Adventures of a Food Slut

African Peanut Potato Stew

2009-05-01T07:21:00.004-05:00

I really need to catch up on several recipes I've made over the past couple weeks. Yikes! For starters, here's an amazing African stew we had a few days ago, that we gobbled up in no time. The original recipe uses sweet potatoes, but neither Brad nor I care for them, so I decided to replace them with regular potatoes instead. The stew is thick, rich and spicy, the chickpeas are soft and tender, and the potato chunks soak up all kinds of flavor.

To go with this, I made my favorite go-to recipe of Flat Bread. I've lost count of how many times I've made this bread over the past year, but it goes so well with soups and stews that we eat it all the time.

African Peanut Potato Stew

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
2 14.5 ounce cans chopped tomatoes
2 14.5 ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 ½ cups vegetable broth
¼ cup natural peanut butter
1 pound green beans, cut in 1 inch pieces (fresh or frozen)

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and jalapeno; cook and stir several minutes or until onion is softened and translucent. Add ginger, garlic, cumin, salt, cinnamon, red pepper and coriander. Cook and stir 1 minute. Add potatoes, tomatoes, chickpeas, vegetable broth and peanut butter. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Add green beans, cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until green beans are crisp tender. Serve hot.

Vegan Banana Bread

2009-04-21T06:21:00.002-05:00

I happily stumbled upon this vegan banana bread recipe last Fall, and it's been a staple ever since. The funny thing is, I've never been really successful with banana bread. I've made it dozens of times, non-vegan with eggs and milk and such, but it's never turned out quite right. Then I tried this vegan recipe, and to my surprise and delight, it's the best banana bread I've ever made! It always turns out beautifully, with a nice, slightly crispy crust that is a great contrast to the soft bread. I also love the addition of allspice. It lends a fantastic flavor to the bread that I love. Try it! I'm sure you'll love it, too.

Banana Bread

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup margarine, at room temp
3 very ripe bananas, mashed well
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup vanilla soy milk, mixed with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 8x4 bread pan with non stick cooking spray, or lightly coat with margarine.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and spices.

Cream together the margarine and sugars. Add bananas, soy milk and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix well. Pour batter into pan. Bake for an hour to an hour 10 minutes.

Easy Garlic Knots

2009-04-15T18:37:00.003-05:00

When Brad and I visited some friends in Clemson, SC earlier this year, we had dinner at a great little Italian restaurant. Nothing fancy, just cheap, good Italian food. The best part of the meal were the baskets of garlic knots they brought out to the table...lovely little bite-sized knots of french bread, dripping with garlic sauce. I won't lie...we ate an embarrassing amount of them. Tonight I set out to recreate them.

I intended to use this recipe, but it didn't occur to me until too late that I didn't have yeast on hand since we just moved into our house. So instead I ran to the store and bought a tube of Pillsbury french bread dough. I know, I know, that's not cool, but it worked. But if you find yourself in a similar bind, or you aren't a good bread dough maker, or you just want a really easy side dish, try this recipe. They were to die for, and once again, we ate an embarrassing amount.

Easy Garlic Knots

1 tube Pillsbury refrigerated french bread dough
1 large garlic clove
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup olive oil or melted butter

Heat oven to 375.

Open dough, and cut into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 6 inches long, and tie in a simple knot. Place on a baking sheet while the oven preheats.

Peel and chop the garlic clove. Using a mortar and pestle, or the flat side of a chef's knife, mash the garlic and salt together until it forms a paste. Stir it into the olive oil or melted butter. Using a pastry brush, liberally brush the garlic mixture onto the knots. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, then remove from oven and baste again with garlic mixture. Return to oven for a few more minutes, until golden brown.

If desired, serve with remaining garlic sauce for dipping.

Taco Night and Nasty Nachos

2009-04-14T18:46:00.003-05:00

Last night was Taco Night. I adore Taco Night. It's such a cinch to put together, yet so satisfying. And I love all the pretty colors in a taco bar. It just makes me happy!

Our taco bar consisted of flour tortillas, Morningstar veggie crumbles with taco seasoning, refried beans, homemade pico de gallo, and roasted corn (just a drained can of corn sauteed in a hot skillet until brown and toasty, and spiked with a little chili powder). It doesn't get better than that.

