|amateur eater|

| salad dressing...you ain't gots to buy it |

2012-01-11T21:35:00.001-05:00

Here's the story....you really don't need to buy salad dressing. I've been making my own for a good long while, but always got messed up because I couldn't figure out how to make/store it in larger quantities. But then - THEN! - I read in a book by Ellyn Satter that if you use 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 salad dressing oil (you know, like canola or vegetable oil) that you can keep it in the fridge and the oil won't get all hard and weird. So....make some salad dressing! Here's how...

- You want a ratio of 2:1 on the oil and acids. So I usually use 1/3 c olive oil, 1/3 canola oil, and then 1/3 cup acids.
- Acids can be anything like lemon juice, lime juice, red wine vinegar, rice vinegar, balsamic vinegar (any kind of vinegar, dig it?)
- Add salt and pepper
- Add some spices/flavor if you want...fresh herbs, dried onion, dried garlic, cumin, paprika, basil, whatever you love. Parmesan cheese is also a nice add on. So is mustard powder or whole grain mustard.
- Taste it. If it tastes like it "needs something" it probably needs some sweetness. Try a teaspoon of sugar, or honey, or brown sugar, or some orange juice, or agave...or whatever you like that's sweet. Oh, JAM is also great! You can get a tasty raspberry vinaigrette by just adding raspberry preserves.

Put it in a jar and shake it up. Keeps in the fridge. Makes you happy. Saves money. Doesn't have a lot of weird crap in it.

| it ain't christmas without sugar cookies |

2011-12-21T21:16:00.003-05:00

I love sugar cookies. I love them when they are chewy and flaky. I hate them when they are dry and crumbly. I don't like they overly sugary...more like a really good shortbread with some extra sweetness added in. But when they are just right? Man, I love them. Favorite kind of cookie - hands down.

I am a crappy baker. I have a hard time following recipes. Also, I hate any kind of baking that involves rolling the dough out (or dough at all, honestly). But my friend Lynn made these one night when we were at her house for dinner. They were SO good. And they seemed to be SO easy. So I gave them a try.

Yep. They are heaven on a plate. I freeze some in hopes of not eating them all at once, but, really - who am I kidding? I just end up eating them frozen. Sigh. The dough is incredibly easy to work with. You probably already have all the ingredients. Just go make some.

German Sugar Cookies
(note: I have no idea if they're really German, but if they are - thank you Germany)

Mix together: until smooth:
1 C butter
2/3 C sugar
½ C light corn syrup
1 t lemon juice
1 egg

Gradually beat in::
4 C flour
¼ t salt

Chill 1 hour. On floured surface roll out dough 1/3 at a time to 1/8 “ thickness. Cut into shapes.
Bake 350 for 10-12 minutes on a greased cookie sheet. These freeze well.

*******
And...a little something-something for the top.

Powdered Sugar Icing
From Christmas-Cookies.com

This flavorful, smooth, slightly translucent, shiny glaze is great for decorating sugar cookies or drizzling over other desserts.
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
food color, if desired

Combine powdered sugar, water, 1 tablespoon butter, corn syrup and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in small mixer bowl; mix until powdered sugar is moistened. Beat at medium speed until smooth, adding additional water if necessary, to reach desired glazing consistency. Tint with food color, if desired.

Note: Originally found on the website of Better Homes and Gardens. We posted it here because it has disappeared from their website, and it's a great recipe.

| mennonites can cook |

2011-12-03T09:11:00.001-05:00

One of our Thanksgiving guests brought some AMAZING peanut bread and, when I asked her for the recipe, proceeded to gift me with the entire awesome cookbook from whence it came. So nice! The book is More-with-Less by Doria Janzen Longacre. It is "recipes and suggestions by Mannonites on how to eat better and consume less of the world's limited food resources."

After wading about five pages into the GINORMOUS section of recipes with lentils, I came across this one for Kusherie (Egyptian rice with lentils). It reminded me of a dish I've had at our local Turkish restaurant, so we gave it a try for dinner last night. Super delish. As I said to my husband, "Wow! Nice work, Egypt!" and he responded, "Yeah, thanks for being the cradle of civilization and all that."

So I give you the recipe and encourage you to buy the book. I'm looking forward to trying more recipes soon. And...as a bonus, the peanut bread recipe follows.

KUSHERIE

RICE/LENTILS: Heat 2 T oil in a heavy saucepan or skillet. Add 1 1/4 cup lentils. Brown them over medium heat about 5 minutes, stirring often.
Remove from heat and allow the oil to cool before adding 3 c boiling water or stock, plus 1 t salt and some pepper (note: if your stock is salty, you may want to omit that salt).
Cook uncovered for 10 minutes over medium heat. Add 1 1/2 c rice (I used jasmine) and 1 c of boiling water or stock.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to low, cover, and simmer 25 minutes without stirring.
SAUCE: In a saucepan, combine 3/4 c tomato paste, 3 c tomato juice/sauce/pureed tomatoes, 1 green pepper (diced), celery leaves (chopped), 1 T sugar, 1 t cumin, 1/4 t cayenne or crushed chilis. Boil sauce then reduce and simmer 20-30 minutes.
BROWNED ONIONS: Saute 3 onions (sliced) and 4 cloves of garlic (minced) in about 2 T oil until brown.
YOGURT: They suggested serving with yogurt. I used plain Greek yogurt and added some lemon juice to it because I had it on hand. I think parsley would also be nice.
TO SERVE: Put the rice/lentils on a platter, then top with sauce and then the onions. Serve the yogurt on the side.

Note: I thought there was too much tomato sauce for the rice mixture. I think I'd reduce it by about 1/3 next time. Also, the recipe says it serves 6-8, but I'd say it's more like 4-6 for entrees.

THREE-GRAIN PEANUT BREAD
Preheat oven to 325.

Combine in a mixing bowl:
1 c white flour
1/2 c quick cook oats
1/2 c yellow cornmeal
1/2 c dry milk powder
1/2 c sugar
3 t baking powder
1 t salt

Cut in 2/3 c creamy peanut butter. Blend and pour in 1 egg and 1 1/2 c milk. Mix well. Place in greased and floured 9x5'' loaf pan. Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pan.

Note: this bread freezes well. It's also fantastic toasted with strawberry jam.

| white chili with corn dumplings |

2011-11-17T18:32:00.001-05:00

When we lived in Texas, a friend introduced me to the joys of white chili. Since becoming a vegetarian, though, I haven't had any because I've never seen a recipe without chicken and haven't been inspired to create one of my own. Until this week....nom nom nom.

Usually, I like white chili served over pasta, but we just had pasta earlier this week, so I decided to mix it up with some dumplings instead.

WHITE CHILI with CORN DUMPLINGS
1) Heat some olive or safflower oil in a stock pot. Add a couple cloves of minced garlic and a small onion, chopped fine. Cook until it starts to soften.
2) Add your favorite veggies - probably a couple cups. I used some frozen veggies that I had on had - some "soup mix" (green beans, peas, potatoes, okra, corn) and also some frozen green peppers.
3) Add a can of creamed corn. Add a large can of diced green chiles (about 7 oz, I think).
4) Add your spices. I used a couple tablespoons of cumin and about a teaspoon of oregano.
5) Add a can of drained white beans.
6) Next comes some veggie broth. I don't know how much I used. Probably 2-4 cups.
7) Simmer until everything is looking cooked.
8) Make up your dumplings. I used 1 1/2 cups white flour, 1/2 cup corn meal, 1 heaping tablespoon of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, and about a cup of whole milk. I also added about a teaspoon of smoked paprika because I heart smoked paprika. Stir with a fork. It should be about biscuit consistency.
9) Bring your soup up to a light boil and then drop the dumpling mixture on by the heaping tablespoon. I covered the whole top of the pot with dumplings cause that's how I roll.
10) Cover the pot and let the dumplings cook for 15 minutes.
11) I served our soup with some guacamole, grated pepper jack cheese, and lime juice on top. I would have added cilantro if we'd had any on hand.

Enjoy!

| my favorite weird recipe |

2011-11-17T12:15:00.001-05:00

I am lucky to have several friends who are awesome vegetarian cooks. My friend Lynn gave me her Word file of favorite recipes a few years ago and whenever I'm lacking inspiration, my husband and I look through it and find new recipes to try. This one, for "black bean pasta", has been a favorite of ours for a long time. When I first read it, I thought it sounded weird. I never would have tried it, but for Lynn's note "this is my favorite recipe!" Well, I knew she had great taste, so we tried it, despite it's bizarre flavor combos. Man, am I glad we did. Our one-year-old loves it, too.

Lynn's Black Bean Pasta

In dry skillet, brown 1 T sesame seeds

REMOVEfrom heat (or the seeds will pop) and add

3 T soysauce (lite)

3 Tbalsamic vinegar

Juice of1 lemon

2 T driedparsley or cilantro

1T minceddried garlic

1 Tminced dried onion

½ t hotpepper flakes or 1 t hot sauce

1 canblack beans (drained and rinsed)

Toss with8 oz angel hair pasta

| tasty lentil side |

2011-10-20T18:23:00.002-04:00

I don't mean to brag, but I just made the best lentils my mother-in-law has ever had. No, a correction. The lentil soup at our local Turkish restaurant has the best lentils she's ever had, but these come in second. Another correction. I do mean to brag because these lentils were off the chain.

We were having zucchini, basil, and cream pasta for dinner and I needed to throw together a side dish with some protein. I first thought of white beans, but we were out, so it had to be lentils. Here's what I did.

BUTTERED LENTILS WITH ROOT VEGGIES
1) I boiled about 1/2 cup of lentils in an ample amount of water with a little veggie stock base and about 1/4 cup of finely chopped herbs. I used lovage, because we just got some in our CSA. But you could use any ole herb that sounds good. I let them boil for about 15-20 minutes, until they were soft, but not falling apart. (P.S. Lovage is amazing. It tastes a lot like celery leaves, but better).

2) I sliced baby carrots into quarters, lengthwise. I did the same with some long radishes from the CSA. I'd say there was about 2 cups of veggies, in total.

3) I headed 3 T of butter in the cast iron skillet. Once it was hot, I added a couple cloves of garlic, sliced thin. I let it soften, then added the veggies.

4) I put the radishes face-down and the carrots just however. I let it cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the radishes started to blister. Then I stirred it all up and let them finish cooking until the veggies were al dente.

5) I added about a tablespoon of chopped parsley and about a tablespoon of lemon juice.

6) I took the lentils out of their water with a slotted spoon and transferred them into the butter/veggie mix. Stir, stir, and serve.

Heavenly.

| rosti = thank you switzerland |

2011-10-09T19:39:00.002-04:00

My mother-in-law, who is a big-time genealogist told me a few years ago that I'm Swiss. And after our dinner tonight, I have to agree. These are definitely my people.

I recently received The Earthbound Cook by Myra Goodman. I have to say that, in general, I'm underwhelmed by the book. It would be a good one for people who know almost nothing about cooking or very little about eating in season. But if you're already into that kind of thing, there's not a lot new here. It's certainly no Moosewood. That being said, there are a few recipes that I definitely want to try and, tonight, we started with Rosti.

Rosti (pronouced RAW-stee, ROOSH-tee, RO-sti, or REU-shti) is basically the best hashbrown potatoes you've ever eaten. No, seriously. Goodman suggests serving them with sauteed veggies and a fried egg on top. And I would heartily agree. I also added a dollop of Greek yogurt with lemon juice. It was fan-freaking-tastic.

Thank you, Switzerland.

POTATOES ROSTI
I'm going to tell you my version of the recipe - which was actually pretty close to her instructions

1 to 1 1/4 pounds russet potatoes, shredded (about 3 cups)
1/2 medium onion, shredded (about 1/2 cup)
4 oz Gruyere cheese, grated
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil (I used safflower instead)

1. Shred your potatoes and onion. Put them in cold water to soak for 5 minutes. While they're soaking, grate your cheese and set it aside.
2. Drain the potato mixture and then rinse it again to get all the starches off. Drain and press hard into your colander to remove as much water as possible.
3. DON'T SKIP THIS STEP: put the potatoes into a clean and dry kitchen towel. Wrap tightly and squeeze out as much water as you are able. Then squeeze again.
4. Heat the oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Melt the butter in it. You want a 12 inch skillet, preferably cast iron.
5. While that's heating, mix the potatoes, cheese, flour, salt and pepper in a dry bowl.
6. Dump the potatoes into the pan, press it down into an even layer with your hands. Cover and cook for 6 minutes. Remove the cover and cook 6 more minutes.
7. Use a spatula to loosen the bottom of the Rosti from the pan. It should be all hard and glorious on the bottom, but you've got to get it unstuck before you do the next step.
8. Slide the Rosti onto a plate, then flip it back onto the skillet so you can cook the other side. Cook, uncovered about 8 more minutes.
9. Transfer to a serving plate, top with sauteed veggies and a fried egg. Cut into wedges and serve. This will probably serve 3 people if you do 3 eggs.

For the veggie saute, Goodman recommends 1/2 an onion, 1 cup sliced mushrooms, 5 oz baby spinach and a seeded tomato. I didn't have those, so what I did was 1/2 an onion, 1 cup mushrooms, about a cup of chopped kale, and about 1/2 cup of diced yellow squash. No tomatoes around here anymore, so I added about a cup of diced canned tomatoes. It was super tasty. You could do any kind of veggies you like, really.

ENJOY!

| gnocchi to die for |

2011-10-02T18:55:00.002-04:00

If you like to cook (or even just like to think of yourself as a cook but never really have time to do it) you NEED to have a subscription to Cook's Illustrated. It's like having a little bit of Alton Brown delivered to your doorstep each month...minus the wonky personality and weird camera tricks. This magazine has tons of brilliant tips and the bulk of each issue is devoted to taking recipes for "standards" and perfecting them. The most recent issue had recipes for roasted chicken, pot-roasted pork loin, vegetable lasagna, and chocolate pudding.

There's nothing earth-shattering about the choices of dishes...what's amazing is the end product when you cook them. Each article tells how they've painstakingly gone through various iterations of the recipe, trying out old ones, tinkering, and having lots of taste tests. The final recipe is ALWAYS perfection.

Now that's I've extolled the magazine's virtues, I want to share a recipe from the latest issue. If you try this and like it, or if the magazine just sounds good, BUY IT NOW. They are not paying me to say this. I am paying them to receive their magazine.

GNOCCHI FROM COOK’S ILLUSTRATED (Sep./Oct. 2011)

(note: these aren’t the exactinstructions. I’m paraphrasing. Also, I redid the original portions – doubled it)

Makes about 6 entree-sized portions.

For the gnocchi:

4 pounds russet potatoes

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

8 ounces (1 ½ cups plus 2 T)all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting

2 teaspoons salt (plus 1 T forthe boiling water)

For the sauce:

8 T butter (1 stick)

2 small shallots, minced (I usedgreen/spring onions, b/c that’s what we had)

2 t minced fresh sage

1 T lemon juice

1) Make the gnocchi dough/pieces:

- You’re going to need to bake your potatoes. To savetime, microwave them for 10 minutes (after piercing with a fork) and then bakethem at 450 for 18-20 minutes.

- Remove them from the oven and peel them right away(hold them with a hot pad or dish towel). Throw away the skins.

- Run the potatoes through ricer or a food mill ontoa rimmed baking sheet. Let them cool for about 5 minutes.

- Transfer just 6 cups (32 ounces) of the potatoes toa large bowl. If you have extra, don’t use them b/c you want your proportionsto be correct. Add the two eggs – stir gently with a fork until just combined.

- Sprinkle the flour (all of it) and the salt (2 t ofit) onto the mixture. Stir until no large dry pockets of flour remain.

- Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead untilit’s smooth but still slightly sticky, about 1 minute. Dust the counter asneeded with more flour.

- Divide the dough into 16 pieces of the same size (abench cutter is handy). Roll each piece into a snake that’s about ½ inch indiameter. Use a fork to cut the snakes into ¾ inch long dumplings.

- To shape the gnocchi you need to roll it on thefork tines. Turn the fork with the tines facing down. Press each dumpling against the tines with your thumb, thenroll off down the tines to create the indentations.

- Place the formed gnocchi onto pieces of parchmentpaper. You’re going to want four pieces of paper to cook them in four batches.

2) Make the sauce:

- First, get a big pot of water boiling on the stovewith the tablespoon of salt in it.

