Contest Entry - VEGGIE-BOARDS "Iron Chef - Battle RICE"

My fellow blogger-friends; You can ignore the following post if you want, it's my contest entry in the "Iron Chef - Battle Rice" Challenge being hosted on my favorite forum "VEGGIEBOARDS".

You can go HERE to read more about it if you're interested.

And if you're a member there, well, of course you can vote for me too!

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Recipe #1.

Patty-Pan Squash Stuffed with Black-Bean and Green Chile Rice

Cut the tops off two large (baseball-size) patty-pan squash.

Scoop insides out leaving 1/2 inch "shell".

Fill with rice filling. (Recipe below).

-- 1 cup cooked brown rice

-- 1/2 cup drained black beans

-- 1/4 cup chopped, roasted green chiles

-- 1/4 cup chopped onion

-- 1/4 cup chopped tomato

-- 3 cloves garlic, pressed

-- 2 Tbsp. fresh minced cilantro

-- 2 Tbsp. your favorite salsa

-- 1/2 Tbsp oil

-- salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder to taste

-- vegan "cheese" as garnish

Saute chiles, onions and garlic in oil until onions are soft. Add tomatoes, salsa, black beans and seasonings. Simmer until tomatoes soften. Add rice and stir until heated thru.

Check seasonings and adjust if needed.

Season inside of squashes with salt, pepper and red pepper as desired. Pack filling into hollowed out squashes. Set squash in baking dish. Top with vegan cheese if desired.

Bake for 45 min. at 375 degrees or until squash is soft - put broiler on for a moment if "cheese' isn't melted. Sprinkle with red pepper and chives to garnish.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Recipe #2.

Hot-and-Sour Soup with Rice Noodles

This isn't exactly the "traditional" recipe but it suits our family, because I usually have the ingredients on hand.

My kids love lots of "slurpy" noodles. There are many kinds of "rice noodles" in the Asian markets but I like the fresh-packaged "Pho" style rice-stick ones best.

Use whatever you can find easily.

-- 4 cups vegetable broth
-- couple cloves garlic, pressed
-- 1-inch galangal or ginger, grated

-- 1/2 a 8 oz. package Pho-style rice-stick noodles, cooked until barely done

-- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce or tamari

-- 1 Tbsp. sugar
-- 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
-- 1 Tbsp. lime juice
-- 1 cup cubed extra firm or Nigari tofu, fried in hot peanut oil until crispy and drained. (I used already-fried tofu from the Asian market, but any firm water-pack tofu will work)
-- handful chopped fresh or dried shiitake mushrooms (if dried, soak them in hot water for several hours) *optional. These are "traditional" but I didn't have them this time, I usually do though, so thought I'd include them in the recipe.
-- handful bean sprouts

-- handful frozen peas

-- 1/2 cup or so cubed zucchini (and/or whatever vegetables you like, or have on hand: cabbage, carrots, spinach, etc.)

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Heat broth in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the cooked rice noodles. Add garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and lime. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and allow to simmer while you add tofu and the vegetables.
Cook 3 - 5 minutes or until veggies are tender-crisp, add cilantro. Do a taste test, adding more soy sauce, lime juice or cilantro (or whatever you like). Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro and lime.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Recipe #3.

Mushroom, Rice and "Cheese" Burgers

This is my favorite way to use leftovers! Don't we all have a couple old-ish mushrooms sitting around and a cup or two of rice from Chinese take out?

In food processor, grind 5 large mushrooms, 1/4 an onion, 1 clove garlic, 1 tsp. soy sauce and a thumb-size chunk vegan "cheese" (or a couple slices or a scoop tofutti cream "cheese").

It should be thick and sticky after blending together. (The "cheese" works as a binder and keeps the end result from being too crumbly).

Add 1/4 cup chopped pecans from Froggy's Grandma's pecan tree (or sunflower seeds, cooked lentils or black beans or whatever you like) and blend just enough to chop coarsely and mix into mushroom "paste".

Scrape mixture into a bowl and mix in enough cooked rice (about 2+ cups) to make a firm "dough" to be shaped into patties or burgers.

Season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic salt, and sage.

Form into manageable palm-sized patties and fry over med. heat in non-stick skillet. (If they stick, use a couple drops oil).

Brown on both sides and serve like a burger with lettuce, pickles, onions, etc.

Yum!