Mujadara Stuffed Collard Wraps

Ever have one of those days where you eat nothing but bread, cheese, beer and more bread?

A bagel for breakfast, followed by SEVERAL beers for an afternoon snack (It was my day off... I was camping... no judgements people) followed by a half a loaf of ciabatta bread with more cheese than a person should eat in one sitting.

It happens.

I always feel like crap the next day and bitch about how I'm never eating wheat again and then I inevitably find myself noshing on a sandwich a couple days later.

On those off days when I'm not binging on wheat I'm usually stuffing my face with lots of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.

It's all about balance....

Sometimes It's hard to get all of those greens down, which makes these collard wraps perfect.  Take a raw collard wrap, stuff it with your favorite goodies and roll it up like a burrito. 

Collards are high in vitamins A, B, C, and K and contain high amounts of beta carotine. They are rich in iron and calcium and high in fiber. They help support our body's detoxification system and contain anti-inflamatory nutrients. 

In other words.. alot healther than a hunk of bread.


Mujadara Stuffed Collard Wraps (makes 4-6 rolls)


1 bunch collard greens, in this case the bigger the leaf, the better
1 batch of mujadara 
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
1/2 c. walnuts, toasted and chopped
1 batch miso lemon tahini sauce




Wash and dry your collards. Lay one leaf on a flat surface (shiny side down) and cut out the inner rib, leaving as much of the leaf intact as possible. Spread a tablespoon of miso lemon tahini sauce in the center of the collard, followed by 1/2 c. mujadara, some cucumber and a sprinkling of toasted walnuts. Fold in the sides and roll up like a burrito. Cut in half and serve with additional miso lemon tahini sauce for dipping.

Miso Lemon Tahini Sauce

When it comes down to it... It's all about the sauce.

Think about your favorite condiment.  Go ahead.

Something you could smother on anything and everything...

Ketchup, mayonnaise, hot sauce, mustard... the list goes on and on...

I tend to reach for a nice oil, be it olive, flax, toasted sesame or a nut oil, like walnut or pumpkin seed to drizzle over my food.  Sprinkle some flaky salt (smoked or otherwise) on top and I'm a happy camper.

But... then there are times when I want something with a little more oomph. 

Something I can use as a creamy salad dressing, use as a dipping sauce for steamed vegetables, crudites, or falafel.

Thank sweet baby Jesus for miso lemon tahini sauce.

Tahini makes up the base of this dressing. Tahini is a paste made out of ground sesame seeds and is high in B vitamins and calcium. Add in some raw garlic (immune boosting, anti-inflammatory and anti- bacterial), lemon juice (alkalizing, high in vitamin C) and miso (beneficial bacteria) and you have a pretty dang healthy condiment.

Miso Lemon Tahini Sauce

1/2 c. tahini
2 medium cloves garlic, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
1 T. mellow white miso
1/4 t. sea salt
3-4 T. water

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.  Use more water for a thinner dressing or less water for a dipping sauce.

Miso Udon Soup

Sometimes there is nothing more comforting than a big bowl of piping hot miso soup. 

Miso is a paste made from soybeans, sea salt, koji (a mold starter) and is sometimes mixed with barley, rice or other grains. It is allowed to ferment from three months to three years, which produces an enzyme rich food. Miso is a complete protein, containing all essential amino acids. It aids in digestion and contains beneficial probiotics. It is also high in vitamin B12, protects against radiation, boosts immunity, lowers cholesterol and reduces the risk of developing breast, lung, prostate and colon cancer.

Add some vegetables, mushrooms, a little tofu and some udon noodles and you got yourself a nutrient dense bowl of deliciousness.

You can adapt this recipe to whatever you have on hand.  Sometimes I'll leave out the tofu or udon and pack it full of vegetables like carrot, daikon radish, kale, snowpeas, mung bean sprouts and mushrooms. Seaweeds, like arame or wakame are great and pack a huge nutritional punch. I prefer a lighter miso, like chickpea or mellow white, but when there are so many varieties, why limit yourself to just one?
Get creative and experiment!


Miso Udon Soup (makes one biiiiig bowl)
* the amounts here are all rough estimates. Use as little or as much of each ingredient depending on personal preference.

3 c. water
2 T. miso
1" piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1 clove garlic, peeled and grated
1/2 c. tofu, cut into 1/2" cubes
1/2-1 oz. udon noodles
3 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 scallions, sliced
2 handfuls of baby spinach
crushed red pepper flakes (opt)
chili-sesame oil or toasted sesame oil (opt)

Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil. Add udon noodles and cook until al dente. Drain, rinse under cold water and set aside.
Place the water, grated ginger and garlic in the same pot you cooked your noodles in.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and add the tofu. Let simmer 2-3 minutes.  Put the miso in a small bowl. Ladel 1/2 c. of simmering water into the bowl with the miso and whisk until combined. Add the miso back into the pot and add the shiitake mushrooms. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes, being careful not to let the soup boil (it will kill off all of the beneficial bacteria and nutrients in the miso). Remove from the heat, add the spinach and let sit for a minute to wilt.  When ready to serve, place the udon noodles in the bottom of your biggest soup bowl. Pour the miso soup on top and garnish with scallions.  Add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes and a drizzle of chili-sesame oil (or toasted sesame oil), if desired.

