minutes. Stir and cook at a lively bubble about 4 minutes, or until thick. Gently stir in beans, removing the big chunks of onion with the whole cloves. Add bean liquid if needed to moisten and simmer about 15 minutes to blend flavors. Taste for seasoning. (I added a pinch of chile powder at this point as the Guajillo’s are quite mild.)

Pour into a large shallow baking dish. Bake 1 hour.

Before serving, garnish the dish with sour cream, avocado and fresh chopped cilantro.

The pickle jar basically provides a closed environment with a laboratory gadget on top that allows the pressure in the jar to vary so you don’t have juice all over the counter. The recipes that come with the unit are all for salt brine pickles. But I wanted to make a salt-free culture like the ones I’ve been getting at the healthfood store that contain only vegetables and a probiotic starter. I found some helpful information on the Body Ecology website, which also sells some very expensive commercial starter.

I decided to compromise on the starter. I went down to Greenstar to see if I could find a probiotic supplement with a bacteria mix similar to the commercial starter. The key bacterium I found on all the ready-made veggie cultures was Lactobacillus plantarum. There was only one product with plantarum in it: PB 8 made by Nutrition Now—60 capsules for about $15.00.

I used one cap this time, but think I might use two next time, just for kicks. That means my starter cost is 50 cents per batch, instead of the $3.82 I would pay for the special starter. When I’ve used up the bottle of pills, I plan to start saving a bit of the brine from each batch as a starter for the next batch. Then I won’t be paying any extra for starter at all.

Of course, I don’t have any way of actually testing my product to know how the bacterial composition might differ from stuff that’s made with the commercial starter. My veggies do already smell and taste delicious, without any sign of spoilage or other badness, and I guess that’s good enough for me at this point.

Pickled Pink Salad

5 cups filtered water
2 capsules PB 8 probiotic supplement, (empty powder into water and discard capsules)
1/2 medium head green cabbage, thinly sliced on the mandoline
1/2 medium head red cabbage, thinly sliced on the mandoline
3 large carrots, thinly sliced on the mandoline
small handful of fresh dill
1 Tbs Juniper berries

Follow directions for Perfect Pickler.

Note: I didn’t pound the cabbage, but probably should have.

I did my shopping at Weggie’s at 2:30am Thursday morning. Shopping in the middle of the night is great from the standpoint of crowd avoidance, but it’s NOT the time to look for fresh produce. The organic green veggie bins were completely empty except for one lonely little head of broccoli. It was in fairly good shape, so I brought it home and googled for a raw broccoli recipe. I found a “Broccoli Primevera [sic]” originally from “Delights of the Garden” by Imar Hutchins, and used that as my starting point.

I like the way the tahini dressing smothers and balances the strong flavors of the broccoli. The biggest change I made was to include the tender portion of the broccoli stem as thin, irregularly chopped bits. I also used sprouted (or at least soaked) sunflower seeds to capture the beneficial enzymes made available that way. I think presentation could be enhanced with a few cherry tomato halves tossed in at the last minute. Even as it was, the outcome was delicious—and I’m not a huge raw broccoli fan, so I think that’s saying something.

Raw Broccoli Primavera

1 bunch of organic broccoli
1/2 cup sprouted sunflower seeds (or crunchy sprout mix)
1/3 cup salt cured black olives, pitted and cut in quarters
1/4 cup red onion
1 large carrot

Dressing
1/4 cup of tahini (raw, uncooked)
1 garlic clove
juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or yuzu vinegar
1/4 cup spring water
2 teaspoons tamari
2 teaspoons nutritional yeast flakes

Garnishes
1 ripe avocado
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Cut broccoli florets from the stalks and cut into small bits, being careful not to crumble more than necessary, place in a large mixing bowl. Rub the broccoli stalks, carrot and onion through a mandoline with a medium cross-cut blade. Put those bits into the bowl as well.

In the blender, blend the dressing ingredients until smooth and creamy. Pour the mixture onto the broccoli and stir until evenly covered with sauce. Add the sprouts.

At this point, the salad will store well in the refrigerator for several days.

Just before serving, add avocado and tomatoes. Makes 5 or 6 cups.

Teriyaki Tofu
Serves 2

1/2 pound tofu
3 Tbs mirin
2 Tbs Tamari
1 tsp fresh ginger juice
1 Tbs light sesame oil
1 Tbs minced scallion for garnish
1 tsp Kuzu or Arrowroot starch

Cut tofu crosswise into three equal slices. To remove excess moisture, wrap slices in a clean, dry kitchen towel and place on a wooden cutting board. Place a 2 to 3 pound weight on top and leave for 20 to 30 minutes.

Cut slices into 1-inch cubes. Lay cubes on a platter or baking pan. Combine mirin, soy sauce, and ginger juice, then pour mixture over tofu slices. Coat tofu on all sides and let marinate 15 to 20 minutes. Turn slices once or twice while marinating.

Heat the oil in a skillet (cast iron or other heavy-bottomed pan works best) over medium-high heat. Drain tofu in a sieve over a dish. Reserve marinade. Fry cubes on one side until lightly browned. (Browning will enhance tofu’s flavor and appearance, but be careful not to burn.) Carefully turn pieces and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove tofu from pan and drain on paper towels.

Add starch to the reserved marinade and deglaze the frying pan, bringing the sauce to a gentle boil. Place tofu pieces on serving dishes. Drizzle the sauce over all. Garnish with minced scallion and serve hot.