Bok Choy and Mushrooms over Farro

I’ve recently been delving into the role that inflammation plays in chronic diseases - everything ranging from headaches, fatigue and arthritis to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, irritable bowel and asthma.  

Many aspects of your lifestyle can help decrease inflammation.  There are no magic bullets.  The recommendations are the same as they’ve been for wellness for years:  good nutrition, physical activity, at least 7 hours of sleep, practicing mindfulness, avoiding toxins and good interpersonal relationships.  

For the nutrition part, most important is having a broad variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes (lentils, beans, peas, chickpeas and soy products), nuts and seeds.  And making them delicious with herbs and spices.   

Certain vegetables should be included frequently.  These include the dark leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables, the latter meaning cabbage and anything that resembles it.  This would include Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, and bok choy.  Also the alliums or aromatics - garlic and onions of all kinds - leeks, scallions, shallots, and chives.  Varying grains is also helpful.  My favorites these days are farro, barley, bulgur and buckwheat.  These can be used as breakfast cereal, as a side dish, or as a base for a salad or stir-fried vegetables.

Here’s a recipe I tossed together this evening, using some of my favorite components.  Feel free to change any of them.  I was very pleasantly surprised with the results.  It’s a complete meal as written, with many of the fiber sources listed above. 

INGREDIENTS:

Farro -Trader Joe’s 8.8 oz Ten minute farro,  or other grain, to make 4 servings

1 Tbsp EVOO

2 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp chopped or grated ginger

1 pound bok choy, washed and patted dry, stems trimmed, finely chopped

8 oz sliced mushrooms

2 Tbsp unsalted, preferably vegan, butter

2 Tbsp soy sauce

3 scallions finely sliced - some to sauté and some to garnish

1 can (15 oz) Great norther beans (or other beans to your liking)

Toasted sunflower seeds or sesame seeds to cover 

DIRECTIONS:

1) Boil water and cook the grain - TJ’s variety usually takes 6 minutes. 

2) Heat olive oil in pan.

3) Sauté garlic, ginger, scallions and bok choy until greens are wilted

4) Add the butter, soy and mushrooms

5) Add the beans and heat through.

6) Top with seeds of your liking.

Photo 5/7/23

Baked Farro with Tomatoes and Herbs

From The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook Veganomicon, 10th anniversary edition   2017

For vegans, who don't eat cheese, a frequent substitute to get a cheesy taste is nutritional yeast.  The benefit of using this is that it also supplies a good amount of vitamin B12, which is usually found in animal products.  Although supplements are not recommended in general, for  those who eat a broad variety of foods, vegans are encouraged to take B12 vitamins to avoid deficiency.  Nutritional yeast may suffice for part of the daily B12 supply.

Farro is one of my favorite grains - it's chewy and a little nutty. It supplies 6 grams of protein per 1/2 cup serving - and who can stay with 1/2 cup?   I also love wheat berry and bulgur.  In a dish like this, you can use fresh herbs that look like they've seen better days, since they're baked before anyone sees them.  I also had some zucchini left over from our gleaning last week, so I added about 2/3 cup chopped as well.  You know I don't like to waste food!

This smells and tastes delicious.  The mouthfuls with a lemony taste are a little more special, so adding more lemon zest to the topping may be helpful.  I'd like more veggies in it, I think, and probably more herbs.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups uncooked farro
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup finely chopped shallot
1 bay leaf
2 cups vegetable broth, or water
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, with juices
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme or basil
1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste
1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley or fresh basil (I had cilantro, so I used it w/ parsley & basil
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

TOPPING:
1/4 c chopped walnuts
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt
/2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:
1)  Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a 9x13" baking dish with 1 Tbsp olive oil
2) Sort through the farro to remove any broken grains and rinse in a colander.
3) In a large saucepan, over medium, sauce the garlic and shallot in 1 Tbsp of olive oil for 2 minutes to soften the shallot
4)Stir in the farro and the bay leaf and sauce for another minute, then pour in the vegetable broth and the tomatoes.
5) Increase the heat to high and bring to a rapid simmer.  Cook for about 2 minutes.  Turn off the heat and add oregano, thyme and salt.  Remove bay leaf.  Taste and season with a little more salt, if desired, especially if using water instead of broth.  Then stir in the parsley and nutritional yeast.
6) Pour the farro mixture into the prepared baking dish and smooth the top.  Cover tightly with foil and bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until the farro has absorbed almost all of the liquid.
7) Pulse together the topping ingredients, except the olive oil, in a food processor (or pound with a mortar and pestle) into coarse crumbs.
8) Take the casserole out of the oven, remove the foil, and cover the top evenly with the walnut topping.  Drizzle those 2 Tbsp of oil on top and bake for 10 minutes, to lightly brown the top of the casserole.
Let it sit for 10 minutes to allow it to firm up.  Serve warm.  It tastes even better the next day, after the flavors have blended more.  Try with tofu or tempeh for a complete meal.