- In a large skilled, heat the butter over med-highhigh, stirring occasionally. When the butter is browned and has a nice, nuttyaroma, turn it off (about 90 seconds of cooking).

- Add in the shallots/onions and the sage to the hotbutter and stir. Wait about a minute, while stirring, then add the lemon juice.

- Cover the sauce to keep it warm.

3) Cooking the gnocchi:

- Once your water is boiling, it’s time to cook thegnocchi. This is the easiest/fastest part!

- Add ¼ of your gnocchi pieces (you can just slidethem off the parchment paper into the water). Give it one quick stir, thenleave them alone until they start to float (about 90 seconds). Remove with a slottedspoon and transfer directly into the sauce. Try to drain off the watercarefully as you move them.

- Repeat with the other three batches. Toss thegnocchi and sauce to combine. Serve. Die and go to heaven.

| fall = applesauce |

2011-09-26T08:35:00.001-04:00

If you're lucky enough to live in a part of the world where apples are abundant in fall, you need to make homemade applesauce. It's SO easy and you will never want to go back to regular applesauce again.

As with most of my "recipes" I'm not really so good on measurements - sorry.

STOVETOP APPLESAUCE

5-6 medium/large apples (baking-type apples work best, but anything is fine)
water
1/4 sweetener (brown sugar, sugar, honey are all nice choices)
1-2 T lemon juice
cinnamon to taste

If you like chunky applesauce, you don't even have to peel them. For this method, you want to dice them up pretty small (like quarter-sized chunks) because the peels will not get smaller in the cooking process (so if you put in giant slices, you will have huge pieces of peel in there).

If you want a smoother applesauce or just don't want peel, then peel your apples. For this method, you can leave the apple pieces really big (like 1/4 of an apple).

Put the apples, sweetener, lemon juice, and cinnamon in a saucepan. If you're feeling really decadent, add a hunk of butter. Fill with water until it's just about to the top of the apples.

Cook on low heat (simmering) until the apples are soft. Maybe this is about a half-hour? I'm not sure because I'm always doing something else.

When they're good and soft, mash them up with a potato masher (or big fork, or mixer, or blender).

Eat this stuff WARM. Have you ever had warm applesauce? So delicious.

Side note: one of my favorite things to put in applesauce is Cool Whip. Sounds weird, I know, but it is so not weird when you eat it.

| tempeh BLTs |

2011-09-26T08:29:00.001-04:00

This was actually my first trip into the world of tempeh. The bakery down the street makes a mean tempeh burger, so I've definitely eaten a lot of tempeh, but never cooked with it before. I found this recipe from Kiwi Magazine and it is definitely tasty. Now, don't get me wrong, it doesn't actually taste like BLTs (at all) but it is really good.

TEMPEH BLTs (from Kiwimag.com)

1/2 CUP SOY SAUCE
1/4 CUP PLUS 1 TABLESPOON SAFFLOWER OIL, DIVIDED
¼ CUP PURE MAPLE SYRUP
¼ CUP APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
2 TABLESPOONS TOMATO PASTE
2 TEASPOONS LIQUID SMOKE
2 CLOVES GARLIC, MINCED
2 8-OUNCE PACKAGES TEMPEH, EACH SLICED INTO 8 STRIPS
FOR THE SANDWICHES

8 SLICES WHOLE WHEAT BREAD
2 LARGE TOMATOES, SLICED
8 LETTUCE LEAVES
½ CUP VEGAN MAYONNAISE

In a large baking dish, add the soy sauce, ¼ cup of the safflower oil, maple syrup, vinegar, tomato paste, liquid smoke, and garlic. Whisk to combine and add the tempeh, tossing to coat. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or up to overnight.

Heat a wide skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon safflower oil and the marinated tempeh (you can refrigerate the marinade to reuse for up to a week). Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, flip, and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, until both sides of the tempeh are browned and crisp. Transfer the tempeh to a plate.

Assemble the sandwiches: Place four slices of bread on a work surface and spread each with 1 tablespoon mayonnaise. Place four slices of the tempeh on each slice of bread, then top with tomato slices and 2 lettuce leaves. Spread the remaining four slices of bread each with 1 tablespoon mayonnaise, then use to top the sandwiches. Slice each sandwich in half and serve, or wrap tightly in foil and pack for lunch.

| butternut lasagna |

2011-09-18T20:16:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago, my dear facebook friends convinced me that the only way to make a decent mac n' cheese on the stovetop was to start with a roux and proceed through a sort of bechamel situation. I'm really just throwing around terms, here. I don't know what I'm talking about. But I made it up as I went and the mac n' cheese turned out fabuloso.

Today, a facebook friend was asking for good butternut squash recipes and I was remembering with great fondness a butternut squash lasagna that my MIL has made for us a few times. Not having the recipe, but having a serious craving, I set about to make some version of it myself. Armed with my newfound ability to do the whole roux/bechamel/cheese sauce thing, I rocked it out pretty hard core.

BUTTERNUT LASAGNA
Note: This is vegetarian, but if you're into meat, I'd recommend some chicken.
Note part deux: No, this is not technically a lasagna...but it's so much easier to work with and I really like the consistency that happens with the egg noodles. If you must have a true lasagna, then I'd recommend layering the noodles, sauteed vegs, cheese sauce, and squash puree separately.

8-10 oz uncooked egg noodles

16 oz of butternut squash, pureed(either microwave or roast and then puree)

1 onion, diced

small bunch of broccolini, choppedfinely (or about 2 cups of chopped broccoli)

8 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawedin the microwave

2 large carrots, grated

1 large or 2 small zucchini,grated

4-5 mushrooms, diced small

1 head of garlic, minced (yes,one HEAD, not one clove)

gobs and gobs of olive oil

a little flour

some whole milk or cream

all your favorite cheeses – I usedabout a cup of ricotta, a cup of parmesan, and a cup of mozzarella

salt and pepper

dried Italian seasoning

1) Preaheat your oven to 350 and set your milk on thecounter to warm it up.

2) Boil your noodles very al dente (I cooked mine forjust 5 minutes), drain, and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

3) Prep all your veggies, including the squash puree.If you’re lucky enough to have a grocery store that carries frozen pureedsquash, you’re in real luck. We used to, but then they punked out on us.

4) Put about a tablespoon of olive oil into a saucepan(or, to save pans, just use the stockpot you did your pasta in since it’s nowsitting out). Add about two cloves of garlic, minced. Saute the onions untilthey start to soften, then add the broccolini and sauté a few more minutes,then the grated carrot and zucchini and mushrooms. Throw in a little S&Pand the Italian seasoning. Turn off the heat when they start to look cookedish.

5) In a saucepan, heat about ¼ cup olive oil with theremaining minced garlic. Inhale deeply. When it’s warm, add about 2-3tablespoons of flour, whisking constantly, until it starts to turn a goldencolor. Slowly add in your milk, about a cup at a time, stirring constantly. Thesauce will start to thicken. Add more flour and more milk until you end up withabout 2-3 cups of gravy-consistency goodness. Add some pepper. Add in yourparmesan and mozzarella. Stir. Taste it and be happy.

6) Stir the butternut puree and ricotta into the sautéedveggie mixture. Add in the cheese sauce, reserving about a cup for the top ofyour lasagna. Add in the cooked egg noodles.

7) Dump the whole mixture into a big casserole. Topwith the remaining cheese sauce and some sprinkles of parmesan. If you add somecracked pepper and Italian seasoning to the top, it’ll be prettier.

8) Bake for about 30-45 minutes. Let it rest for a fewminutes before cutting into it.

| squash time |

2011-09-18T08:27:00.001-04:00

A friend of mine has fallen in love with squash and wanted some non-soup, non-just-bake-with-butter-and-brown sugar recipes, so here are a couple of mine. What are yours?

********
This first one I made up a couple of years ago when we had way too much squash in our CSA.

BOWL OF FALL GOODNESS

3 medium sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons butter

½ cup orange juice

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon corn syrup (ormaple)

½ cup raisins

½ cup walnuts, chopped

Cinnamon and nutmeg

Salt and pepper

1 can black beans, rinsed anddrained

Quick cook barley

Combine all ingredients exceptthe black beans and barley in a large casserole. Bake at 350-375 until thesweet potatoes are tender (about 30-45 minutes). Meanwhile, cook up about 4servings of quick cook barley according to the package directions. Once thepotatoes are done, add the can of black beans and stir. Serve the potatomixture over the barley.

********

I think I found this recipe for butternut squash fries from a WW friend. I never wrote it down, but it goes something like this:

BUTTERNUT SQUASH FRIES

1. Get a large butternut squash with a long neck. Cut the neck into long, thing fry-shaped pieces.

2. Toss the pieces in a mixture of your favorite oil, salt, pepper and any spices you want. I enjoy cumin, but I bet it would also be fun with cinnamon-sugar.

3. Bake just as you would oven fries. Spread thin on a sheet and bake at 450ish until they're crispy, tossing and turning every 15 minutes or so.

********

I've never made this one, but it sounds amazing. A friend emailed it to me, so I apologize for not knowing what website it's from.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH BREAD PUDDING

Ingredients

· 2 tablespoons olive oil, plusmore for the baking dish

· 2 medium onions, chopped

· 1 1/2 pounds butternut squash(about half a medium squash)—peeled, seeded, and cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces

· kosher salt and black pepper

· 2 tablespoons chopped freshsage

· 6 large eggs

· 2 cups whole milk

· 3/4 pound soft French orItalian bread, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 7 1⁄2 cups)

· 1/2 pound Gruyère, grated (2cups)

Directions

1. Heatoven to 375° F. Oil a 2 ½- to 3-quart baking dish.

2. Heatthe oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook,stirring frequently, until beginning to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the squash,season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper, and cook, tossingfrequently, until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes more. Stir in the sage. Let coolfor 10 minutes.

3. Ina large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and ¼ teaspoon each salt andpepper. Add the bread, cheese, and squash mixture and toss to coat.

4. Transferto the prepared baking dish and bake until golden brown and set, 55 to 60minutes.

Tip

Whenpeeling a butternut squash, make sure you remove enough layers to get down tothe bright orange interior. If you don’t and leave an underlayer of skin, the squashcan cook tough instead of tender.

*******
Okay, this is more of summer squash, but still delicious. I got this from friends who got it from an Atkins Cookbook.

SPAGHETTI SQUASH

2 pounds spaghetti squash --halved lenghtwise

4 teaspoons olive oil

8 ounces zucchini -- 1/2 dice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 medium red onion -- thinlysliced

4 medium tomato -- diced

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cook the squash in the microwave.Saute the onions in half the olive oil for 3 minutes. Add zucchini and cook 4-5minutes until zucchini starts to brown. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper. Reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes.

Take squash out of shells. Tosswith oil. Serve veggies on the squash.

Garnish with parmesan and lemonslices.

*******

Also, my MIL has a recipe that I don't have but could be re-created with some creativity. It's a squash lasagna. Basically, you want to puree your favorite cooked winter squash and then lasagna it between layers of pasta using a white (alfredoish) sauce instead of red. Add in a few other veggies that you enjoy (mushrooms, onions, spinach), but not a not. Keep the squash up front. Use whatever kind of topping cheese you enjoy....mozz, parm, asiago, etc.

*******

And, two from my archives:

Mac n' Cheese with hidden squash

Risotto is awesome with squash or cooked pumpkin

| a tale of two fruit dips |

2011-09-11T21:35:00.002-04:00

This is one of those recipes that sounds totally bizarre and gross when you read it....and yet, when you make it, turns out super tasty. I think I first found it on the WW website or in one of their cookbooks. Every time I slice an apple, I get a craving for it. So delish.

WEIRD-SOUNDING FRUIT DIP
Mix together about 2-3 T of plain nonfat yogurt, 1-2 T of light mayo (yes, that's right, friends), and a dash of cinnamon (again, I'm not kidding you).

Stir well. Add a dash of lemon juice if you'd like.

Dip fruit into it....you know apples, grapes, bananas, etc. This makes a single serving (ish).

**********
And, lest you think I only have weird fruit dip recipes, here's one that actually sounds tasty from the get.

NOT-WEIRD-SOUNDING FRUIT DIP
1 package (8 oz) of strawberry cream cheese
1 small jar of marshmallow fluff

Mix together well. Inhale. Or eat on fruit.

| pita pizzadillas |

2011-08-27T12:32:00.000-04:00

This idea is so incredibly simple, I feel kind of dumb posting it. But, hey, I'm 30 years old and never thought to do it before today, so maybe it will help you out, too. I hereby christen this creation Pita Pizzadilla. I'm sure, much like when I "invented" ice skates as a child by thinking about tying butter knives to the bottom of shoes, someone else has already invented this.

Here's what you do:

Open up a split pita half. Spoon in some marinara or pizza sauce.
Add some chopped veggies/toppings. I used green pepper and black olives, cause that's what I had on hand.
Stuff full with shredded mozzarella cheese (or your favorite pizza cheese - perhaps provolone for those of you from OH-IO?).
Lay flat on a cast iron skillet (or whatever you would normally make a quesadilla in). Put a panina press on top (or don't, if you don't have one).
Cook until all melty and starting to get crispy on the outside.
Take off heat. Let cool for a couple minutes. Slice into 3-4 triangles.

It tastes like what I imagine a Hot Pocket would take like if Hot Pockets tasted good.

| potato muffin paradise |

2011-08-23T10:21:00.000-04:00

I don't usually do a straight-up link to a recipe, but this is just too good to pass up. Tiny Mushroom-Potato Muffins at Vegelicious. They shall henceforth be rechristened "tiny potato pieces of heaven."

I made these for some friends as an appetizer/bread situation when we were having pasta for dinner. I made a non-vegan version (used real butter and real eggs). They were perfect in every way. Easy to make, fluffy, savory, fancy-looking, delectable.

I think one of my favorite things about them is the idea of what else could be done. The author mentions throwing in sun dried tomatoes or olives. I could also see adding some parmesan cheese. Or roasted red peppers. What else can you think of? I also wonder what might happen if we did them with sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes. Or a root vegetable mash? I love parsnips. I have a feeling I'm going to be making these quite a few times in the future.

For the record, I made a few that were regular-sized muffins (instead of mini) and they turned out great, too.

These are an awesome "bread substitute" because they're mostly vegetables (the ratio of potatoes to flour is 5 cups potatoes to 3/4 cup flour). An awesome way to get your veggies on.

Just make some. You won't regret it.

| classic midwestern yumminess (a.k.a. Macaroni Salad)

2011-08-16T20:25:00.000-04:00

This recipe pretty much sums up my basic cooking process, which is:
1) Get a hankering for something
2) Read 3-5 recipes on the internets
3) Don't follow the recipes

Midwestern Macaroni Salad

(serves 6-8)

12 oz uncooked elbow macaroni

1 red onion, soaked in water for 5 minutes and then drained

1 c celery, diced

1 red pepper, diced

diced cheese (I like Colby jack)

small can of sliced black olives (drained)

3/4 c frozen peas, thawed

½ can kidney beans, rinsed

1 cup mayo

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

3 T yellow mustard

dill

celery seed

salt and pepper

1) Boil macaroni. Prep other ingredients.

2) Drain macaroni and then throw in a few ice cubes to stop the cooking and get it cold.

3) Mix the mayo, sugar, vinegar, mustard, and spices in a big bowl. Then add everything else.

4) Put in the fridge for a few hours before you eat. Yummers.

| sneaky broccoli cheese rice casserole

2011-08-13T18:26:00.000-04:00

So...I had an immense craving for a broccoli-cheese-rice casserole. While I was picking up ingredients at the store I thought, "Hmmm....this would be a lot better if I could figure out some kind of protein to add." Obviously, chicken would be most folks' go-to source for this recipe, but since I'm a vegetarian. So I had to get more creative. The recipe turned out to be awesome (though my husband did say, "You're just making that for YOU to eat, right?").

