Vegan Cabbage Rolls

We had a mini family reunion where my cousin, Katie, lovingly prepared this dish with my veganism in mind. It was SO good. I was going back for seconds and thirds...and so was everyone else. Everyone thought she made a vegan one for me and an animal-based one for everyone else.  Later she confirmed she only made the one plant-based dish. Family members were surprised and said they couldn't tell the difference. 🌱 💚   I brought left-overs home for my husband and kids to try, and they really liked it, too. 

Katie is a talented "some-of-this and some-of-that" cook. So I had to pick her brain for her "recipe." This is as close to it as I can get with the exception of using brown rice, jarred sauce and slightly different seasonings.

This turned out REALLY good (although not as good as Katie's!). This is a keeper. I wonder if a mashed chickpea filling or lentils would be a good substitute for the Beyond Meat. 

10" X 12" baking dish

Ingredients:

1 head green cabbage

3 cups cooked brown rice* ...I cooked rice in veggie stock

1 16 oz package Beyond Meat

1 jar marinara sauce** (about 20 oz...I bought a 32 oz jar but only used 2.5 c)

4 oz sun-dried tomato in oil***, diced (rough cut)

1/4 cup red cooking wine (eg Holland House)

1 cup onion diced

2 cloves garlic pressed (2 rounded T)

2-3 T fresh parsely

1/4 tsp chili flakes

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp rosemary broken

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 T oregano

1/2 T basil

ground pepper

*Katie used parboiled rice (and she cooked the garlic cloves with rice then removed the cloves and chopped them fine)

**Katie made own sauce using 3 pounds of tomatoes: 2# San Mariano, 1# Margherita...Roma ok, too. She added 8oz jar sun-dried tomatoes, 1/2 c red wine, 1/2 sautéed onion, 4 cloves of garlic, rosemary, oregano, basil, s/p, red pepper flakes (seasonings I transferred to the filling instead). She cooked down the tomatoes (slow cook) and puréed them

***Could try dry sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil) and softening them in warm vegetable stock if wanting to lower oil content. (Make own sauce, too, w/o oil instead of jarred).

(Plus cabbage and rice)

Directions:

Cook rice

Core cabbage and cook:

    Instant Pot  Method

    2 C water in pot

    Place cabbage core-side down

        on trivet in pot

    High pressure 7 min

    Quick release

    Remove leaves

    Return tougher leaves to IP and heat for another 4 min

    (Total IP time is 15-25 min if cooking twice).

    Stove-Top Method

    Fill large stock pot halfway with water. Bring to boil. Add cabbage. After a few minutes start peeling     off leaves as they soften and drain them.

Slice off edge of center stem ribs to help roll leaves

(Need 16-18 leaves)

Filling:

In large bowl, add the rice, Beyond Meat, parsley, and seasonings.

Sauté onion and garlic

    -can sauté with oil from jar of sun-dried tomatoes OR

    -sauté using just water or veggie stock

Add the onion mixture to the rice mixture bowl

Sauce:

Pour jarred marinara into bowl and add the sun-dried tomatoes and red cooking wine

Pre-heat 325 degrees.

Assemble:

Lay cabbage leaf on surface in front of you with stem pointing towards you.

Put about 3-5-ish tablespoons of filling in the lower third of leaf.

Roll the stem-side of leaf over the filling and away from you.

As you roll at least one complete turn, fold over the sides of leave towards the center.

Finish rolling. Set aside on temporary plate seam side down.

Roll about 16-18 leaves. Slice remaining cabbage leaves. If there is filling left over, it can be used in next step.

Spoon a thin layer of sauce in baking dish.

Sprinkle the sliced cabbage leaves on top of sauce layer.

Sprinkle the remaining filling on top of the left-over leaves slices.

Place cabbage rolls in dish.

Pour sauce over rolls.

Optional: drizzle vegetable broth or just water along edges of dish

Cover snuggly with foil.

Pour sauce over rolls.

Optional: drizzle vegetable broth or just water along edges of dish

Cove snuggly with foil.

Bake at 325 for 2 hours 45 minutes.

(For the record, Katie baked at 350 for 3 hours)

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Instant Pot Cooking Method Option

Insert trivet. Add 2 cups water for 8QT IP. Layer rolls on trivet with sauce in between. End with sauce on top. Close lid and seal it. Press Pressure Cook/Manual button. 20 minutes High pressure. Natural release for 15 minutes. (Turn on sound to help time things if needed). Then turn the steam release knob to Venting. {Tips from simplyhappyfoodie dot com}

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Something Else I Didn't Know:  The US government subsidizes the meat, dairy, and egg industries with our taxes while not subsidizing fruits and vegetables...except for the plants produced for animal agriculture like corn and soy. This is why it seems like the produce section the grocery stores is so much more expensive than animal products. Lobbyists, advertisers and those at the top of industrialized animal agriculture are making the $$$ at our expense. It's difficult for smaller farmers to switch over to producing healthy foods for us when their income is better by supplying Big Ag.

Good news: We could solve world hunger with less acreage by phasing out animal agriculture and instead supporting farmers in growing fruits, vegetables, grains-for-people, nuts and seeds. We could then replant trees which were cleared to make way for the increased demand for animal agriculture...like the Rainforest which is being destroyed mainly for beef and other livestock. Wild horses would no longer be rounded up and killed for the sake of "grass fed beef." Water would no longer be contaminated from animal agriculture. Air would be cleaner. Diseases like heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, hypertension, hypothyroidism, dementia, some kidney diseases, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, many autoimmune diseases, ++ could be nearly eliminated.

