Edamame Pate Sandwiches with Molasses Oat Bread

I’m trying to remember my first encounter with hippie food. I know that I’d eaten whole wheat bread and home-grown vegetables my whole life, but my first memory of eating food that was created as a countercultural statement was when I was a student at the University of Illinois. There was a little, vegetarian cafe in Urbana called Nature’s Table, and I fell for their garbanzo spread sandwich on whole grain bread. I hadn’t thought about that place in years, but it came back to me as I read a review copy of Hippie Food: How Back-to-the-Landers, Longhairs, and Revolutionaries Changed the Way We Eat. This book looks back at the origins of what we’ve come to call “hippie food” and how many products that used to be hidden away in health food stores became mainstream. It all might have started in the 1950s in California where optimum health and trust in nature became linked to food choices. Soon thereafter, interest in macrobiotic diets were on the rise and a demand for organically-grown brown rice developed. At first, there weren’t always scientific reasons to back up various nutritional claims, but the idea that food grown without harsh chemicals is better for people and the planet began to resonate in health food circles. Just when industrialized farming was taking off, this nascent call for doing things the old-fashioned way arrived. It was interesting to read how the Lundberg family in California became a leader in growing rice organically. Following the interest in brown rice came the return to whole wheat. White bread became a symbol of the industrial, over-commercialized food system. Recipes for baking whole wheat bread at home began circulating. All the while, more health food stores and cafes cropped up around the country. Health food buying coops appeared as well, and I was interested to read about the start of Austin’s own Wheatsville Coop that is still in business today. Speaking of Austin, all of this also led to Whole Foods Market that started here as well. Hippie food often has a negative connotation as bland or boring in its meatlessness, but it’s come a long way. I’m so glad ingredients like all sorts of whole grain flours, brown rice, and organic produce have gained popularity and can be found everywhere. And, I’m thrilled that we now have so many cookbooks and magazines to inspire delicious ways to use those ingredients. This book and memories of Nature’s Table had me craving a vegetarian sandwich on whole grain bread. I’d just seen the Edamame Pate Sandwich in Clean Eating, and I decided to bake my own bread for it. 

When I read A New Way to Bake, I had marked the page for Molasses Oat Bread, and this was a perfect use for it. It’s an easy bread to make too. Boiling water was poured over some oats, and molasses was added. While it sat, more oats were coarsely ground in a food processor and then added to a bowl with whole wheat flour, bread flour, dry milk, and salt. Yeast was added to the oat-molasses mixture before it was combined with the flour mixture. The dough was kneaded and left to rise before being shaped and left to rise again. Before baking, the loaf was scored, brushed with egg white, and topped with oats. For the edamame pate, thawed shelled edamame were pureed with walnuts, mint, green onion, salt, lemon juice, and a little water. I made a few different sandwiches. Some were made with pea sprouts, some had home-grown arugula, and some were open-faced with just tomato. 

The molasses oat bread was a fitting and delicious vehicle for the edamame pate. It’s been too long since I last had that vegetarian sandwich at Nature’s Table, so I would be able to compare the two. But, I do know that Nature’s Table wasn’t using fresh, local tomatoes on their sandwiches back then, and that gave my edamame sandwich a big boost. Is this modern hippie food? Evolved hippie food? Whatever the label for this kind of eating, I hope the concept continues. 

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Rice Noodles with Green Onions and Edamame

What happens when one of my most favorite cookbooks is given a part two to accompany it? I go through many, many Post-it flags marking pages. I’ve been reading and marking pages in Plenty More and looking forward to various vegetables coming into season. I can’t wait for summer to try Dakos made with ripe tomatoes, Corn Slaw, and Eggplant with Black Garlic. After my first glance at this new book, I was worried that this was just the collection of dishes that weren’t quite good enough for the original Plenty. And, I still don’t think that first book can be surpassed, but the more time I spend with Plenty More the more I find to love about it. The Urad Dal with freshly grated coconut, the Polenta Chips with Avocado and Yogurt dipping sauce, and the Taleggio and Spinach Roulade are all competing for the top spot on my list of what to make next. Every dish combines flavors, textures, and colors that are hard to resist. For spring, the Fava Bean Spread with Roasted Garlic Ricotta; the Sprout Salad Part Two with radishes, kohlrabi, carrot, and avocados; and the Rice Noodles with Green Onions and Edamame are bursting with bright, fresh tastes. I can never turn away from a noodle salad especially one that’s this easy to make. 

I learned a trick from Dorie Greenspan for cooking rice noodles in advance and letting them stand until time to serve. You just rinse and drain them after cooking and then toss them with a little oil to prevent sticking. That same technique is employed here. The cooked, rinsed, drained, and oil-tossed noodles are set aside and covered to keep them warm. Next, sliced green onions and serranos were stir fried in a wok, and blanched, frozen edamame were added. The noodles were added to the wok along with sesame oil, black and white sesame seeds, rice vinegar, and chopped cilantro. The dish was served garnished with lime zest and more sesame seeds with lime wedges on the side. 