SNEAKY PROTEIN CHEESY RICE CASSEROLE WITH BROCCOLI
1) Cook about 4 cups of rice. I used jasmine, but use whatever kind you like.
2) While it's cooking, chop up about 3-4 cups of broccoli pretty small and nuke it for 3-4 minutes in your microwave.
3) In a big bowl mix together the following:
- one package of silken tofu, pureed (I used a handheld potato masher to do this)
- one can of condensed broccoli cheese soup
- a cup of milk
- 2-3 tablespoons of melted butter
- salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
- cheese: I probably used about a cup of grated sharp cheddar and another 1/2 cup of shredded parm
4) Smash up some crackers for a topping. I used the handheld potato masher for this, too. Who knew those things were so handy?
5) Combine the rice and broccoli with the creamy mixture in the big bowl, then pour into a casserole dish. Top with the crushed crackers. Bake for about 40 minutes at 350. Enjoy your sneaky protein treat.

| heavenly zucchini pasta |

2011-07-24T17:47:00.000-04:00

I saw this article on NPR a few weeks ago about the "glorious pasta of summer." I thought the recipes looked super tasty, so I decided to try the zucchini and basil one first. HOLY SMOKES. This is amazing. The zucchini flavor is so sweet and delicate and the texture is amazing. The sauce ended up tasting like the best alfredo I've had in a restaurant (and I didn't even use the heavy cream, just whole milk).

For once, I didn't mess around with the recipe and it was totally worth it. So good just as written.

We didn't use the pancetta, obviously, but if you're into that kind of thing I'm sure it would be delicious with that, too.

| peanut butter & jelly muffins |

2011-07-24T17:02:00.002-04:00

I got this recipe from a friend of a friend on facebook. Man, I love me some facebook. If for no other reason than these fabulous muffins. My toddler and I just shared one (okay, two) hot out of the oven. I'm thinking they'll freeze well, too. You know, if they make it that far before I eat them all.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins
Consider these muffins a breakfast version of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Don't use a natural-style peanut butter in this recipe; it won't have enough sugar or fat to help the muffins rise.
YIELD: 1 dozen (serving size: 1 muffin)

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (about 3 1/2 ounces)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups fat-free milk
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup egg substitute
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray
1/4 cup strawberry jam
Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, sugars, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk and next 4 ingredients (through vanilla); add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Fill each cup half full with batter. Spoon 1 teaspoon jam into each cup. Spoon remaining batter on top to cover jam. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool on a wire rack.

| move over, hummus |

2011-07-15T14:03:00.000-04:00

I got this FABULOUS white bean dip recipe from a friend who somehow manages to mother a baby, a preschooler AND write a great blog about natural living. I've tried a lot of white bean dip recipes before (correction: I've made up a lot of white bean dip "recipes" before) but this is FAR superior to any other. I love the addition of sun dried tomatoes and capers. And I have to say, it's a great reminder of the most critical bean dip rule....add more olive oil than you think is possibly necessary. You won't regret it.

Enjoy the dip....and head on over to Contentedly Crunchy to check out her other great food processor recipes.

WHITE BEAN DIP

Ingredients:
2 pint jars of great northern beans (or 2- 15oz cans), rinsed
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 jalapeño pepper
1/2 c. olive oil
1/4 c. sun-dried tomato (preferably packed in oil, otherwise plunk them in boiling water for a bit)
2Tbsp drained capers
Juice of 1 lime
1tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp dried oregano (or 2Tbsp fresh)
1/2tsp fresh-ground pepper
salt, if you desire (I don't find it necessary, since the capers are pretty salty, plus that whole low sodium diet thing)

Instructions:
-Preheat the oven to 400°
-In a small oven-safe dish (I usually use a pie pan or a Pyrex container), toss the garlic cloves and the whole jalapeño with 2Tbsp of the olive oil and place in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the jalapeño is soft and light golden brown.
-Slice the jalapeño in half and remove the stem and seeds
-Fit a food processor with the metal blade attachment, add all the ingredients to the bowl of the processor, and puree until smooth.

| homemade crackers |

2011-07-10T14:43:00.000-04:00

I have a toddler who would eat nothing but crackers and cheese, if given the option. So I found myself trying to think of ways to make the crackers more nutritious and did a little googling. I figured there had to be a way to sneak in some veggies. I found this recipe on a blog called Blommi.

I made them and they are awesome. Insanely tasty. My only complaint is that they're pretty time consuming (you know, as compared to just buying a box of crackers). I doubt that I'll be making ALL my own crackers anytime soon, but it's nice to have this as an option. These would be great for entertaining, too. I'm posting the recipe below and then my edits afterwards. Enjoy!

Spinach Crackers Recipe
1/3 cup of frozen loose leaf spinach
1/4 cup oil (I use olive oil)
1/2 tsp kosher salt ( or powdered chicken bouillon, like Goya)
1 1/2 tbs water
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Puree the spinach, oil salt, baking powder and water in a food processor or blender.

Combine the flour and the spinach mixture, either in the food processor, or a mixing bowl.
Knead the dough and form it into a nice ball.

Roll the dough out on a well floured surface. The dough should be rolled out very thin (like pasta dough).

Put the dough on a floured baking sheet.

Use a pastry cutter to cut the dough into squares.(a pizza cutter or knife will do if you don’t
have one)

Prick each cracker 2-3 times with a fork.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Thinner crackers and those on the edges will cook faster. Pull them out, and continue cooking those that are still soft. Crackers will crisp a bit more during cooling, but should be somewhat crisp when removed.

Crackers should be put directly on a kitchen towel to cool, to maintain their crispness.

This recipes will make a batch of spinach crackers equal to about 1/2 a regular size box of crackers. Store in an airtight container.

MY EDITS:
- I figured there was no way I was going to all this trouble for a 1/2 a box of crackers, and my package of frozen spinach was more like a cup, so I tripled the recipe.
- With a tripled recipe, I needed 3 total cups of flour. I used 2 cups of white flour, 2/3 c of whole wheat flour and 1/3 cup of wheat bran.
- I added quite a bit of freshly ground black pepper and powdered garlic.
- I used 2/3 canola oil and 1/3 olive oil (just because I'm cheap).
- I did all the fork pricking BEFORE cutting them into squares. Faster that way.
- I wanted to roll mine through my pasta crank to make the sheets, but it wouldn't go through. Just kept getting stuck. If anyone figures out how to solve this problem, please let me know!

| mashed potato enchiladas |

2011-07-07T18:51:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time, some friends had us for dinner and tried out a new vegetarian recipe on us. Now this sounds like the kind of thing that could end in disaster...but, in this situation, it most definitely did NOT. This has turned out to be one of our all-time-favorite recipes for everyday cooking, freezing, and making for friends. In fact, I have a batch sitting in my freezer right now, waiting to go to a friend that's on bedrest. I'll give you the original recipe first, and then some tricks and modifications I've made over the years.

Lest you think mashed potato enchiladas sound really weird, I promise they are not. The mashed potatoes basically just make everything taste cheesier without all the fat of a ton of cheese. And they're very filling!

MASHED POTATO ENCHILADAS

2 small zucchini -- diced
2 cups carrots -- diced
1 cup onion – diced
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup skim milk
1 cup instant potatoes
10 ounces enchilada sauce, red
1/2 cup shredded cheese
4 pieces tortillas

Preheat oven to 350.

Saute carrots, zucchini, and onions in Pam. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Combine water and milk in pan and bring to boil. Add package of potatoes and remove from heat. Let stand 5-10 minutes, then fluff.

Pour some sauce into the bottom of the pan to coat. Dip tortillas in enchilada sauce. Place 1/4 cup potatoes, 1/8 cup cheese, and 1/4 of the veggies in each tortilla and roll. Top with any remaining sauce.

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes (until heated through).

NOTES:
- This only makes 4 enchiladas. I almost ALWAYS at least double the recipe. After you've cooked them, take any extras and wrap them individually to freeze.
- I often add beans for protein.
- You can use any kind of veggies you want. I have often purchased a "mexican style" corn mix in the freezer section and used it instead of doing all the dicing and sauteeing.
- Instead of putting in potatoes, then cheese, then veggies, I just mix all the cooked veggies, potatoes, and cheese together in a big pot and then ladle that into the enchiladas. It's faster.
- When I feel too lazy to roll enchiladas, I just do this casserole style. I put a layer of tortillas in the bottom of the pan on top of the sauce, then put the potato mix on top, then another layer of dipped tortillas, etc., until I'm done with 8 tortillas. Then I put some cheese and sauce on top and bake.

| what to do with lavender |

2011-06-15T18:18:00.000-04:00

This week in our CSA, we got lavender. I have seen it used in desserts before, but wasn't sure what to do with it. So I made something up and it turned out to be pretty darn tasty.

LAVENDER FRIED RICE
1) Steam jasmine rice with 1 diced carrot, finely minced lavender, and finely minced lemon thyme (or any other complimentary herb).
2) While it's steaming, trim up some sugar snap peas by cutting off the ends and then dicing into 1/2 inch pieces.
3) When the rice is done cooking, stir fry the snap peas and rice in some oil in a wok. Add in a can (about about 1 pound cooked) chickpeas. Salt and pepper. Finish with a fair amount of butter for added deliciousness.

We really enjoyed this quick and easy meal. Not sure when we'll get our hands on lavender again, but I know what we'll be doing with it when we do!

| i have created hockey pucks |

2011-05-11T13:23:00.000-04:00

So....our local food co-op sells this amazing oat cakes that are made locally. I call them hockey pucks, because that's what they look like. They have always been one of my favorite treats. Kind of dry (but in a good way) and chewy. Like a granola bar, only much better.

I finally tried to make them myself, and it worked out pretty well. I think I'll definitely make another batch in the future.

HOCKEY PUCKS
2 cups hot water
1-2 cups raisins and craisins
3 cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup walnuts (finely chopped)
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
dash of vanilla

Put the hot water in a bowl and soak the raisins/craisins. Mix together the oats, flour, nuts, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla (I recommend putting the vanilla in the butter to mix it up more easily). Stir well. Pull the soaked raisins/craisins out of the water (don't drain it though - you need the water). Add about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the water to the oat mixture and stir. You want it to be pretty sticky, but not liquidy.

Put about 1/2 a muffin-tin-full of mixture into each cup of a muffin tin. Press down firmly. Bake at 325 for 15 minutes. Cool on a rack for about 10 minutes, then remove and cool the rest of the way. Makes about 15 hockey pucks.

| patty goodness |

2011-04-22T13:41:00.000-04:00

These are AMAZING! I found this recipe in Kiwi Magazine. They are so tasty. Very flavorful, easy. Our toddler loved them, too. I don't even have anything else to say about them except this: you need to make them.

Chickpea Patties
15 oz chickpeas (drained, if canned)
1 medium onion
1 T poultry seasoning
2 eggs
1 ½ c stuffing mix
1 large carrot, grated
1 ½ c bread crumbs

Process chickpeas, onion, seasoning, and eggs in a food processor for several minutes. Stir in stuffing mix and carrot. Cover and refrigerate for several hours (or freeze for up to 3 months). Form patties (about ¼ cup per patty), coat with bread crumbs, then pay fry for 2-3 minutes per side. Makes about 16 patties (serves 4).

| brownie cake |

2011-04-16T16:01:00.000-04:00

We're having company for dinner tonight. I have something to admit: although I am a kick-ass cook, I am a terrible baker. So I pretty much always make the same thing for dessert when people come over. Luckily for me, it's an awesome dessert. I stole it from my friend Lynn and I think she stole it from her daughter who may have stolen it from a Betty Crocker cookbook. Regardless, this is the ONE dessert recipe you need. Especially if you are baking-impaired like me.

Lynn's Chocolate Brownie Cake

No mixer needed! Just stir with a spoon or wisk!
1 ½ C sugar
¾ C flour
1 ½ sticks (3/4 C) margarine or butter, melted
½ C cocoa
1 ½ t vanilla
¼ t salt
3 eggs
(add a dash of cinnamon, too)

Bake 40 -45 minutes at 350. Bake in a small pan. Makes 8 servings. That's correct - there is no baking powder nor soda. You want to bake this so it's hot out of the oven at dessert time. And it's great with vanilla ice cream on top.

| birthday cake |

2011-04-16T15:57:00.000-04:00

My mom visited last week and it was her birthday. My sister, who lives in the same town with my mom, usually has the honor of making her birthday cake. Since she was here, though, I got to make it. My sister sent this recipe and (for once) I followed it exactly. It turned out superb and I'm proud/ashamed to say that my mom, my husband, and I ate all 24 (TWENTY FOUR! I say!) servings in a four day period. Maybe three.

Here's the photo:

And here's the recipe, if you dare:
Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever - from The Pioneer Woman

A tip. This actually tastes WAY better the second or third day after all the frosting sinks in.

| warm eggs on a salad? YES |

2011-04-16T15:54:00.000-04:00

I had a hankering for a hard-boiled egg on a salad and made a discovery. Turns out that having a warm hard-boiled egg on a bed of arugula is AWESOME. I took some baby arugula and chopped up some kale to go with it. I dressed it lightly with good olive oil and lemon juice (yes, straight from a bottle). Salt and pepper, of course. Then I topped it with a hard-boiled egg that came right out of the pot. Chopped it up and put it on there still steaming. It was so much tastier than I had ever anticipated.

| banana peanut butter ricotta |

2011-04-16T15:52:00.000-04:00

I made this to feed to our toddler, but, I'm not gonna lie - I ate most of it myself. Creamy, rich, decadent, and healthy, I'm sure (wink, wink).

Mash up 1/2 a banana really well.
Add about 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter. Stir well.
Add about 1/2 cup whole milk ricotta. Stir well.
Eat with a small spoon to make it last longer.

| cranberry pecan rice pilaf |

2011-04-16T15:50:00.002-04:00

Can't take credit for this recipe. I walked into our local food co-op a couple weeks ago and they were giving samples. The samples were vegetarian, so I tried one! SO SO SO good. Heaven.

Cranberry Pecan Rice Pilaf (from Lundberg Family Farms)
1 c brown rice (long or short grain)
2 T butter
2 c broth
1 c grated parmesan
½ c dried cranberries
½ c chopped pecans
¼ c sliced green onions
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add rice. Cook and stir 2-3 minutes. Add broth and heat until boiling. Stir once or twice.

Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 50 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 10 minutes.

Stir in cheese, cranberries, pecans, and onions. Season to taste. Makes 4 servings.

| healthy molasses cookies |

2011-02-01T18:42:00.000-05:00

I found this recipe online a few months ago when I was looking for iron-rich foods to feed my son. After making these, I have to say that I probably love them more than he does. They are so tasty and wholesome. They don't have any sugar, but the molasses is so rich you'd never know it. They are super winners. I can imagine they'd be excellent if you added dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, chips, etc. But they are also just lovely "as is."

Baby’s First Molasses Cookie (Iron-rich)

1/4 c molasses
1/4 c butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 c flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 c baby cereal
3 tablespoons whole milk

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly cream molasses and butter. Mix in egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add to the butter mixture. Blend. Stir in milk. Drop on a nonstick cookie sheet 2" apart. Bake 10-12 minutes. Yields about 2 dozen cookies.

NOTES
• The RDA of iron for infants 7-12 months old is 11mg/day and for toddlers 1-3 years old is 7mg/day. Each cookie provides about 2 mg of iron.
• Iron is best absorbed in the presence of vitamin C, so I usually add fruit: a mashed banana, raisins, cranberries, half a can of pure pumpkin... The banana and pumpkin make cookies with a more bread- or muffin-like texture.
• Milk and egg whites are not recommended for kinds under 1. You can substitute breast milk, soy milk, or formula for the cow's milk. Two egg yolks can substitute for the egg.
• My kids enjoyed the "ginger snap" flavor that the molasses adds. Honey can be used for a more mild flavor. Keep in mind, though, that honey contains a toxin that little tummies are unable to break down until about 9 months. Honey is generally not recommended in kids under 1.
• With Ezra's dairy allergy, I usually sub oil or applesauce for the butter and soy milk for the cow's milk.

| pumpkin soup |

2010-12-05T13:09:00.001-05:00

If you don't already "deal with" your Halloween pumpkins after Halloween, you really should. You can get so much pumpkiny goodness from just one big jack o' lantern. Just cut that bad boy into wedges, heat in the microwave with a couple tablespoons of water, peel, and then puree in your blender or food processor. Freeze it in baggies in your freezer and you're set. Some ideas:

- pumpkin breads and muffins
- add to chili or soups for additional nutrients and thickness
- add to risotto
- use in a healthy mac n "cheese" (make a sauce using 2 cups pureed pumpkin, 1 cup of shredded cheese, and 1 can of evaporated skim milk)

And, if all that's not enough, try this recipe. I started with a Martha Stewart recipe, but didn't want to bake my soup in another pumpkin (too lazy) and I wanted to add some other seasonings and protein. So here it is.