I used the leftovers to make a modified batch of Nasty Nachos, by layering crushed tortilla chips, the veggie crumbles, drained and rinsed black beans, the roasted corn, and pico de gallo. And repeat. I covered it with foil and stuck it in the fridge until this evening, then popped it in the oven when Brad called to say he was on his way home. Yum! I'm not a fan of leftovers in general, even the "on purpose" kind of leftovers, where you cook something with plans to use it in another recipe later in the week, but this really hit the spot.

The original Nasty Nachos recipe is far better, using canned cream style corn instead of regular kernel corn, and saucy salsa instead of pico de gallo, but this was an excellent way to use up the leftovers. Sadly, Meg dropped her full plate TWO TIMES on the way to the table, so there aren't any leftovers, but accidents will happen, and at least we have two always hungry dogs to clean up the mess. ;)

Minestrone Soup

2009-04-10T18:01:00.003-05:00

Here's a very simple and delicious soup for a cold day. The weather here in Syracuse has been cold and snowy for much of the past week, but seems to be warming up now. I wish I had made this a week ago when we were shivering!

It's a variation on the minestrone soup my mom always made when I was growing up. The only big difference is that I leave out ground beef, but outside of that it's the same. Everyone should have an easy, hearty soup in their repertoire. May I recommend this one?

Minestrone Soup

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
3 stalks celery, sliced
1 can green beans, drained
1 can wax beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 large can diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp Better Than Bouillon vegetable base
8-10 cups water
1 Tbsp oregano
1 Tbsp basil
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery. Stir and cook until vegetables begin to soften. Add all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour.

Weekly Menu - week of April 12 (and before)

2009-04-09T13:48:00.002-05:00

Thursday - the eve of Brad's first day off in 4 weeks, so we're getting take-out and relaxing

Friday - minestrone soup, french bread

Saturday - going to a hockey game

Sunday - taco night!

Monday - taco pie, using taco night leftovers

Tuesday - spaghetti with rustic tomato, basil and kalamata olive sauce, garlic knots, salad

Wednesday - African Peanut Potato Stew, flat bread

Thursday - leftovers

Friday - lobia curry, naan, cucumber peanut salad

Saturday - dinner out

Spicy Black Bean Tamale Pie

2009-04-06T16:51:00.001-05:00

This dish kicks ass! I first made it last December when I was too busy to blog, so it's been sitting amongst my drafts for the past 3 months, patiently waiting to be posted until I made it again today.

I based it on this recipe from the eggs on sunday blog. I left out the garlic, upped the chili powder, omitted the cinnamon, subbed a can of Ro-tel for the jalapeno, added a can of black eyed peas (because I love them so), omitted the cheese, and used a vegan cornbread recipe for the topping instead of the more polenta-like topping in the original recipe. I also like to brown the corn with the onion and bell pepper, to get it toasty and delicious. And I use what may sound like an insane amount of cilantro, but I'm kind of crazy about cilantro, and it does lose some of its flavor when it cooks.

The filling is to die for. Each time I've made it, Brad and I have hovered over the stove, scooping up big mouthfuls with tortilla chips. If you wanted, you could add another can or two or Ro-tel, and you'd have yourself a kick ass salsa. The filling would also be equally as delicious served over rice as it is in tamale pie form. It just depends on what you're craving.

I love this meal. So very, very much.

Tamale Pie

Filling:
1 tsp olive oil
1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 15-oz can corn, drained
1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-oz can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 can Rotel (I like to use the extra spicy variety)
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
2 cups coarsely chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp cumin
2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt

Topping:
1 cup almond milk mixed with 1 tsp vinegar
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and corn. Saute several minutes, until onion and bell pepper begin to soften, and all vegetables are somewhat browned. Add remaining ingredients, cooking and stirring until heated through. Pour into a 9x9 baking pan.

In a small bowl, combine almond milk and vinegar. Stir together and set aside while you measure and combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together cornmeal, flour, salt and baking powder. Add milk and vegetable oil. Stir thoroughly. Spread over bean filling. Bake 20-30 minutes, until cornbread topping is cooked through (you can test it with a toothpick).

If desired, sprinkle 1 cup grated cheddar cheese on the filling before adding the topping.