Sage and Onion Lentil Loaf

Gluten free. Low sodium. This is so good and tastes like a holiday! My 14 yo son LOVES this meal and asks for seconds. The recipe is from Dr. Pamela Fergusson, a registered dietician and with a PhD in nutrition. Click here for her website, PamelaFergusson.com Dr. Pamela was there for me when I was trying to figure out how to help my father change his eating habits during and after his stay in the ICU. You can find more of her recipes under "Blog" on her website. I wonder if these would make good "meat"balls. I may try that sometime!

{Additional links for: gravy, mashed potatoes}

Ingredients: (conversions not verified by my kitchen scale, yet)
1 C (227 g) dry lentils (green or brown)
4 C (1 L) vegetable stock

1/2 onion, finely chopped (about 1- 1.25 c or 120 g)
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 carrot, finely chopped (about 7" long or 60 g)
1/3 c (40 g) walnuts, chopped

1/3 c (83 mL) applesauce
2 T (28.3 g) ground flax seed

1 T + 1 T light olive oil (15 mL, 15 mL)
1/2 tsp (2.4 g) garlic powder
2/3 c (151 g) oat flour (see end of post on how to make own) - can use bread crumbs, too
1 tsp (5 g) poultry seasoning (thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, black pepper, nutmeg)
1 T (14 g) fresh sage, minced [or 1/2 tsp (2.4 g) rubbed sage]

for the glaze
1 T (15 mL) mustard
1 T (15 mL) maple syrup
1 T (15 mL) applesauce

5.25'" x 9" x 2.75" (135 x 230 x 70 mm) loaf pan lined with parchment paper or foil
(see photo below). Next time I may just coat bottom with light oil or non-stick spray.

Notes:
-If using water instead of stock, add 1/2 tsp of salt (optional if watching sodium)
-Rosemary or oregano can be nice subs for sage
-If using canned lentils instead of dry: omit vegetable stock and increase seasonings and salt
-If no applesauce: shred an apple (recommend granny smith apple, but any might work)
-To save time: make lentils the day before or prepare loaf the day before and cook it day-of
-The glaze is really good...you can double it, save half to drizzle on after loaf is cooked

Directions:
-Heat vegetable stock, add lentils, cook until soft (about 40-45 min). Check before draining.
-Drain excess stock from the lentils
-Heat 1 T oil in pan or wok and sauté the onion, garlic, carrot, and walnuts
-Stir the ground flax into the  1/3 cup of applesauce. Set aside for 10 min
-Mash lentils with a potato masher until about half of the lentils are mashed (you can use a blender or food processor for this step but it may turn out more-finely mashed)
-Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C)
-Add the sautéed vegetables/walnuts, 1 T olive oil, oat flour, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, and sage to the lentil mixture. Stir
-Add the applesauce/flax mixture to the lentil mixture. Stir
-Fill the loaf pan with the lentil mixture
-Make the glaze by mixing together the mustard, maple syrup, and 1 T applesauce. Spread the glaze over the top of the loaf
-Bake at 350 F for 60 minutes. Remove from oven and let loaf cool for 15 minutes before slicing

Re lining the pan with parchment paper:
just push it in and form the creases. Then
once you begin pouring in the lentil mixture,
the mixture will push the paper down.
(Trim the top).
Next time, I'm going to try without the paper.

Pre-oven

Pre-oven with yummy glaze

Out of the oven and sitting for 15 min
It smells so good!

Making oat flour:

I used old-fashioned rolled oats and a blender. Pictured here is a high-speed blender (NutriBullet). I wanted a rough-flour, so I only blended them for 1 second. For a finer flour, blend a few seconds longer. One cup of oats before blending will reduce the volume as shown below.

Turkeys can be very affectionate and form bonds not only
with their own feathered-family but also with people
and other animals.

Something else I didn't know:

Over 40 million turkeys are artificially bred into existence and held in cramped living conditions each year for our holiday meals. Their transport and slaughter prep cause fear and pain. Because of the high assembly-line rate of their slaughter, not all of them are dead when they begin going through the scalding, plucking, dismemberment, etc.

The good news:

We aren't required to eat turkey, and we don't need to. There are so many other plant-based options (which are healthier than turkey flesh)! And when we choose plant-based options, we are truly showing our gratitude and respect. "If my happiness depends on another being suffering, I need another kind of happiness." Choose ethics over habits.

Edamame (Soy Beans)

These are a nice snack with good protein and fiber. Heat in the bag in the microwave for 3 minutes. Pop the beans out of the shell pod: hold the curved part of the pod towards your mouth, bite into it gently. The side seam will open, and the bean will pop out. Don't eat the pod.

Some people are concerned about soy products having too much estrogen. Some of that fear stemmed from backlash from the dairy industry threatened by soy products like milk, yogurt, cheeses. Soy has phytoestrogen which is not harmful to humans. However, cow milk has mammalian estrogen meant to grow a calf into an adult cow and is harmful to humans. We are supposed to be weaned from milk, and forcing our body to consume breast milk especially from another species over the long-term has negative health consequences.

(Collection: Something Else I Didn't Know)

No sodium also