PUMPKIN WHITE BEAN SOUP
Ingredients

o 6 cups veggie stock
o 2 -3 cups pared pumpkin, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (or already pureed and frozen)
o 1 can (or 2 cups) drained white kidney beans (cannellini)
o 1 cup thinly sliced onions
o 1 clove garlic, minced
o 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
o 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
o dash of nutmeg, pepper, and all spice
o 1/2 cup whole milk or cream

Directions

1. In a covered saucepan, heat the stock, cubed/pureed pumpkin, beans, onion, garlic, salt, thyme, nutmeg, pepper, and all spice to boiling; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes.
2. Let cool. Puree in a blender in batches or with a hand blender.
3. Add tempered milk. Heat through and serve. Bean casings may remain – so if you want to get rid of those, strain the soup first for a nicer presentation.

| love some boboli |

2010-08-23T18:13:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite quick and easy pizzas that seems fancier than it is involves a whole-wheat Boboli crust, goat cheese, and the olive bar at the grocery store. I go to the olive bar and get a variety of things (black and green olives, red peppers, roasted garlic, and sun dried tomatoes being favorites). I only need about 1/2-3/4 cup to make this work. I also pick up a small log of goat cheese (4 ounces, I think) and a Boboli crust.

At home, I drizzle olive oil on the crust, then smoosh on the goat cheese (just pull it off into little chunks, drop on the pizza and smoosh a bit). Then I put on the chopped up stuff from the olive bar (and sometimes add some fresh basil from the garden and maybe a chopped tomato). Crack on some pepper, then stick in the oven for 8-10 minutes at 450. Delicioso.

| hidden veggies |

2010-08-23T18:11:00.001-04:00

I'm not usually a huge fan of hiding my veggies because I like them up-front and featured. And yet, I know that some people like to hide them...especially if they're trying to get kids to eat them. Here's a quick, easy, healthy way to hide some veggies in a tex-mexy mac n' cheese. I stole this recipe from Weight Watchers once upon a time and then changed it over the years.

Macaroni and Cheese and Squash - Serves 4

1) Boil about 8-10 ounces of macaroni (I use whole wheat).

2) In a saucepan, combine squash, ½ a can of evaporated milk, and 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. For the squash you can use a can of pumpkin, two large jars of baby food squash, or a container of frozen butternut squash that’s pureed.

3) After the cheese mixture melts, combine it with the drained pasta and a drained can of Rotel. I also like to add in a can of drained black beans.

| so easy spinach soup |

2010-07-05T13:25:00.001-04:00

I cannot claim to understand the magic of this recipe. You put almost nothing into it, but the flavor is so amazing. Also, it takes almost no work. Thanks to my friend Lynn for passing along this recipe!

Spinach and Rice Soup:

10 oz pkg of frozen spinach

1 C basmati rice

8 cups of vegetable broth (or 8 C water and 4 cubes vegetable stock)

1 small onion (chopped)

pepper to taste

1/2 t garlic powder

1 carton lemon or plain yogurt

Simmer while doing other things for about 30 minutes to an hour

Notes from 12/27/11:

- I had some sliced mushrooms on hand today, so I added them. It was a happy addition.

- I also had some long grain black rice (wild rice?) so I used 1/2 cup of it and 1/2 cup of brown rice instead of the basmati. Super tasty.

- I never have lemon yogurt, so I always use plain yogurt and add some lemon juice. Seems to taste just the same.

- No, you really don't have to saute the onions. It's great even if you start with them raw. I do often add about a tablespoon of olive oil or butter to the pot because I like the taste.

| what to do with those greens |

2010-06-27T13:41:00.002-04:00

Sometimes you get tired of just sauteeing greens with vinegar and onions and garlic. Or I do, at least. A friend of mine made an awesome meal for us involving peanut butter and pineapple and greens. So delicious. I'm posting it below. I wanted to make something similar, but didn't have any pineapple on hand, so I played around with some coconut milk. Here are both the recipes...

AFRICAN PINEAPPLE PEANUT STEW

4-6 strips of bacon (optional)

1 c chopped onions

2 garlic cloves minced

1 T. olive oil

1 bunch of kale or chard (4 c. sliced)

2 c undrained pineapple crushed/canned (20 oz)

1/2 c peanut butter (or sunflower, etc.)

1 T. Tabasco or other hot sauce (more to taste)

1/2 c. chopped cilantro

S/P to taste

1 can black beans (optional)

Top with crushed peanuts, green onions and bacon (optional)

1. Saute onion, garlic for 10 min., low heat (use bacon fat or olive oil) 2. Discard stems of kale or chard, chop into 1 in. ribbons 3. Add pineapple/juice, simmer 1-2 min.

4. Stir in kale, cover & simmer for 5 min.

5. Mix peanut butter, tabasco, cilantro in and simmer 5 min.

6. Drain beans and add, heat through, add s/p to taste.

Serve over rice, quinoa, or couscous.

GREENS, PEANUT, AND COCONUT MILK SAUTÉ

1. Sauté some onions and garlic in olive oil. Add some spices (I used turmeric, cumin, and nutmeg).

2. Chop up some bitter greens (I used chard, beet and radish tops). Throw them in and add about 1/2 can of light coconut milk. Turn the heat down and add a couple tablespoons of chunky peanut butter. Let the PB melt and the greens get as soft as you like them.

3. Throw in some protein, if you'd like. I used black beans.

4. Garnish with some hot sauce (I used some Thai sweet chili sauce and some Siracha). Add salt and pepper. Serve over rice or another grain.

| dragon tofu |

2009-12-12T16:42:00.002-05:00

I've been trying to re-create "dragon tofu" from my local food co-op and I think I've come fairly close. This is really tasty stuff....eat it on salads, on stir fry, plain, or in slices on a sandwich.

DRAGON TOFU:
1/4 to 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce (find it in a jar in the Thai section of the grocery store)
1 tablespoon honey
2-3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sesame oil
ground black pepper

Press a large block of extra firm tofu for about a half hour to get the excess moisture out. Wrap it in a towel, put it on a plate wrapped up, and put something heavy (like a cast iron skillet or heavy pan) on top of it.
When it's pressed out, slice it into about 10 pieces.
In a plastic container, combine the ingredients listed above. Put the slices in. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours, turning over every half-hour to make sure it all gets soaked.

| my favorite new salad dressing |

2009-12-09T20:08:00.001-05:00

Don't know why I've never tried this before, but it is awesome. I put some in a little tupperware container and took it in my lunch the other day.

- dash of olive oil
- dash of balsamic vinegar
- about a teaspoon of fruit jam (I used apricot)
- sprinkle of salt and pepper

Shake up. Serve on salad. I'm sure you could make it in larger batches, too. The fruit jam was such a nice addition. Yummers.

| easy recipes from my mom ]

2009-12-05T20:36:00.003-05:00

Some recipes are just too wonderful and simple not to share. There are three that I picked up over Thanksgiving and wanted to pass along.

CRANBERRY SAUCE
1 bag fresh cranberries
1 cup water
1 cup sugar

Combine in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Boil until the cranberries are mushy and the sauce begins to look like jelly. Cool and refrigerate. That's all (seriously).

CRANBERRY-ORANGE RELISH
1 bag FROZEN fresh cranberries (buy the fresh bag and then freeze it)
1 cup sugar
1 orange, cut into 1/8s

Combine all in a food processor. Chop until it looks like relish. Refrigerate and serve.

HOMEMADE EGG NOODLES
2 eggs
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine well with a whisk. Add 1 1/2 cups flour. Form into a ball. Roll out on a VERY well-floured surface until thin like a pie crust. Let dry until it's easy to move the dough about without it sticking (keep flouring). Make sure it's not stuck to the surface, too! When it's pretty dry (maybe an hour?) fold it on top of itself a few times, then slice into thin ribbons (1/4 inch?) with a pizza cutter. Unroll the pieces and break into shorter noodles (you can just tear them). Now they are ready to cook!

Put them into boiling broth (veggie or chicken). For noodle soup, you can add veggies (and chicken chunks, if you want). For "chicken and noodles on mashed potatoes" (my all time favorite), just add chicken, no veggies. Serve over mashed potatoes. So delicious.

|quick and cheap black bean soup|

2009-10-26T12:34:00.002-04:00

My husband and I were craving some black bean soup the other day, so I invented this little recipe. So easy. It came together in less than 10 minutes and probably cost less than $3 to make.

FAST BLACK BEAN SOUP
Makes 3 servings.

1) Saute half an onion (diced) with some minced garlic.
2) Add about 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder, and 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, and some cilantro. If you don't own smoked paprika, you should. It's amazing and adds this great adobo-like flavor to things.
3) Dump in a can of Rotel (undrained) and a can of black beans (undrained).
4) Heat through. Top with shredded cheese and/or plain yogurt (or sour cream). Enjoy!

|vegetarian comfort food|

2009-10-19T11:56:00.002-04:00

Fall is here and that means comfort food. I did a google search for "vegetarian comfort food" and found a great website with a huge list.

This was a recipe that I picked out and tried. It is amazing. I highly recommend checking it out.

Noodles and Cheese

|on the importance of frozen rice|

2009-10-17T13:59:00.001-04:00

I don't remember where I learned that you can freeze cook rice, but it has truly changed my life. Every time we make rice, I almost always make extra and then I freeze it in those snack-sized zips (they hold about a cup). When I come home and am starving and we have "nothing to eat" I always use those frozen bags of rice as a fall back.

Today, I thought we had "nothing to eat" for lunch, but I popped a bag of rice in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Then I rummaged around in the fridge and found a few leftover veggies from a crudite platter. In less than 10 minutes I had super awesome stir fry....broccoli, celery, carrots, garlic, tofu, sesame oil, soy sauce, and frozen rice. Tasted better than any of the local Chinese places and it was faster, too.

I love frozen rice.

| bowl of fall goodness |

2009-09-22T13:14:00.002-04:00

Sweet potatoes abounded at the market on Saturday, so I picked some up. I wanted to find a way to make them into a complete meal (which, in my world, basically involves adding grains and protein). Here's what I came up with. It is tasty, if I do say so myself.

BOWL OF FALL GOODNESS
3 medium sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup orange juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup (or maple)
½ cup raisins
½ cup walnuts, chopped
Cinnamon and nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
Quick cook barley

Combine all ingredients except the black beans and barley in a large casserole. Bake at 350-375 until the sweet potatoes are tender (about 30-45 minutes). Meanwhile, cook up about 4 servings of quick cook barley according to the package directions. Once the potatoes are done, add the can of black beans and stir. Serve the potato mixture over the barley.

NOTE: you could probably use another grain, like rice, but boy is the chewiness of the barley a good choice.

| more potatoes from the CSA|

2009-09-07T21:40:00.002-04:00

Believe it or not, we don't cook with potatoes too often. It's hard to do because so many of our entrees are built around a starch already - rice, pasta, quinoa, etc. And then when you make potatoes as a side, you don't want all that starch, you know? Well, I WANT the starch, but probably shouldn't.

Anyway, I made this recipe up earlier today to use up some of the tiny, delicious red potatoes from the CSA. It was tasty and provided more support for an important cooking theory - everything is better with cream of mushroom soup.

LAZY WOMAN’S SHEPHERD’S PIE

Small red potatoes (about 3 cups)
1 cup dry lentils
1 large carrot, diced
Small onion
2 cups sliced mushrooms
Whatever other veggies you want (yellow squash, green peppers, green beans?)
½ cup or so of jarred red peppers, diced
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
Seasoning – pepper, garlic, Italian seasoning (or whatever kind you prefer)

1) In a large pot of boiling water, boil potatoes, lentils, and carrots for about 10 minutes with some salt. Drain.
2) While that’s cooking, mix together everything else in a big bowl. Add the drained potato/lentil/carrot mixture when done.
3) Spray the bottom of a casserole. Spread the mixture in the dish and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. You may want to top it with some bread crumbs or crackers, too.

|what up, vivanno?|

2009-08-13T21:39:00.002-04:00

So, I pretty much can make a chocolate banana Vivanno at home. It's awesome and every time I do it, I smile because I'm saving 4 bucks. Also, it's faster than going to Starbucks.

MAKE YOUR OWN VIVANNO

Combine in a blender:
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup light vanilla ice cream
1 banana, previously frozen and cut into large chunks
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon protein powder

Blend. Eat. Smile.

NOTES:

I use the ice cream to help with the consistency. I also think you could probably add a second frozen banana and get the same thing.
If you don't have protein powder, I'm sure it wouldn't affect the taste. I just add it to help with my protein consumption. I use the big canister kind in all my smoothies/milkshakes. It helps.
To freeze bananas, just take ripe ones, peel them, cut into thirds and put on a cookie sheet in the freezer overnight. In the AM, take them off the sheet and put into a plastic baggie. They make your smoothies have a fabulous consistency. This works with pretty much all kinds of smoothie fruits (berries, peaches, nectarines, pineapple, mango, etc).

|crockpot cheesy potato soup|

2009-08-13T21:32:00.002-04:00

This is a recipe from a lady who went to my church when I was growing up. Actually, I think it was her grandmother's. When I got married, my mom gave me a recipe card box full of some of my favorite recipes. This was definitely in there.

CROCKPOT CHEESY POTATO SOUP

4 cups veggie or chicken broth (or 4 cups water and 4 cubes of bouillon)
1 cup water
small onion, diced
8-9 potatoes, cubed (you can peel if you prefer)
1-2 carrots, diced small or shredded
dried parsley, salt, and pepper to taste
1 can fat-free evaporated milk
8-12 slices deli-style American cheese (these are the thick slices that come in a big block but aren't individually wrapped)

Combine broth, water, onion, potatoes, carrots, and seasonings in a crockpot. Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 8-12 hours. About an hour before serving, cool it down a bit (just take the lid off and put your crockpot on warm). Add the evaporated milk (the cooling is so it doesn't curdle the milk). Take the slices of cheese and slice them into little strips (or just pull them apart). Add to the mix and stir. Just before serving use a potato masher to mash up the potatoes a bit. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 6-8 servings.

NOTE: This isn't the world's healthiest recipe (especially with the amount of bread I prefer to dip into it) , but it's not horrible. It's also AMAZING comfort food.

|still working on that lentil soup recipe|

2009-08-07T12:57:00.002-04:00

There is a Turkish restaurant in our town that has a lentil soup that is AMAZING. It's super minty and just wonderful. I keep trying to re-create it - usually with no luck. This time, I didn't get close to their recipe, but I at least ended up with a good end product, so I thought I'd post it.

ALMOST THERE TURKISH LENTIL SOUP

1 cup dry lentils
4 cups veggie broth
1 cups water
2 T tomato paste
1 1/2-2 cups peeled, diced potatoes
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 onion
2 t. cumin
1 t. coriander
1/2 t. garlic powder
2 T finely minced fresh mint leaves
3-4 T. lemon juice
Plenty of salt and pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on high for about 5-6 hours. Mash the soup with a potato masher (or blend - but you'll have to cool it first if you want to do that). Add about 2 T more mint and garnish with about a tablespoon of good olive oil.

CHANGES:
Next time I make this, I will change the following things....still trying to get closer to the Turkish restaurant:
- I really do think I need to go ahead and buy the red lentils - they just have a different flavor
- This soup was MUCH thicker than the one they have, so I'm going to use only 1/2 cup
- I will use about twice as much mint (I was running low outside)

|veggie gumbo goodness|

2009-07-09T12:40:00.002-04:00

Disclaimer: I am not a cajun food expert, by any means, so this may be a bit untraditional, but I found this recipe TASTY!

I had a craving for some cajun food, so I did some googling to see if I could find a good vegetarian recipe. I found a few for veggie gumbo and tweaked them to make this delicious concoction in my crock pot.

VEGGIE GUMBO
Combine all ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low for 4-5 hours.
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 16 ounces okra (frozen, but cooked up in the microwave first)
- 1 cup corn (frozen, but you can cook in the microwave with the okra)
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 stalk of celery, sliced
- 1 can of spicy diced tomatoes, undrained (Rotel would work, too)
- 2 T Tabasco sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- veggie boullion cube
- 1/2 cup white grape juice
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
- 2 T fresh basil, minced
- 1 T brown sugar

Serve over rice. This is especially tasty with garlic bread....just be sure to put some Tabasco sauce in your melted butter before slathing it on your bread.

|tasty radishes|

2009-06-04T12:28:00.002-04:00

We've been getting radishes for several weeks in our CSA. They are so good! We have little tiny red ones, and big giant red ones, and long carrot-like white ones. Today, I made a little salad of radishes....