This was intended to be served warm from the wok which I did, but the cold leftovers from the refrigerator the next day were delicious too. The lime and chiles work their way through the few other ingredients to brighten the whole dish. This book is going on the shelf next its older sibling for now, but neither of them will be left sitting for long. 

I am a member of the Amazon Affiliate Program.

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Black Rice Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

As I read the May issue of Bon Appetit, I noticed one mention after the next of little, old Austin. I thought: what are we, Portland? Clarks Oyster Bar was noted in Dish of the Moment regarding shrimp toast; in a list of uses for hot sauce, the Michelada was inspired by one from a dive bar in Austin; and in the Good Health section, there was a story about our Lake Austin Spa Resort. We are pretty proud of our food scene here in Austin, so it’s nice to see our city being referenced more often in magazines lately. It was in that story about Lake Austin Spa where I found this Black Rice Salad, and the recipe is available online. This is an ideal dish to have on hand as our hot, summer weather settles in. Having a big bowl of this in the refrigerator makes grabbing a healthy lunch easier than ever. I collected some local green beans and tomatoes at the farmers’ market and mixed them with thawed edamame and sliced green onions. The bright red of the tomatoes and greens of the other vegetables look great with the dark, glossy black rice. Toasted walnuts add some protein and crunch. 

Black rice requires about 35 to 40 minutes of cooking, so start that first. Once the rice is tender, you need spread the rice on a baking sheet to let it cool. While the rice cooks, toast the walnuts in the oven, and whisk together the vinaigrette. Lemon juice, white wine vinegar, and honey were whisked together, and olive oil was drizzled in while whisking to complete the vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I like a lot of pepper with lemon. The original recipe doesn’t include cooking the green beans, but I don’t really like raw green beans so I blanched them after cutting them into small pieces. The edamame was thawed, the green onions were thinly sliced, and the grape tomatoes were halved or quartered. Everything was tossed in a large bowl, and the salad was ready for serving. 

You could add a little decadence to this otherwise very healthy dish by topping it with crumbled goat cheese or feta, but it really doesn’t need it. My favorite accompaniment to it was extra tomatoes since they’re so good right now. This dish is just one more thing to love about Austin. 

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Soy-Wasabi Spread

I know it sometimes seems like I cook from a different book every time I prepare something, but most of my books actually get a lot of repeated use. Sometimes I grab a book for reference if I’m making something similar to one of the recipes in it and want to check quantities. And, other times, I can’t seem to stop cooking from the same book. I’ve mentioned several dishes from Power Foods, and I’ve cooked a couple of additional things that didn’t make their way into posts for no fault of their own. Today, I have one more item from that book to share. The day we hiked at Pedernales Falls State Park, I knew we wouldn’t survive on granola bars alone. I also packed a picnic lunch including sandwiches, soy-wasabi spread, and cut vegetables for dipping. It’s true that we’d worked up an appetite for that meal, but the bowl of spread I left at home in the refrigerator was just as good the next day.

Making the spread is an easy matter started by boiling some frozen, shelled edamame and then draining it and placing it in a food processor. Also to the food processor, add some drained silken tofu, lemon zest and juice, Chinese hot mustard, wasabi paste, and salt. Taste after pureeing to decide if you’d like more wasabi or lemon, and that’s it. Garnish with black sesame seeds.

This is a light and flavorful spread brightened by lemon and given a wasabi kick. We used it as a dip for vegetables and pretzels, but I think it would be great on a sandwich or in a wrap too. I’ll probably move on to a different book next, but I’m sure I’ll pick this one up again before long.

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Goat Cheese-Edamame Dip with Spiced Pepitas

This soy bean and cheese dip came from the November issue of Food and Wine and was part of an article about starters for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s actually a great recipe to have on file for year-round use because the ingredients are always easy to locate. I used frozen, shelled edamame which were briefly cooked in boiling water. The cooked, drained edamame were pureed in a food processor with sour cream, goat cheese, lemon juice, garlic, and canned chipotles and adobo sauce. Chopped oregano, which luckily enough grows in my herb garden all year but is skippable if you don't have it, was stirred in once the mixture was smooth.

A crunchy topping was made with pepitas which were roasted with salt, ground coriander, crushed red pepper, and olive oil. When the pepitas came out of the oven, they were tossed with lemon zest and oregano. The lemon zest added a burst of flavor, and I have to remember to try that with roasted nuts in the future. While the pepitas roasted, I baked some pita chips which I cut to size, brushed with olive oil, and sprinkled with a mix of cayenne, ground coriander, ground cumin, salt, and pepper.

It makes a thick dip, but sturdy vegetables would have been great for dipping too. The combination of flavors is interesting with the smooth, mild bean puree and creamy, tangy goat cheese and sour cream and the hit of heat and smokiness from the chipotles. And, the pepita topping adds another layer of flavor and texture. The recipe results in a generous amount of dip, so we still have some leftover. I’m thinking of using it for a sandwich for lunch tomorrow by spreading it in a pita and adding arugula, and now, I’m already looking forward to lunch.


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