Vegan Split Pea Soup

2009-03-31T17:52:00.002-05:00

This isn't the first time I've made vegan split pea soup, but I didn't get around to blogging it in the past. Let me start by saying that never, not in a million years, would I have guessed that split pea soup would taste good without ham. But I found some meat-free recipes and gave them a try. What a hit! Even the kids love it! There's lots of flavor to be added by browning the vegetables before adding the split peas and stock, and adding fresh thyme, as well as some really flavorful vegetable bouillon (I used a few spoonfuls of jarred Better Than Bouillon, which I absolutely adore), and the meat isn't even missed. I've seen other recipes that call for adding a touch of curry powder, which I think would be delicious, but this soup is so good as-is, that I hate to mess with it.

The last time I made this, we ate so much that I extended the batch by adding in some more water, the few split peas I had left, and some red lentils I happened to have on hand. This can truly be one of those never-ending soups, where you just keep adding ingredients as needed to extend the servings. Both split peas and red lentils cook up very quickly, too. Perfect!

When my brother was in preschool, his class wrote a cookbook...you know, one of those fun cookbooks where the kids dictate recipes for their favorite foods to the teachers, which are then typed up and put into a cookbook for parents. They're full of all kinds of hilarious instructions, like heating the oven to anywhere from 20 degrees to 2000 degrees, and roasting turkeys for 15 minutes. I love them! The recipe my brother gave was one he came up with on his own (ever the innovator): split pea soup bread. He called for putting a thick slice of fresh french bread (my mom made the best!) in the bottom of a bowl, then smothering it with split pea soup. It's delicious, and I highly recommend it if you're so inclined. I think it would also be great if you first toasted the bread and rubbed it with some garlic, sort of like a giant crouton, french onion soup style. Delicious!

No pictures tonight, because we devoured this before I thought to pick up my camera. Split pea soup isn't the most attractive dish to begin with, though, so I think it'll be ok.

Vegan Split Pea Soup

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 very large carrot (or several small), peeled and diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 Tbsp fresh thyme
1 lb dried split peas
10 cups water
2 Tbsp Better Than Bouillon vegetable base (or 2 vegetable bouillon cubes)

Heat olive oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add onion, carrot and celery. Cook and stir for several minutes, until vegetables are softened and a deep golden brown. Add thyme and split peas. Cook and stir two minutes. Add water and bouillon base. Stir to combine.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. When peas are tender to your liking, remove from heat, dish up and serve.

The Food Slut is back!

2009-03-29T16:43:00.003-05:00

Finally! I'm back! My husband started a job in New York two months ago, while the kids and I killed time back in Louisiana until we closed on a house up here. The kids and I left a couple weeks ago and had a fun road trip to New York, stopping in Auburn, AL; Clemson, SC; Charleston, SC; and Norfolk, VA along the way. We closed on our house a week ago, and moved in this past Wednesday. I finally got my kitchen organized this afternoon, and am so excited to start cooking again! Here's the menu plan for this week:

Monday - split pea soup, french bread

Tuesday - leftover soup

Wednesday - cauliflower, potato & pea curry with flat bread

Thursday - spicy black bean tamale pie

Friday - hot sauce glazed tempeh, crash hot potatoes, broccoli

Saturday - leftovers

Happy holidays from The Food Slut!

2008-12-25T09:18:00.004-06:00

Seasons greetings!

Things have been hectic and bizarre around here lately. It looks like we will be moving to upstate New York very soon (Brad will go ahead in a couple week, and the kids and I will follow likely in March). This has all come on very suddenly, and was completely unexpected, but we are excited about it!

I promise to resume blogging very soon. Between finals, the holidays and a dozen other things, I just haven't had time. If/when we move, though, I will be able to stay home with my kids and my kitchen, which means more cooking and more blogging. Hooray!

I wish you all a very happy holiday season!

The Food Slut & Family

Weekly Menu - week of December 7th

2008-12-08T17:13:00.004-06:00

Sunday - Spicy white bean and sweet potato stew with collards, french bread

Monday - I have finals at 3pm and 8pm (WTF is up with a final that late????), so no cooking for me tonight.

Tuesday - Chickpea, sweet potato and spinach stew, couscous

Wednesday - Mexican black-eyed peas, rice

Thursday - leftovers

Friday - banana pancakes

Saturday - The kids and I will be doing our holiday baking this day, so we'll just forage for dinner...if we're actually hungry. ; )

Spicy White Bean, Sweet Potato Stew with Greens

2008-12-07T17:02:00.004-06:00

This recipe caught my eye on Fat Free Vegan. It satisfied my two recent endeavors: to learn to love sweet potatoes, and to use my slow cooker more often. Ironically enough, I have only ended up using my slow cooker on weekends, not on the more understandable days that I'm at work or class all day. I did try to make navy bean soup in it one day that I was at work, but to my dismay, the power must have flickered out at one point during the day, because when Brad came home in the afternoon, all the clocks were flashing, and the crock pot was off. Grrrr!