Sliced radishes
Drizzle of olive oil and balsamic
Salt & pepper
Chopped parsley and basil
Dollop of strained yogurt on the top

Yummy!

|finally|

2009-05-25T20:05:00.003-04:00

Slowly, but surely, I find vegetarian recipes to replace my old meaty favorites. There are still I'm waiting to discover...like meatloaf, barbecue, chicken noodle soup, and all varieties of luncheon meats.

BUT...today is a big day because I finally found a vegetarian biscuits and gravy recipe. Actually, I found it about 6 months ago in Vegetarian Times, but just now got around to cooking it.

A few tips/alterations that I suggest....

Yes, you do need SMOKED paprika. It's necessary.
The recipe doesn't call for salt, but you need it. A lot.
Up the amounts of paprika, garlic, pepper, and sage.
Add some ground cayenne pepper, too.
Any kind of ranch will do.

The recipe is huge. It yields about 6 cups when finished.

Enjoy...and if you have a vegetarian recipe for meatloaf, PLEASE let me know ASAP.

|end of the day CSA snack|

2009-05-20T22:14:00.003-04:00

I came home from the gym ravenous and was going to have an apple with peanut butter...but then I saw all the goodies in our CSA basket and made this instead....

Wilted Spicy Greens & Strawberry Goodness

Heated up a little olive oil and balsamic in a skillet. Sauteed a little wild garlic in it.
Added a large handful of arugula and wilted it.
Added 4 strawberries, sliced.
Turned off the heat - seasoned with salt and pepper and a wee bit o' honey.
Served it over 1/2 brown rice (leftover in the fridge) with a tablespoon of sliced almonds.

Crazy delicious.

Also in our CSA this week we received...

more tiny, delicious red kale
a spring salad mix with flowers in it!
spring onions
more cilantro (currently hanging to dry in my laundry room b/c I have tons more growing outside)
along with the luscious strawberries (!) and the arugula mix

CSA is the greatest thing ever.

|csa begins...and greek spaghetti|

2009-05-10T15:01:00.002-04:00

This past week marked the beginning of our summer CSA. Yay! I was sooooo excited. We get ours from a farm near us. We pick up with a group of folks at our church, so we don't have to drive there every week, which is really excellent. It's like Christmas all summer long. This week we got the following in our basket:
- watercress
- red kale
- cilantro (tons!)
- rosemary
- wild garlic (it looks like scallions, but tastes like garlic - so good)

My lovely husband whipped up a delicious dish with it all....he sauteed the garlic, some onions, and some ginger in sesame oil. Then he added the watercress, kale, and cilantro and wilted it a bit. He added in some leftover soba noodles we had in the fridge and topped it with a little soy sauce. It was really yummy.

Also...in a completely unrelated note, I was in Chicago about a week ago and ate at a Greek restaurant in Hyde Park. A friend and I split the Greek spaghetti and I recreated it at home last week. It was amazing.
- saute scallions in some olive oil
- add cooked spaghetti
- add crumbled feta
- pepper it

That's it. It's so simple and so good.

|probably never buying nut butter again|

2009-03-28T18:24:00.001-04:00

So...I was getting really bored with my reduced fat brand-name peanut butter. I keep reading everywhere that the reduced fat stuff is actually not as good for you as the real deal (preservatives, corn syrup, etc. etc. and there's not that much of a difference in fat content, either - plus, let's face it, it tastes like poo).

Then I remembered that I had often seen a friend make walnut-butter balls in her food processor. She puts her son's medications and supplements in them and then they're tasty. And, man, are they ever tasty. I could eat a ton of those things. They are just little rolled-up balls of walnutty goodness.

This made me think - hmmm...I bet I could make almond butter in my food processor. So, I bought a bag of roasted unsalted whole almonds and went to work. I just threw them all in my processor (about a cup at a time, till they were all in there) and just kept spinning and spinning. After a long time of wondering, "Will this ever work?" and a couple of teaspoons of olive oil, it magically turned into smooth, creamy, amazing almond butter. I added a little salt, too, and next time I think I'll add some honey.

Next time might happen really soon becuase this stuff is so so so good.

|delicious tofu creation|

2009-03-25T13:48:00.003-04:00

I was craving some tofu but sick of the regular stir fry type thing I usually make, so I made this. It turned out amazing.

FLAVORFUL BROWN RICE AND TASTY TOFU

In my rice cooker, I put in enough brown rice and water to make 4 cups. With the rice and water, I added a large handful of chopped kale, 3 large mushrooms (sliced), a grated carrot, and a thumb-sized piece of ginger (peeled, but not cut up).
While the rice was cooking, I made the tofu in the oven....heat to about 375 and take a block of extra firm tofu and cube it up. Mix together a couple tablespoons soy, a couple teaspoons oil, and some minced garlic. Add a couple teaspoons of lemon juice, too. Put the tofu in a casserole dish and pour the sauce on top of it. Stir until all the tofu is covered. Bake about 30 minutes, stir. Bake another 15-30 minutes.
When the rice is done, fish out the ginger and discard. Put it into four bowls and top each one with 1/4 of the tofu and a splash of olive or sesame oil. Add some sliced water chesnuts and a splash of soy.
Enjoy! This is so surprisingly flavorful.

|i accidentally made polenta nachos|

2009-03-22T18:10:00.003-04:00

If you've never had polenta in tube, I highly recommend it. It's basically like very firm grits in a tube. You slice it into little rounds and then fry it up in a pan (I just use some nonstick spray). I like to eat it with all kinds of stuff on top of it. Tonight, I made up a Mexican kind of dish to put on top of the polenta. When I was done, I realized that it looked and tasted a lot like nachos. Yum!

POLENTA NACHOS:

In a small pan, saute 1/2 a finely diced onion in about a teaspoon of oil. Add in about a tablespoon minced garlic and about a tablespoon of canned green chiles. Saute until the onions are soft. Add about a teaspoon each of cumin and chili powder and stir.
In another skillet, start frying your polenta slices.
Add 1 cup of rinsed black beans (canned), about 1/2 cup drained diced tomatoes (canned), and about 1/3 cup salsa (I used salsa verde). Heat through. Season at the end with salt, pepper, and a splash of lime juice.
Arrange the polenta rounds on a plate and pile up the bean mixture on top. Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese (1 ounce per serving).

This makes 2 big servings that are about 7 WW points each. Enjoy!

|tasty little salad|

2009-02-23T12:36:00.002-05:00

I invented a little wilted spinach salad with some stuff I had on hand. It turned out to be very tasty, so I wanted to share it:

TASTY LITTLE SPINACH SALAD

Heat about a teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add about a tablespoon of water, a tablespoon of lemon juice, and about 2 teaspoons of honey. Stir.
Throw in about 3 big handfuls of fresh spinach. Heat until the spinach starts to wilt - about 30 seconds. Salt and pepper. Drain.
Place on a plate and top with about 1/2 cup of cold blueberries. Enjoy!

The coldness of the blueberries next to the hotness of the spinach makes it really fun. It's also pretty. I'm sure you could add some almonds for a delicious crunch, too.

|my favorite chickpeas, too|

2009-02-14T12:29:00.003-05:00

Over Christmas, my sister-in-law-in-law (that would be my brother-in-law's wife) gave me her copy of the Essential Vegetarian Cookbook by Diana Shaw. I love hand-me-down cookbooks, especially when someone has marked them up! I've been going through this one each week and picking out something that has a handwritten star by it. Too much fun. This, by the way, is a GREAT cookbook. I've never seen it before, but if you're thinking about eating more vegetarian meals, I would get a copy. It's enormous (almost 600 pages!) and covers EVERYTHING...basic recipes from all over the world; easy stuff, more complicated stuff; plus tips on how to stock your pantry, etc. It's fabulous.

I love chickpeas, so I was intrigued by a recipe called simply "my favorite chickpeas." Ms. Shaw says she found a recipe years ago in Madhur Jaffrey's World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking that convinced her she never needed meat again. This is her version of it. It is truly fantastic. I ate mine all week long in lunches over brown rice.

MY FAVORITE CHICKPEAS:
2 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, grated (I used minced - it was fine)
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and grated (get out your microplaner...this is the only thing that takes some time)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric (I'll probably use a little less next time...I don't love love love the taste of turmeric)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I also added 1/2 of a red chile, diced tiny tiny)
1 cup fresh or canned tomato puree (I don't actually know what that is, so I used tomato sauce)
2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoo fresh lemon juice

(I also added some fresh cilantro at the end and dumped in half a can of diced tomatoes that I had sitting around for extra volume)

Heat the oil in a skillet over med-high heat. When it's hot, turn the heat down to LOW and add the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne. (NOTE: all of those spices except ginger are usually found in curry seasoning, so if you don't have all of them but do have curry powder, you might give that a try and see if it's still tasty).

Saute, stirring constantly, until everything is well combined and the mixture has a uniform color (about 4 minutes).

Stir in the tomato puree, turn the heat up to medium, and simmer gently.

Add the chickpeas and simmer some more. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the mixture is thick, about 20 minutes.

Stir in the lemon juice and remove from the heat. Let the chickpeas sit 10 minutes before serving. Serve over a grain or as a stew. Yogurt as a side dish is great, too.

Also, I know I'm obsessed with lentils, but I'm fairly sure that this would be most excellet with lentils instead of chickpeas, too. Maybe served over some pasta? Yum.

4 servings
257 calories
12.2 grams protein
41 grams carbs
6 grams fat
0 cholesterol
19.2 grams sodium

|whatever's in the fridge|

2009-01-17T13:08:00.002-05:00

Today I bought an Amy's Cheese Enchilada only to get home and discover that the stupid box is 2 servings...which was just waaaaaay too many points. I hadn't been to the store yet, so I had to make do with what was in the fridge. Fortunately, as long as I have rice cooked up, I'm always good to go. Here's what I made. It was so freaking good.

Brown Rice with Green Beans
1 cup cooked brown rice
2 teaspoons light butter
onions, diced
green beans (cut into 1 inch pieces)
garlic
1 tablespoon ground walnuts
dash lemon juice, salt. pepper, red pepper flakes

I sauteed the onion and garlic for a few minutes in butter, then added the green beans. 1-2 minutes more, then added the rice. Heated through and then added the ground walnuts, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes at the end. This was so tasty.

|i heart my freezer, part three: regular zips|

2009-01-14T16:00:00.002-05:00

Okay, last post about this topic today....but I'd like to share how happy I was when I returned back home after my Christmas travels and had a happy, warm, delicious, already made rice bowl packed up in regular-sized ziploc bag in my freezer. Well, it wasn't warm while it was IN my freezer, but I was able to go from freezer to a meal that tasted like it was hot off the stove in a matter of minutes. That was really a happy moment because I had been traveling and was sick of eating out, but was also not at all in the mood to go to the grocery store.

I'm pretty sure you can make any number of things into single-serving lunches or dinners in these regular sized (1 quart?) zips. It's just like a frozen meal, but a lot cheaper and healthier. It's a handy thing to do when you have some leftover rice and can quickly saute up a few other thigns to put with it.

(sidenote: you DID already know that you can freeze rice, right? It's amazing. You can put those in those tiny zips.)

So...since you can freeze rice, you can also just add stuff to it and then freeze it up. I did this a few weeks ago with the following layered in a bag...

1 cup of leftover rice
1/4 cup of beans (from a can, drained)
sauteed onions, peppers
1 tablespoon cream cheese (I hear cheese gets weird if frozen, but I usually use light cream cheese in my rice bowls, anyway - it froze just fine)
a handful of diced tomatoes, flavored with green chilis and garlic
some corn

I just put them all in a bag and cooked them up later. So great.

Any other ideas for meals-in-a-frozen-bag?

|i heart my freezer, part two: tiny zips|

2009-01-14T15:41:00.003-05:00

In my continued ode to my freezer, let me tell you how much I am in love with the snack-size ziploc baggies. They seem to hold just about a cup if you fill them really full, which means they are perfect for freezing all kinds of single-serving things, like...

Fresh corn...just cut off the cob and baggie them up
Cooked beans...I like to cook them in my crockpot then put in the tiny bags for later
Extra pasta sauce....the baggie is just the right size to make one more dinner for me + one
And my new favorite....BREAKFAST (see below for recipe)

In addition to loving my freezer, I also have a crush on Dr. Dean Ornish. I don't usually get into diet fads and he does technically write books about nutrition, but they aren't crazy. He is very well-respected in the medical/nutritional world for creating a diet that helps cure heart disease and prevent various kinds of cancers. I was recently perusing one of his books in the bookstore, and found a recipe called "Morning Quinoa." I altered it slightly based on what I had in the house and here it is. It is sooooo tasty.

Breakfast Quinoa and Fruit
1/4 c. orange juice + 1 3/4 cup green tea
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup quinoa (dry)
1 cup oatmeal (quick cook)
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
3-4 tablespoons flax seeds, ground
Splenda to taste

Bring the juice, tea, and cinnamon to a boil. You could just use water but I had green tea on hand, so I figured it would add some more nutrients. Who knows?
Once it's boiling, add the quinoa. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. (note: if you only have rolled oats instead of quick cooking, you can add them at this point, too, so they get more cooking time)
Add the quick cook oatmeal, and rest of the ingredients, too. Cover and let sit for about 5 minutes. You may need to add some more liquid to fluff it up.

This will make 5 generous servings. If you care about points, it's about 4 points a serving. Here's the BEST PART.....you can eat one this morning and then put the other 4 in the tiny snack zips. Flatten them out and squeeze the air out. Put them in your freezer. Have some happy, warm, whole-grain-goodness breakfast four more days in just a couple of minutes!

To defrost mine I made extra hot water when I made my morning tea. I poured it over the zip baggie and let it rest for a few minutes. Then I popped the thawed quinoa out into a bowl and microwaved it for one minute. Yum, yum!

|i heart my freezer, part one: ice trays|

2009-01-14T15:35:00.002-05:00

I am not typically a person who likes a lot of stuff cluttering up my house. For example, my husband and I are making it our mission in life to ensure we never have a storage space. If you don't have room for it in your house, you don't need it. That being said, I do covet one storage-y item. Someday I want to have a giant freezer in my garage or basement so that I can freeze everything in the world. So, so handy and lovely.

That being said, I present to you my ode to freezers, part one....the beauty of ice cube trays. You can freeze all kinds of fun things in ice cube trays. Like when you were a kid and would make mini popsicles in them, remember? These days, my favorite things to freeze are pesto and broth. You just make up a ton of pesto (I love the cilantro kind, but basil is fine, too) then put them into the trays. Freeze them, then pop them out and put them in a big zip baggie. Whenever you need a little oomph in your pasta add a couple cubes. Nummy nummers. The same can be done with broth or stock.

What are your favorite things to freeze in ice cube trays?

|last minute Christmas gifts?|

2008-12-21T15:14:00.003-05:00

Did you know it's ridiculously easy to make biscotti? I always thought it was probably a giant pain until I made it myself. These make a great little Christmas gift to give to those people who give you a present and then you're like, uh oh. (P.S. I also give these to people because I planned to, so if you've gotten them from me in the past, it's not necessarily because I forgot you!).

Here's the method...you can pick and choose whatever flavors you'd like to add as indicated:

T.L.B.s (tasty little biscottis)
3/4 cups nuts (I used pecans today - almonds are excellent, too)
5 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 light butter, softened (the stick kind, that's 1 1/2 sticks, to save you the math)
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 large eggs, plus 2 egg whites
3 teaspoons citrus zest (I used clementines today, but you can use orange, lemon, whatever citrus you have on hand...also, give the fruit a squeeze into the bowl after for extra zing)
2 teaspoons extract or liqueur (I used whiskey today, but almond extract, rum, vanilla, anything is good)
2 more egg whites

Crush up your nuts. I do this by putting them in a plastic baggie and then hitting them with a can. Put them on a baking sheet and stick them in an oven at 350. Toss after 5 minutes, then put in for another 2 minutes. Take out to let them cool. Kick your oven up to 375.
While that's all happening, mix together your flower and baking powder in a smallish bowl.
Then cream together your softened butter and sugar using a hand or stand mixer. Add in the 3 eggs and 2 egg whites one at a time and beat in.
Add in the flour mixture a little at a time. Lots and lots of stirring. Once you've got it all in, mix in your nuts. Reserve about 1/8 cup of the nuts for later.
Get out two greased cookie sheets. Divide your dough into three equal parts and plop them down onto the sheets. Press them down until they are about 1/2-1 inch thick and are a big oval shape. Press a little of the remaining nuts into the top of each mound.
In a clean bowl, beat your last two egg whites until they are fluffy. Brush the egg whites onto each of your three dough mounds.
Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes until they start to get golden brown. Take out and let cool for about an hour.
Cut into a total of 72 pieces with a knife. Spread out on your cookie sheets with the cut sides up for toasting. Bake 10 minutes at 325 and you're done.