Miso Edamame Dip

I cleaned out my freezer yesterday. I'm definitely not one of those people that could survive the apocalypse based on the contents of their pantry and frozen goods. First of all, I have very limited storage space in my kitchen and second of all, a cluttered fridge sends me into a panic attack.

To my surprise, I found a bag of edamame lodged in the back of my freezer hidden behind the vodka (I tend to keep the more important things where I can see them) and was in the mood for something quick. I really wanted to eat some baguette and was looking for something delicious to smear all over it instead of dipping it in copious amounts of olive oil. My first instinct was to make edamame hummus, but since I gave up all nuts and seeds due to an allergy, a tahini based dip was out.

I pulled out whatever I could find in my fridge that wouldn't make this dip taste like crap.

Edamame.
Miso.
Lemon.
Scallion.
Parsley.
Garlic.

Olive oil, salt and pepper.

Lots of yums.

FYI: Fresh herbs and garlic and lemon always make dips taste delicious.

Short version:
Throw everything (except the oil) in a food processor. Process until incorporated then stream in the oil to make it nice and creamy.

....and the extended version:

Miso Edamame Dip


1 c. shelled edamame
3 scallions, sliced
1 clove garlic, sliced
2 T. lemon juice
1/4 c. parsley, chopped
1/2 T. chickpea miso (or any other light miso)
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. black pepper
2 1/2 T extra virgin olive oil


Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add the edamame. Bring to a boil and cook for three minutes. Drain and place in a bowl of ice water for five minutes. Drain well and transfer to a food processor. Add the scallion, garlic, lemon juice, parsley, miso, salt and pepper. Process until well incorporated, scraping down the sides as needed. With the processor running, stream in the olive oil until the mixture is creamy. Adjust seasonings, if needed.

Serve with some crusty baguette, pita chips or crudites. Party food!

Miso Curry Delicata Squash

Squash. Potatoes. Kale. Tofu. Miso and Quinoa.  Really, this dish couldn't get any better.

I've been working my way through Heidi Swanson's Supernatural Everyday.  So far I've made the bran muffins and millet muffins with great success and when I saw a dish with delicata squash, miso AND kale, I had to jump right on it.

Delicata squash is one of my favorites.

You can scoop out the seeds and stuff it or slice it up and roast it.  The skin is also edible so you don't have to worry about peeling it (bonus!)

Miso is a fermented soybean paste that has a salty taste and buttery texture.  I used a combination of chickpea miso and mellow white miso, which has a less salty, more mellow (hence the name) flavor than some of the darker varieties.

I don't eat a ton of tofu, but it definately has it's place when you want a little texture and an added protein boost.

Red thai curry paste contains aromatic herbs such as lemongrass, thai red chilis and galangal (thai ginger).

Miso is mixed with curry paste and extra virgin olive oil to create a delicious sauce. So. Good.

Miso Curry Delicata Squash (serves 4)
(From Supernatural Everyday by Heidi Swanson)

12 oz. delicata squash
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
scant 1/4 c. white miso
scant 1 T. red thai curry paste
8 oz. extra firm tofu, cut into small cubes
4 medium new potatoes, unpeeled, cut into chunks
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 c. chopped kale, tough stems removed
1/3 c. pepitas, toasted
2/3 c. chopped fresh cilantro
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the middle of the oven.
Cut the delicata squash in kalf lengthwise and use a spoon to clear out all the seeds. Cut into 1/2 inch thick half moons.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, miso and curry paste. Combine the tofu, potatoes, and squash in a large bowl with 1/3 c. of the miso curry paste. Use your hands to toss well, then turn the vegetables onto a rimmed baking sheet and arrange in a single layer.
Roast 25-30 minutes, until everything is tender and browned. Toss once or twice along the way after things start to brown a bit. Keep a close watch, though; these vegetables can go from browned to burned in a flash.
In the meantime, whisk the lemon juice into the remaining miso-curry paste, then stir in the kale until coated.
Toss the roasted vegetables gently with the kale, pepitas and cilantro.

A couple of notes...
I had the vegetables in the oven for 25 minutes, but they weren't getting as browned as I would like.  I transfered them to a pan with a drizzle of olive oil and gave them a quick sautee, maybe 3-4 minutes, till nice and browned.
I served this on a bed of quinoa, but it's totally substantial on it's own.
I could literally just eat the kale tossed with the dressing as a side on it's own.  Raw kale deliciousness!