Each biscotti has only 70 calories and 2 grams of fat. Not too bad. Enjoy!

|boundless love for soup|

2008-12-10T20:04:00.003-05:00

There are many things I love about soup. Many, many things. One of the things I love the most is how you don't really need a recipe to make it. Once you have the method down, you're good to go. In the past few weeks I've created three soups with no real recipes...a vegetarian tortilla soup, a white bean soup, and a creamy broccoli soup. So good.

Here are some tips for getting you started:

Begin by sauteing some aromatics and herbs in some olive oil. Stuff like onions, garlic, leeks, celery, carrots are all good at this point.
After they start to get softened, add in your broth. I just use veggie stock in a can. Find one you like. Beer/wine are good, too.
Then if you want to add other veggies, beans, potatoes, pasta, you can. If you're using something like potatoes, you're going to want to parboil them somewhere else. This is also a good time to add other flavors to the stock, like some tomato paste, if you're into that.
To finish, you'll want to check the salt/pepper. And if you want a creamy soup, add some evaporated milk. Cheese would go in here, too.
And you're done!

CREAM OF BROCCOLI w/ a TOUCH of CHEESE

Saute onions,garlic, celery, carrots in a bit of olive oil until softened. While sauteing, add in some curry, pepper, red pepper flakes, and freshly ground nutmeg.
Add a couple cups of veggie broth. Bring to a boil and add freshly cut broccoli. You can use the stems, too. Let it boil just a couple minutes until the broccoli is bright green, but don't let it go too long!
Remove from heat and let it cook down a bit. Take some of the broccoli out and put it aside. Puree the rest in a blender (or with a stick thing). Be careful - if it's too hot or if you get your blender too full you'll have a mess.
Put it back in the soup pot and add in the reserved broccoli. Add in about a cup of evaporated milk (make sure you're not boiling at this point or ever again or you'll curdle).
Bring it back up to heat. Add salt/pepper. And if you want, add a few slices of American cheese. Enjoy!

|oatmeal "cookies"|

2008-12-10T20:01:00.002-05:00

I have to give credit where credit is due on this one and say that I got it out of a Weight Watchers mini cookbook thing. But if you're looking for a filling, warm winter treat, mix up a packet of flavored oatmeal with some boiling water. Use a little less than directed on the package. Let it sit while your oven is heating up to about 350. Then drop the oats into about 5-6 blobs on a greased cookie sheet (or a silpat, of course!). Bake about 8-10 minutes and let cool.

They definitely aren't like real oatmeal cookies, but they're a fun alternative to eating oatmeal in the evening. And...after you're done with the oven you can leave it open and bask in the heat. Yeah!

|caramel love|

2008-12-10T19:58:00.002-05:00

You know those delicious tubs of caramel you can buy by the apples in the grocery store? I always get the fat free kind because, even fat free caramel is quite bad enough for me, thank you, and because it still tastes good (unlike fat free dressing and fat free cheese). Anyway, if you have any of it hanging out in your fridge, I'd like to suggest to you two lovely uses for it....

CARAMEL YOGURT
Stir in about a tablespoon of the caramel sauce to some plain or vanilla yogurt. Mmmm, mmmm.

CARAMEL APPLE OATMEAL
Dice up half an apple and put it in a bowl with quick-cook oats and the appropriate amount of water. Microwave, then stir in about a tablespoon of the caramel. Nuts are a good option, too. This is so wonderful and delicious.

|poco pinto posole (y frijoles negros)

2008-08-18T19:31:00.001-04:00

I found this tasty recipe on the message boards at weightwatchers.com. It was really good. I, of course, doctored it up a bit, so it's a little different than the original given to me. Enjoy!

1 (15 ounce) can yellow hominy - drained

1 (15 ounce) can corn - drained

1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans – mostly drained

1 (15 ounce) can black beans - mostly drained

1 tomato, diced small

1/4 cup onion, diced small

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup minced fresh jalapeño pepper

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro – if you don’t have fresh, you can add dried cilantro and coriander powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 cumin

In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients. Heat through.

This would be excellent served over rice or a baked potato - eaten with chips, too. Yum! It was really filling all by itself. I added a handful of crumbled silk tofu to it. That added some oomph. Yum, yum. It would also be great in a crockpot for a winter's day or a potluck.

|hummus is great|

2008-08-16T20:33:00.003-04:00

I've loved hummus for ages. The smoothiness of it. The multiple flavors. The way it goes with bread products so well. Mmm...

The only sad thing about hummus is that it's pricey. Last time I checked, a little tub of it was running about $5 at the local grocery store. They say there are about 8 servings in a container, but I've often found them to be about 2 servings. Needless to say, I don't have enough cash to have a hummus habit.

Until...one of my friends told me you could make hummus...WITHOUT TAHINI! Did you know that? Honest to God. If you have a reasonably well-stocked kitchen, you could probably make hummus right now. Try it out...

For about 2 cups of hummus, combine the following in your food processor:
- 1 can of chickpeas, drained (reserve the liquid)
- 1 heaping tablespoon of minced garlic
- salt and pepper
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and broken into smaller pieces
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspon cumin

Turn your processor on. It won't be creamy once it's blended, but add any combination of the following to get the consistency you want. Obviously, olive oil is going to give you the most authentic taste, but it's also going to add themost fat/cals.
- reserved chickpea juice
- olive oil
- fat-free plain yogurt (just learned about this one on the WW boards)
- thoroughly cooked cauliflower (I haven't tried this myself, but have heard it works well)

I have a friend that swears by a little peanut butter (to substitute for the tahini, which is sesame seed paste). I can't tell the difference and it adds a lot of fat/cals, but try it if you want.

Get the consistency you want, store in a tupperware container and you're good to go. I'd estimate the cost at about $1.15 for approximately 2 times what you get in a store-bought tub.

P.S. Do the exact same thing with any of the following for a yummy change-up
- white beans
- black beans
- cooked eggplant (this is babaghanouj)

|instead of a baked potato|

2008-08-09T18:32:00.003-04:00

My husband always laughs at me because my favorite thing to eat is usually a whole mess of vegetables on top of some sort of starch. When we were losing weight together while living on campus, I would frequently get a bunch of veggies off the salad bar and steam them in the microwave with Italian dressing on them, then dump it all on a baked potato. Yum.

Tonight I was going to do a variation of that, but decided I wasn't really in the mood for a baked potato, so I did this instead...

GREENY NON-BAKED POTATO GOODNESS

Dice a potato. Stick it in the microwave with a little water for about 4 minutes. Drain, then throw in a skillet with about a teaspoon of olive oil to finish cooking. Salt and pepper at the end.
Meanwhile, dice up an onion and start sauteeing it with a little olive oil and garlic (in a differents skillet). P.S. If you don't already have a giant jar of pre-minced garlic in your fridge, you should really get one at the store.
Chop up some broccoli and steam it for a couple minutes in the microwave. (You can use the stalks, too - just peel them and dice them).
Throw the broccoli in the onion skillet. Add a big ol' handful of greens (I used kale tonight). Add a sliced mushroom, too.
Salt and pepper the vegs when they're done.
Add the potatoes.
Top the whole thing off with a couple splashes of vinegar.
Put in a giant bowl and enjoy.

|polenta goodness|

2008-08-06T20:34:00.003-04:00

I do so love polenta in a tube. I know it's really easy to make it yourself, but sometimes nothing beats the super-easy tube kind. Here's something I whipped up tonight...

POLENTA WITH A MESS OF VEGGIES AND BEANS
1) Saute the following in a little olive oil: garlic, onions, bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini. Dice everything uniformly small. At the end, add some chopped tomatoes and a can of drained kidney beans.
2) Meanwhile, slice your polenta log into about 12 slices. You can pan fry it or just bake it in the oven on a cookie sheet with a little cooking spray.
3) Heat up some pasta sauce. I used vodka sauce, but any good marinara works, too.

Top the polenta with the veggie/bean mess and then the sauce. Enjoy!

|green beans|

2008-08-03T21:30:00.002-04:00

We've been getting fresh green beans the past three weeks in our CSA shares. This week, I'd estimate we got about 4 pounds. Yikes! Good thing I love green beans. My favorite way to cook them is this...

STEP ONE: Trim the ends, but leave them really long.
STEP TWO: Cover in water and boil the hell out of them (meaning about 25 minutes). This ensures no squeakiness.
STEP THREE: Drain and then dress with olive oil, salt, pepper, and shake on a few sliced almonds. I know they're all processed and, therefore, evil - but I love, love, LOVE those Almond Accents that they sell by the lettuce in the grocery store.

Enjoy! YUM!

Also - for anyone else struggling with massive quantities of cucumbers right now, let me share with you my favorite way to eat cukes: cut into spears, dress with salt, and lime juice. Delicious fresh or after about a day.

|what happened when i tried to make a quiche|

2008-07-06T18:40:00.003-04:00

Last week, we went to a dinner party with some folks from church and one of the women had prepared a beautiful strata...eggy-cheesey goodness on top of bread. What could be better? My husband, who previously wouldn't eat ANYTHING with his eggs, has recently branched out, making omelets and eating (gasp!) cheese with his eggs. He enjoyed the strata so much that I decided now was finally the time to attempt a quiche (one of my all-time-favorite foods). He was open to the idea, so I started looking for a recipe.

Then I remembered I had a potato (a giant one) sitting around that needed to be used up. And I remembered just how bad for you pie crust is. So I decided to do a little tinkering and here's what I came up with.... (P.S. It was REALLY good).

THE QUICHE THAT ISN'T REALLY A QUICHE AT ALL
1 pound potatoes
1/8 cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced very fine
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
3-4 tablespoons fresh herbs (I used sage and rosemary)
10 ounces frozen spinach
2-3 cups cabbage/carrot mix (or some other veggie that you have on hand)
1 egg and 2 egg whites
1 cup light cottage cheese
1 cup 2% milk shredded cheddar cheese

Slice your potato into thin rounds. Boil them in salted water for about 10-15 minutes, then drain and run cold water over them. When they are cool enough to touch, make your crust with them - spray a pie plate with non-stick spray, then press the potato pieces into the plate, making a crust (be sure to go up the sides, too). Once it's all covered, spinkle the breadcrumbs on the top and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. You can do this part ahead of time and then refrigerate the crust if you'd like.
Pre-heat oven to 375. Saute your onions, garlic, and herbs in 2 teaspoons of the oil. Meanwhile, cook the frozen spinach according to package directions. Also, nuke your cabbage/carrot mix for about 1 minute in the microwave with a splash of water. Throw your cooked spinach and cabbage/carrots into the onion/garlic/herb skillet. Salt and pepper the veggie mix. Let it cool a bit while preparing your egg mixture.
Mix together 1 egg and 2 egg whites. Salt and pepper it. Add in 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese and all of the cottage cheese.
To assemble the pie: sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheddar onto the potato crust, arrange the veggie mixture on top of that cheese, then pour on the egg mixture. Top with 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese. You can garnish it with a few cherry tomatoes if you have them on hand.
Bake at 375 for about 30-40 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes, then serve.

6 servings = 4 WW points each serving

This is fantastic with some fried green tomatoes. Mmmm, mmmm!

|sometimes the easiest things are best|

2008-07-02T12:38:00.002-04:00

Kudos to my husband for making this yummy treat for lunches this week. I didn't tinker with it at all (well, I did add a splash of balsamic to mine and that was excellent).

PASTA SALAD
Cook up some whole-wheat pasta (we used rotini). Cool it. Add the following to it, toss, and enjoy:

1 teaspoon of olive oil per serving of pasta (1 cup of pasta = 1 serving)
Chopped green onions
Halved cherry tomatoes
Handful of chopped basil and parsley
Salt and Pepper
1 1/2 ounces (per serving) of fresh mozzarella balls, torn up into bite-sized pieces
Couple of tablespoons of frozen peas (thawed) - per serving

It's 7 WW points and we decided it must be really good for you....carbs, proteins, dairy, veggies, fruits, and healthy oils. Yummy.

|the kind of person who cooks without recipes|

2008-06-29T14:29:00.002-04:00

I have long believed there are two main types of cooks in the world - those who need recipes and those who don't. In between, there are tons of shades of gray - people who use recipes, but aren't afraid to play with them a bit, people who try something and then try to re-create it, people who make things up entirely. (There are also bakers, but that's a whole other world of food preparation, defying cooking categorization).

I have long, long wanted to be the kind of cook who doesn't use recipes. As a kid, I moved slowly into the "tinkering" category. I was always adding stuff in to a recipe or taking it out. My mom didn't love this and would tell me to stop it, but I eventually got pretty good at it. A few years ago, I had my first major light-at-the-end-of-the-cooking-without-recipes tunnel when I successfully re-created chicken marsala without a recipe. I was pretty proud of myself (still am, in case you couldn't hear the puffed-up nature of my typing).

Still on my quest - this week had both a highlight and lowlight. First, I decided to take some of the non-meat-product sausage in a tube (which my wonderful sister-in-law and brother introduced to me!) and create a stuffed cabbage recipe (because we had a bunch of savoy cabbage on hand). I've never seen a recipe for stuffed cabbage, so I did a lot of guessing - used sauteed onions, garlic, cooked rice, an egg, the sausage, herbs, and some tomatoes in sauce for the filling. Then wrapped it in cabbage and cooked it, simmering in more tomato sauce, for a while. My technique was good, the end result was pleasing. Unfortunately, I had forgotten one cardinal rule of fake-meat-crumbles. They expand with time and liquid. So, as I was eating it, the meat bits started to get larger and less meat-like and grosser. It wasn't pleasant.

The leftovers went in the trash. The savoy cabbage is now in a coleslaw. The last of the fake sausage will be used for either breakfast egg muffins or pizza. Sigh.

But...never deterred, I soldiered on to create a bean dip for my lunches this week. Success! My bean dip is yummy yummy, so I'd like to share the recipe with you. Feel free to doctor it up if you're a tinkerer or ignore it altogether if you're too good for recipes. :-)

CANNELLINI-LENTIL DIP
Combine the following in a food processor:
3-4 cloves of garlic
3-4 shallots (onions would work, too)
handfull of parsley
a few mint leaves
2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice
2-3 tablespoons of the juice from your can of beans

Chop this stuff up in the processor. Then add:
1 can of cannellini beans (drained)
1 cup of cooked lentils
a bit more of the bean juice

Puree. Add salt and pepper. Drizzle in 2-3 teaspoons of olive oil.

Enjoy on pita, crackers, veggies. Whatever you want. Mmmmm. It's about 2 points for 1/2 cup on Weight Watchers.

|reconnecting with my old friend, Mr. Manwich|

2008-06-27T12:57:00.003-04:00

I know this is going to sound pretty lame, but when I became a vegetarian, one of things I knew I would really miss were Manwiches. So lovey and easy to make. Cheap, too. As a kid, I enjoyed them will full-fat ground beef, but - as an adult - had graduated to lean turkey meat. A quick brown of the meat, throw in the can of Manwich, slap it on a bun, top with mustard and pickles and life was good.

It look a while, but my husband and I finally decided the best possible meat substitute for Manwiches (and probably pretty much anything that calls for ground beef) is the lovely lentil. They have almost no flavor of their own, and the texture is just right for ground meat. Plus, they are cheap, easy, and really nutritious. Would it work with the Manwich?

The answer is....YES! They were fantastic! I just boiled about 1 cup of lentils until they were done (about 30 minutes). Drained them and then added them to the Manwich sauce and a few sauteed onions. Still added the mustard and pickles to my bun. So tasty.

And...for a more adult version of the Lentilwich, might I recommend topping some brown rice with any left over Lentilwich filling have lying about. Very tasty.

|i am such a sucker for greens|

2008-06-18T21:53:00.003-04:00

I only recently discovered that you can cook almost any kind of greens. I know, I know - most people probably already know this, but it took me a long time to move from canned spinach to frozen spinach to bagged collard greens to FULL ON greens of all varieties. Today in our CSA, we got a bunch of fresh beets (side note: my husband actually said he wants to eat them, which I was initially excited about because he has never eaten beets before, but when I saw there were only FOUR beets I actually got a little bummed because that means fewer beets for me). Anyway, we got beets and I was going to throw out the tops because I didn't think I would have time to saute them (lazy, I know).

But then...THEN I saw that we had garlic scapes in our basket of goodies. I had read about them recently and was dying to try some. So it was on. I cut up my little scapes. I cut some green onions (also in the basket of wonder) and then sauted up my beet greens. Threw on some salt and pepper and now I have an awesome little side for lunch tomorrow.

Mmmm, mmmmm.

|the report from los angeles|

2008-06-08T18:33:00.002-04:00

For a person that loves food as much as I do, vacations are always awesome. Here are some highlights from my first trip to L.A.

I hadn't been to a PeiWei or a Baja Fresh in THREE YEARS...and L.A. has both, so that was awesome.
Had my first experience with Sprinkles (far, far superior to Crumbs) and Pinkberry, both of which were amazing. They take cupcakes and frozen yogurt to a whole new level.
We went to the "Farmer's Market" just southwest of Beverly Hills (it's in quotes because there were no farmers there) and had some fantastic tacos at Loteria. They basically have a bunch of "stews" that they put into homemade corn tortillas. Mine was made with potatoes, poblanos, and cilantro.
We had dinner one night at Father's Office in Santa Monica. There were very few vegetarian options, but I had the fries "a la cart" (they came out in a little grocery cart). They were very thinly sliced with an herb-salt seasoning on them. My husband had an amazing looking burger with gorgonzola, gruyere, and carmelized red onions.
Our last day there, we went with my brother to an actual farmers' market downtown by his office. There were so many amazing options! I had some cold soba salad with jicama in it, fresh cherries and grape tomatoes, and a HUGE brownie.
Urth Cafe in Beverly Hills is AWESOME! They do this whole organic, earthy gig. I had some really creamy and thick squash soup and a little hummus/tabbouleh platter. And on the recommendation of my brother, we both had the Spanish latte, which was some of the best coffee I've ever had.
One of the tastiest roasted vegetable sandwiches I've ever had happened at the cafe in the Getty Center. Tasty. I also really appreciated all the signage they had everywhere about things the cafe is doing for environmental sustainability. For example, by the sandwich station they had a sign asking you to consider NOT adding cheese to your sandwich, but using one of their non-dairy spreads because of the greenhouse emissions from dairy cattle.

|fried banana tacos|

2008-05-28T21:55:00.002-04:00

A little while ago, I posted about how much I love my husband - especially for his ability to invent amazing foods like these easy sopapillas. Tonight, I took them a step further, creating the amazing fried banana taco. Here's the scoop...

FRIED BANANA TACO:

Slice 1 large banana into sections that are about 1/2 an inch in diameter and 2-3 inches long. Place them in a skillet that you've sprayed with a little non-stick spray.
Cook them over medium heat, turning occasionally. When they are a little brown on all three sides and start to get gushy, remove them from the skillet and set aside.
Re-spray the skillet. Throw in a tortilla. Spray the upside of it and sprinkle on some cinnamon-Splenda mix. Watch it bubble a bit and turn once the bottom gets some brown spots.
Turn the tortilla, spray it and put more cinnamon-Splenda on. Once the other side is browning, you're almost done. Turn off the heat.
Create a fold in the tortilla, like you're making a quesadilla. Loan the bananas on one half, then top with about a teaspoon of honey. Fold the tortilla over. Plate and eat like a taco.

This is amazing.

|lest you think i'm a food snob|

2008-05-27T11:39:00.002-04:00

Most of the stuff I post about on here is pretty unusual or fancy-schmancy stuff (or at least it's not Doritos and beer - not that there's anything wrong with Doritos and beer..mmmm). But in case you think that I never cook with any "normal' ingredients, I'd like to share one of my favorite soup recipes. If you grew up eating vats of Rotel and Velveeta dip, you'll love this stuff.

I don't remember where I got the recipe...I think it was a Weight Watchers message board many moons ago.

CHEESY ROTEL SOUP:
Open two bags of frozen mixed vegetables (32 oz. total - any variety). Microwave them according to package directions (usually by adding about a cup of water and then 5-6 minutes).

Meanwhile, boil 1 1/2 cups of water and add a boullion cube to it (I use veggie, you could also use chicken). Also, dice up in big chunks 8 ounces of light Velveeta.

Combine the veggie broth, Velveeta, veggies (drained), and one can of Rotel (undrained). Heat through until all the cheese is melted and the whole thing is bubbly.

This makes 6 servings of a cup each. Tons of veggies. Very comfort-food worthy. 2 points each serving on WW.

Enjoy!

|who needs recipes, anyway?|

2008-05-24T12:27:00.002-04:00

Just got back from a week-long trip and haven't been to the store yet, so there isn't much in the house. Sometimes I make up my best stuff when that's the case because you have to get creative, right? My best no-recipe cooking usually involves some kind of grain or eggs as a base, so I went with pasta today. Measured out some whole wheat penne and threw salt and garlic into the water. About halfway through the boiling, I added in a half-cup of frozen, shelled edamame. After it finished cooking, I drained it, then tossed it with a teaspoon of olive oil, a handful of fresh cilantro (which is currently threatening to take over the front yard), a tablespoon of tomato paste (I buy it in cans and then keep it in reused jars in the fridge). It wasn't quite right yet, so I added a dash of cayenne powder.

Perfect.

|csa week #2|

2008-05-16T12:39:00.002-04:00

Week two report for our CSA....

big, beautiful mild radishes - greens still attached
turnip greens
watercress
fresh baby spinach
ASPARAGUS!!! tiny and lovely
Bell jar full of canned tomato sauce from last year's tomatoes....I can't decide if I want to put it on pasta or just drink it straight out of the jar - hmmm

Tonight we're having pancakes for brinner...with our fresh maple syrup from last week. Quite a bit of it has already been used on my morning oatmeal, though. :-)

For lunch today I'm having my re-created version of the edamame salad I blogged about last weekend with a big fresh salad....salad greens from the CSA, spinach, gorgonzola, almonds, a couple mandarin orange slices, radishes, and a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Delicious.

By the way - if you don't know how to make salad dressing, it's really super easy. Start with something simple like this - it makes enough for 1 big salad:

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Dijon or spicy brown mustard (or whatever kind of mustard you like, really)
salt and pepper
your favorite herbs/spices...today I used turmeric and cayenne powder - anything works really, or nothing at all still gives you a good flavor

Whisk together and enjoy! This way you don't get any nasty ingredients you can't pronounce (unless your mustard has them, of course) and you get a dose of good-for-you olive oil.

|ode to edamame|

2008-05-10T12:54:00.003-04:00

Sometimes, when I'm eating edamame, I pause and think, "How did I live before edamame was everywhere?" It's pretty much one of nature's perfect foods...low in calories and fat, very high in fiber and protein. You can squeeze it out of its little pods and it's more fun than a Pez dispenser. You can buy it already shelled and sprinkle it into almost anything.

This morning, I went to the local Farmers' Market and it was all abuzz...the first arts fair of the summer, too. Afterwards, I was craving "real food" without having to cook it so I stopped by one of the downtown grocery stores that has an amazing salad bar and prepared foods section. I made a tasty salad with fresh spinach, dried cranberries, Annie's Green Goddess dressing (which really deserves a whole post of its own), Gorgonzola, and marinated tofu. Then I picked up a little plastic container of their freshly prepared edamame salad. It is SO delicious. I brought the container home so I can look at the ingredients and try to recreate it. It says: edamame, wild rice, water, red peppers, scallions, chili paste, lemon juice, sesame oil, tamari, rice vinegar. Looks like I'll need to pick up some chili paste at the store later today.

Thank you, God, for creating edamame.

|i love eggs|

2008-05-08T12:53:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite things about cooking is you're never quite sure where it will take you. Take today, for example. I came home for lunch fully expecting to grab a little cilantro out front and saute it up with some chopped peppers, onion, garlic - throw in an egg - scramble - put on a tortilla with cheddar cheese. Eggs are one of my all-time favorite things to eat for lunch because, regardless of what I have on hand, I can always find a way to make something in a skillet with eggs. Add on a carb and I'm all set.

But when I opened the refrigerator a half-hour ago, I discovered the peppers were all gone. I guess my husband really listened to me when I told him, "Hey, eat these peppers this week!" I have to check in with him when he gets home to figure out just exactly how he ate all those peppers yesterday.

I could have been alarmed, but then I remembered all the goodies I got from the CSA yesterday! Before long, I had fresh spring garlic sauteeing in the pan - added in some of those oyster mushrooms and watercress - took a quick trip to the front porch to get some sage and rosemary - and I was in business. It was all looking so good that I decided to forgo the carbs altogether (a huge compliment, coming from me) in favor of having two eggs in this omelet. Once it was all cooked up, I still needed cheese. Normally, I dislike ricotta - but since my only options were ricotta, reduced-fat cheddar cheese shreds in a bag, and a cannister of fake parmesan flakes, it was a no-brainer. I slathered on some ricotta, folded the whole thing in half and sat down by my window. It was one of those meals that requires you to do nothing else but eat - and thank God for the beauty of food. No TV on. No magazine out. Just me and my eggs.

I'm so glad he finished off those peppers yesterday.

|csa week #1 - i actually squealed with joy|

2008-05-07T20:39:00.002-04:00

So...today was the first pick-up day for our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). This is our first year doing it and we are so excited. In case you're not familiar with the concept, a CSA is basically a group of people who pay a local farmer (or farmers) up front before the season begins to get an entire season's worth of produce and other farm goodies. We paid $325 for a 1/4 share (enough for 1 person). We've heard horror stories from other people about getting WAY TOO MUCH FOOD - so, despite my never-ending appetite for produce - my husband convinced me taht smaller was better for this first year. The season should last about 6 months, so when you break it down weekly it's less than $15 a week. Fantastic value - plus you're supporting local agriculture.

I have been counting down the days and today was finally the first pick up. I was wondering what we would get because it's been very cold here lately. I am happy to report that our little happy basket had the following:

Baggie of watercress
Baggie of spring greens
Whole brown paper lunchbag full of OYSTER MUSHROOMS (they are gorgeous!)
A bunch of fresh spring garlic with the stemmy parts about 3 feet long (not kidding)
1 full CUP of fresh maple syrup

Plus, our CSA people included a cute little handwritten sheet with info about where everything came from and RECIPES! I can't believe it. This is the greatest thing EVER!

The event was fully topped off by the fact that our friends that we picked it up from (we share pick-up duties) had purchased me a box of Morningstar Farms Veggie Dogs - the little bite-sized kind. Just to say thanks for teaching a Bible study we did together. Does life GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS?!?

(i apologize for the massive amount of capitalization in this post...i am just seriously psyched right now)

P.S. I am now going to eat some more fattoush and watch Idol. Life is good.

|why you need an herb garden|

2008-05-03T19:52:00.002-04:00

Last weekend, we went out to the local greenhouse and bought the goods for a little herb garden in our front yard. We bought starters of basil (two kinds), parsley, mint, cilantro, and rosemary and put them down in large pots. It's been a little chilly all week, so we've dutifully been brining them in and out of the garage. My car is wondering why it's been relegated to the driveway - but I'm happy to report it's all totally worth it.

Tonight, we kicked off herb season with a bang. My husband went out and harvested (can you say harvested when it's just pots on your front porch? that seems a bit pretentious) about 1 cup of parsley and 1/4 cup of mint.

I chopped up all of the following and threw it together in a giant bowl:

Romaine lettuce - about 8 leaves cut into long strips
2 tomatoes, 1 cucumber, 1/2 red onion - diced small
Parsley and mint

For the dressing, we did about 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/2 cup lemon juice with some salt and garlic powder.

Toss it all together with some ground sumac (a couple tablespoons), some ground pepper, and crumbled up pita chips and you have Fattoush - one of my all time favorite salads. It's Lebanese. Thank God for Lebanese food (see also: tabbouleh and labneh). I think the real deal is supposed to use scallions, but I prefer red onion.

We didn't have pita chips on hand, so we baked up some tortillas with sumac on them.
What is sumac, you ask? It's apparently a berry that they dry in the sun and then grind up.
I can't even imagine how amazing this will taste in the summer when all these veggies are at the height of their goodness.

We went to the Derby Festival this weekend and I ate WAY too much junk food, so this salad made my body body happy. I'm off to drink my weight in V8 now.

|i love my husband|

2008-04-30T09:02:00.003-04:00

I love him for many things, not least of which - this week -are his mad skillz in the kitchen. He invented an awesome new snack. It's so simple that he probably didn't officially invent it - but it's new to us, so I want to share it. It's like sopapillas...but only 3 WW points and 3 minutes to completion. Mmmm.

Here's what you do...

Put some nonstick spray on a skillet over medium-high heat. Throw a flour tortilla on it.
Spray the other side of the tortilla with nonstick spray. Sprinkle on cinnamon-Splenda.
Let it heat for a few minutes. It'll puff a little. Turn it before it burns.
After turning it, sprinkle cinnamon-Splenda on the other side.
Once it's all toasty, take it off and top with a little honey.
Tear it to pieces and enjoy.
Say a brief prayer of thanksgiving for the genius of my husband.

|brinner|

2008-04-15T17:27:00.003-04:00

There are few things in life more enjoyable than eating breakfast for dinner ("brinner"). Just ask Turk from Scrubs. Sadly, when we started living the Weight Watchers lifestyle, we discovered having brinner wasn't going to happen as often as it used to. Turns out that having pancakes, bacon, eggs, etc. is actually a lot of calories and fat. Who knew?

So I am pleased to announce that I just had an AWESOME brinner that was very low in WW points and delicious. Now, I know this will probably strike most of you as, "Man, she's finally gone too far with this crazy Weight-Watchers-vegetarian life" but it was awfully tasty.

I took a tube of plain polenta (which is usually by the tofu in the grocery store - don't know why) and cut it into slices. I pan fried it in a little non-stick spray. At the same time, I fried up a couple pieces of fakon (see previous post). Then I defrosted a few frozen blueberries and topped them with a little Cool Whip. I put it all on one big happy plate and topped by polenta with sugar-free syrup (I highly recommend Mrs. Butterworth's brand).

It looked and tasted like breakfast for dinner! And it was only 5 points. Awesome!

|fakon|

2008-04-12T15:26:00.004-04:00

There aren't a lot of meaty things that I miss since going vegetarian, but BLTs are one of them. I probably think about a BLT at least once a week. With tomato season just around the corner, I decided I needed to find a good option so I could make it through the summer. I had heard good things about Morningstar Farms Veggie Bacon Strips (or as I prefer to call them: "fakon"), so I gave them a try.

Verdict in two parts: they look like dog treats, but they taste pretty much like bacon! Much rejoicing! Also, you can have two big strips for 1 WW point. Mmm.

I had one crumbled up in a tortilla with eggs and cheese. I ate one by itself. Both delicious. I'll have to get back with you in a few months on the BLT front because I refuse to eat tomatoes that aren't in season (what's the point?). But I am thinking it's going to be a good summer for BLTs. Mmmmm.

|take it to heart|

2008-04-09T08:18:00.003-04:00

I have a killer recipe for polenta that I've literally been meaning to post for about three weeks now. That's how lazy I am.

Instead, I'd like to share with all five of my loyal readers this hysterical tidbit from the outside of my Quaker instant oatmeal:

"TAKE IT TO HEART
Research shows that whole grains, like Quaker Oatmeal, as part of a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products may help support blood pressure levels already within the normal range."

My husband makes fun of me for reading packaging...but I must say, with free entertainment like this, I think it's well worth it.

|contains almonds|

2008-03-13T15:17:00.002-04:00

So I bought this tasty-looking little package of frozen green beans with toasted almonds made by Birds Eye. I opened it up and discovered the almonds were in a separate little clear plastic bag (which totally makes sense). But the hysterical part was this: printed on the outside of the CLEAR plastic bag which obviously had almonds inside of it were two words....

"CONTAINS ALMONDS"

God bless the simple joys that come from living in an overly-litigious society. Hysterical.

|indian convenience food|

2008-03-10T18:36:00.002-04:00

Sometimes, coming up with new recipes gets old. And so does eating the same old stuff. So we were pleasantly surprised to discover an entire half-aisle at our local grocery store of what I'm gonna call "Indian convenience food." We don't usually shop those middle aisles too much because most of the stuff there is way too high in points for us to eat. But we were low on ideas of what to cook this week and browsing the aisles.

Our favorite local grocery store is family-owned and has the best romaine lettuce ever. They also have organic milk cheaper than the big box store. And they have a rockin' bulk food section. And - will wonders never cease - they also have a whole aisle of ready-to-eat Asian and Indian food.

So we were looking at the Indian food and found a little pouch of Dal Makhani. I've never had it before, but it says it's "lentils in tomato cream sauce." Sounds good to me. Nutritional info says its 2-3 points per serving. We figure we'll serve it over rice - adding another 4 points for a 6 point entree.

Let me tell you about the joy of preparing this dish. There is a plastic pouch. You snip the edge. You stick it in the microwave for 2 minutes. You take it out, open it up and pour it over rice (cooked in the rice-cooker, of course!).

Verdict? It was AWESOME. Really excited about this find and eager to try other varieties.

Oh, yeah, as I'm sure you're wondering - it does have 16% of my daily sodium. But I don't want to hear about it because I'm already watching calories, fiber, fat, protein. And not eating meat. And trying to buy outside the industrial food complex. There's only so much I can worry about.

Sodium isn't on my list.

|pizzadillas|

2008-03-06T18:28:00.003-05:00

We made quesadillas the other night and were thinking it would be fun to try pizza-style ones. We were right - it was. Here's what we did...

PIZZADILLAS:

Saute some veggies (we used onions, red peppers, and mushrooms).
Lay tortillas flat on a hot skillet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Let them heat for a couple minutes.
When they start to crisp on the bottom, put some marinara sauce on top, then the veggies, then mozzarella.
Put them on a cookie sheet under the broiler until the cheese melts.
Remove from broiler and fold in half.

|fun with the rice cooker|

2008-03-03T18:56:00.003-05:00

If you're like me, you think that rice cookers are for making nice, sticky white rice without having to worry about it burning. You would be right. And even if that was all your rice cooker could do, it would be an amazing appliance.

We decided we wanted a rice cooker after I learned from my friend Suzanne that you can also make brown rice in it. Brown rice is usually such a royal pain to cook...so we asked for a rice cooker for Christmas.

My mom, being the best gift-giver in the whole wide universe, gave us a rice cooker AND a great little book with recipes for things you can cook in the rice cooker. Holy moley! Who knew you could cook so many things in there?!? You can make bulgur, quinoa, couscous, polenta, oatmeal...basically anything that's a grain.

And - wait for it - you can also ADD STUFF TO YOUR RICE while it's IN THE COOKER. God be praised. Who knew this was possible? We have made some really tasty things since we got this cookbook. I'll share with you one of recipes that we just discovered tonight. And if you want to buy the whole darn book, get thee to Amazon post haste. You won't regret it (unless you don't have a rice cooker).

VINTER'S RICE
1) Saute some grated onion in a little butter in a skillet. If your rice cooker doesn't have a stupid weight-enabled safety feature like ours, you can even do this IN your rice cooker. Seriously. It's amazing.
2) Once the onion gets soft, add 1 cup of rice. Saute for about 10 minutes until it starts to get golden (low heat). Put some pepper on it.
3) Put it in your cooker. Put three thin slices of lemon and a bay leaf on top of the rice. Add 1/2 cup of white wine, 1 3/4 cup of broth. Add a little salt.
4) Put the cover on and let it cook till your cooker says it's done. Fluff and serve (remove the bay leaf and lemon slices first).

Enjoy!

|bulgur stir fry - super yummy|

2008-02-22T22:02:00.004-05:00

Who knew that you could make anything besides tabbouleh with bulgur?!? Not me! But then I saw a Weight Watchers core recipe for making stir fry with bulgur, so I decided to give it a try. It was awesome. I, of course, didn't have most of the ingredients they suggested on hand, so I made up my own gig.

BULGUR STIR FRY AVEC WHATEVER IS IN THE FRIDGE:
1) Put 1 cup of dry bulgur and 1 3/4 cups of water in my rice cooker. Pressed the button. (Gotta love the rice cooker).
2) Cooked one scrambled egg very thin (like an omelet with nothing in it) in the skillet and let it cool. Then I rolled it up and sliced it into strips.
3) Heated up my wok really hot with a couple teaspoons of oil. Threw in the various things I had on hand...onions & peppers (from the amazing frozen veggies section at Kroger - so wonderful to have on hand), a handful of edamame, carrots, broccoli slaw, a little frozen corn, mushrooms, and tons of garlic. Cooked that up.
4) Added the egg strips, some baked tofu (recipe courtesy of my friends Sandy and Suzanne - it's below), and the cooked bulgur.

It was truly amazing. The bulgur is even tastier than brown rice. By far. Also, it's much better for you than brown rice. One cup of it is only 2 WW points (151 cals, 1/2 g fat, 8 g fiber). Here's something weird - my spell checker doesn't think bulgur is a word. Odd, huh?

********************
On a completely unrelated note, I just finished reading Julie and Julia by Julie Powell. It was absolutely one of the funniest books I've read in ages. This woman is about to turn 30 and is feeling a little loser-y because she's a secretary in NYC, so she decides she needs a "project" and sets the goal of cooking all the recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. The book is more about her craziness than the food, but it's still wildly entertaining.
********************

BAKED TOFU A LA SANDY & SUZANNE
1) Toss together the following in a glass baking dish: 1/4 c. lemon juice, 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2-3 tablespoons oil, pepper, garlic, rosemary.
2) Press the excess water out of a block of extra firm tofu. If you've never done this before, it's easy...just put the tofu on top of some towels on a plate; put something heavy on top of the tofu for about 30 minutes.
3) Cube the tofu into about 50 little cubes. Toss in the pan with the oil mixture.
4) Bake at 400 for 30-60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so.

This is tasty on stir fry, salads, pitas, by itself, you name it. Mmmm.

|soy cheese - my first time|

2008-02-19T12:11:00.003-05:00

This post is dedicated to Marie and Lauren, who apparently actually click on this blog from time to time and, in doing so, encouraged me to actually post something for once. I hope you enjoy your lentil tacos!

***************
So...yesterday there was a big news story about a massive beef recall. I heard CNN was showing the video all day long. Fortunately, I don't watch CNN, so I didn't see the video. But, after hearing about the story when we were at our "reduce your carbon output/stop global warming class", I came home and had to Google it. I couldn't even watch the videos, because just reading about the treatment of these poor animals made me cry myself to sleep. I wish I was being melodramatic when I say that, but it's actually true.

And these cows were dairy cows at one point in time, so that's how they got so sick and were being killed for really cheap meat. To feed to our children. Or to end up in the garbage at a school cafeteria. You remember those days. By the way, if you have no idea what I'm talking about, go to www.hsus.org. They're the ones who broke the story.

Anyway, I'm not a huge animal lover or anything. I wear leather. I think it's okay to kill animals and eat them. I became a vegetarian for environmental reasons, not for animal rights reasons. But this, this is just wrong. There's no denying that. And the dairy issue was particularly bothersome because I'm not a vegan, nor do I think I will ever be a vegan. I try to get cage free eggs and buy organic milk and yogurt (though I have my doubts that the giant organic milk companies are that much better).

All of this being said, I had to go to the grocery store this morning. I said a small prayer of confession as I walked past all the raw beef (again, wish I was kidding, but I'm not). And I decided I would try some soy cheese for the first time, just to check it out.

The verdict? Soy cheese is freaking awesome. It is about a thousand times more tasty than fat-free cheese (which is, sadly, what we usually eat in our house). It is SO FREAKING GOOD. I am really pumped about this discovery. I made a grilled cheese for lunch and it was amazing.

So, I'm still not a vegan. And I don't think I will ever be one. And since my husband and I decided last night that moving a dairy cow into our spare bedroom really won't work at this point in our lives, I guess soy cheese is a good option. If it saves one cow from that horrible fate, it's worth the few extra pennies it costs. Plus, it tastes better.

|ringing in the new year|

2008-01-01T18:01:00.000-05:00

Deciding what to eat on the first day of the year is pretty durn important...and as this first day of 2008 draws to a close, I'm pleased to report that it's been an excellent day, food-wise.

BREAKFAST - Took a piece of whole wheat toast and put sliced banana on top. Yum.

LUNCH - I was out and about, so I stopped at a coffeeshop and got a skim milk steamer with gingerbread syrup. Mmmm. Got home and ate some leftover creamed peas from yesterday. Don't know how to make creamed peas? Tragedy or tragedies. Don't worry, though, I'll put the recipe at the end of this post.

DINNER - This was the best part of the day so far. My husband got a Loge cast iron indoor grill with a panini press for Christmas (courtesy of me, of course). I got a new santoku knife, so I went to work chopping. Chopped up onions and caramelized them in just a teaspoon of roasted red pepper olive oil. Then I sauteed sliced mushrooms and leftover red and orange peppers from last night's crudite. Put it on bread with brie and grilled it up. Served with with a grilled artichoke (directions below) and tomato and basil soup (courtesy of Campbell's gold box deliciousness). The whole thing was AMAZING.

Instructions on CREAMED PEAS & GRILLED ARTICHOKES:
To make creamed peas....
1) Heat a can of peas. Meanwhile, in another skillet make gravy by taking about 2 tablespoons of flour and 1/2 cup of milk.
2) Stir your gravy pretty constantly. Once it starts to thicken, add a tad of butter plus some salt and pepper.
3) If your gravy is looking thick, add some more milk or some of the juice from the peas.
4) Drain the peas and fold them in. Yum.

To grill an artichoke:
1) Trim the prickly parts off the tops of the leaves. Cut off the top inch or two of the choke and trim the stem down if it's long. Cut the whole thing in half lengthwise.
2) Put in a microwave safe dish with a couple tablespoons of water. Microwave about five minutes.
3) Put the choke halves, open side down on the grill. You can brush them with olive oil or cooking spray first.
4) For an easy dipping sauce, just melt a little butter and add lemon juice and pepper.
5) Peel the leaves off one by one. Dip into the butter and then scrape the soft part off with your teeth. When you get to the furry looking part in the middle, don't quit! Use your spoon to get rid of the fur and then cut the heart into chunks. Dip in butter and rejoice mightily.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

|lentil tacos - who knew?|

2007-11-18T17:45:00.000-05:00

My hubby and I have long been fans of the taco. When we first got married, we ate tacos almost every week made out of ground beef. One day we decided to try turkey meat instead and discovered you couldn't really tell the difference. A few years later, when we were losing weight, we tried the "fake meat" kind (made out of the soy-based crumbles you find in the refrigerated section of the store). They were awesome, too.

This past weekend we tried another taco variation and I'm pleased to report that it's delicious. It tastes just as good as the "fake meat" kind - without that odd fake meat flavor - and I'm pretty sure it's cheaper and more nutritious than any of the other kinds. I'd say it'll be our new favorite taco.

Here it is...Lentil Tacos:

Sort, rise, and drain about a cup of lentils. We used brown lentils, but I'm sure any kind would be just fine. The brown ones look the most like meat, though!
Boil them in about 3-4 cups of water until they're done. It only takes about 20 minutes. Lentils are quick-cooking because they don't have to be soaked first.
As they're boiling, saute up some diced onions. Add a small can of diced green chilis and about a half a can of drained corn to the mix.
Once the veggies are heated up, add about 1/2 cup water and a package of taco seasoning mix. If you want to make your own taco seasoning, I recommend a mixture of cumin, chili powder, cayenne powder, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Drain the lentils. Dump them into the veggies. Stir and heat through.
Serve em up on regular tacos shells.

Enjoy! Maybe I should have called this the "ode to lentils" blog.

|lentils and balsamic - surprisingly delicioso|

2007-11-08T09:18:00.000-05:00

Found a nummy recipe in New Vegetarian Cuisine by the editors of Prevention magazine. It's a decent little cookbook I found at the library. Anyway, it called for lentils and balsamic vinegar and I thought - really? But it turned out really good.

Of course that probably has something to do with the fact that I used my bottle of Fini which is the BEST balsamic vinegar in the world. Mmmm. You can get it at Williams Sonoma (piece of trivia - the guy who started Williams Sonoma was named Williams and he added the Sonoma part just cause it sounded hip).

Okay, on with the recipe...

Boil some cubed potatoes and lentils in a pot of boiling water. Add some tarragon to the pot (and some salt, too - I think there should always be salt in a pot of boiling water).
While that's a-cookin', saute some onions, zucchini, and carrots in a bit of olive oil. Cook em until they're soft. Add some garlic in there, too. I highly suggest doing your carrots first and adding the zukes later or they'll get really soggy.
Drain any remaining water off the lentil/potatoes. Add the potatoes and lentils to the veggies. Add some salt and pepper along with a few tablespoons of balsamic. Heat through.

|fun with veggie chili|

2007-11-02T14:15:00.000-04:00

Veggie chili is a beautiful thing. I'm not even sure why you need to make it with meat ever. I learned from my mother-in-law that you could throw veggies into regular chili and started adding more and more veggies until I discovered the meat wasn't really necessary. Yesterday was my first time making chili in the crockpot and it turned out pretty good, so I figured I'd post the recipe.

A word about one of the ingredients. "Six Guns Chili Mixin's" is the coolest chili packet ever. I can't find there where I live, so I have to buy them in Kansas. But they are awesome. It comes with several pouches of seasonings, including a packet of masa to add at the end for thickness.

CROCK POT VEGGIE GOODNESS CHILI:
1) Put all these ingredients in the crockpot:

Onions (diced)
Beans (I used red and black; canned or dried is okay - just pre-soak if they're dried)
2 cans diced tomatoes (add the juice, too)
Corn (canned or frozen)
Mushrooms (you can use whatever other kind of vegs you want, but mushrooms are a must)
Whole mess of veggies - basically just fill it up with whatever you want...this time I used zucchini, a few carrots, sweet potatoes, acorn squash, and turnips (I can also vouch that celery, all kind of peppers, and okra are all good things)

2) Add your flavoring packets (or a combination of chili powder, cumin, garlic, pepper, cayenne pepper - just add way MORE than you think you'll need...it takes a lot to make it flavorful). Add some water, too.

3) Cook all day long. Check to make sure your beans and vegs are done. Make sure you've got some broth yet.

4) To make it thick and yummy, add some masa (corn flour). Add a couple tablespoons of it to some water until it's about pancake batter consistency. Drizzle it into the chili a few minutes before serving.

|i have been empowered to make risotto|

2007-10-28T16:52:00.000-04:00

This is an amazingly happy day. The writers of Vegetarian Times magazine have changed my life by teaching me how to make any kind of risotto I want. Any kind. I've always loved risotto, but when I look at recipes I always think, "hmmm, I don't like that one ingredient," so I don't make it. But in Vegetarian Times they had a little sidebar that teaches you how to make any kind of risotto you want. We had about a cup of leftover arborio rice sitting around, so I picked up some vegs at the store and went to town.

You can make ANY risotto you want by following the steps below:

Saute some aromatics in a little oil or butter. I used onions in olive oil. You could also use shallots, leeks, celery, carrots, etc. If you're going to use dried herbs, add them now. If you're going to use fresh herbs, add them at the end. I used thyme, sage, and some celery seeds.
After they are translucent, add the rice (1/4 c. dry per serving). It has to be arborio because it has the right kinds of starch power to make the creamy risotto action happen. Let it brown for a couple minutes.
Add about a half cup of wine (or beer, that would probably be good, too!). Simmer until almost all of the wine is absorbed.
Heat 1 cup of broth per serving. Add it, about a half cup at a time, and let it cook down. Simmer the whole time. It will absorb ALL of the liquid. Just be patient and keep adding.
Towards the end, you'll start to add whatever veggies you want. The key is just to chop them up small and add them according to how much cooking they will need. I added my mushrooms first, then asparagus, then delicata and acorn squash (which I precooked in the microwave). You'll be adding these veggies while the liquid is still cooking down.
Once the liquid is absorbed and the veggies are cooked, you're done. ENJOY.

This is SO awesome because you could literally do any combination you want. Wow. I ate mine while sitting on the cough with my windows open, watching my DVRed "The Office" from Thursday. Does life get any better than this?

|new way to do pumpkin seeds|

2007-10-27T22:23:00.000-04:00

Okay, so maybe everyone else already knows about this, but my friend Nate taught me tonight that you can use cinnamon and sugar on your pumpkin seeds when you roast them. They were yummy that way!