This recipe today came together like a dream, however. Really...talk about simple. It could be made just as easily in a pot on the stovetop, and in less time, but I'm studying for finals this weekend, and wanted something I could just dump in a pot and forget about for the rest of the day.

This stew is ridiculously healthy and full of calcium like you can't believe, between the cannellini beans, sweet potatoes and collard greens. It's also very low in fat, with just 1 tsp of olive oil. It's delicious, hearty and filling. I love this stew, and will definitely make it again! I modified it slightly, so be sure to click the link above to see the original.

Spicy White Bean and Sweet Potato Stew with Collards

1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 to 4 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 fresh jalapeno, finely diced
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 bay leaves
3 cups vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups collard greens, chopped

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cover and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker. Add the sweet potatoes, jalapeno, ginger, tomatoes, beans, agave nectar, allspice, cumin, bay leaves, and stock; season with salt (if desired) and pepper, cover, and cook on Low for 4 to 6 hours.

Close to serving time, cook the collard greens in simmering water until they are tender. Stir them into the crock pot. Taste to adjust the seasonings, if desired. Remove the bay leaves and serve.

Weekly Menu - week of November 30

2008-11-30T14:29:00.002-06:00

So, we ended up not cooking a post-Thanksgiving feast after all. Our friends invited us and our girls over on Friday because their daughter was having a dinner party. It was ridiculously cute, let me tell you. The table was set with a shimmery pink tablecloth, and there were all kinds of cute, shiny things hanging from the chandelier and the windows. The girls all dressed up in fancy clothes, and the table was set with fancy dishes and silverware. They had sparkling grape juice in wine glasses, and the cutest appetizer of mini pb&j rounds set atop shot glasses filled with cold milk. How cute is that? Dinner was penne pasta with cheese sauce, and there were miniature pink-frosted chocolate cakes for dessert. The girls had an absolute ball, and we adults ate Thanksgiving leftovers, drank wine and played Spades on the patio. Talk about a wonderful evening with friends!

Then on Saturday they came over to our house, with all of the remaining Thanksgiving leftovers in tow, and we ate leftovers, watched the Iron Bowl (can I tell you how much I fucking hate Nick Saban????) and then played Scene It before calling it a night.

All that is to say that I haven't cooked anything since Wednesday, when I made Thai tofu and veggie pizza with peanut sauce. The nice thing about that is that our grocery bill has been basically nonexistent. But I'm ready to cook. It's time plan a weekly menu.

Sunday - Veggieburgers with grilled onions and mushrooms, tater tots

Monday - last week for our Monday night class! Hooray! We will probably eat out before class.

Tuesday - Pioneer Woman's Farfalle with Zucchini, french bread

Wednesday - Black bean tamale pie, salad

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Spicy white bean, sweet potato and kale stew, french bread

Saturday - Leftovers

Update on my hodgepodge bean soup/stew/chili

2008-11-26T14:21:00.003-06:00

I forgot to come back and update about my Slow Cooker Hodgepodge Pantry Cleaning Stew/Soup/Chili! We ended up not eating it the day I made it because we weren't very hungry, and I think that worked out for the best. By dinner time that day, it still had a very eggplanty aroma that wasn't so appealing. So I let it simmer away the rest of the evening, chilled it overnight, then let it simmer even more then next day. And OH MY GOD, when we finally dished it up, it was delicious! I'll admit, I was kind of nervous about how it would turn out, but it was great! We ate it for dinner on both Monday and Tuesday, and snacked on it throughout the day as well. Yum!

In other news, we have decided to have our own family vegetarian Thanksgiving at home this weekend. We're spending all day tomorrow with Brad's extended family, but I've been sad that I don't get to cook anything. I honestly don't know how much there will be for us to eat, but I'm sure we'll make do with side dishes and rolls and such. I'm not even worrying about staying vegan, because I do think that's asking a bit much from Brad's family to accommodate, so as long as we stay vegetarian, we'll both be happy.

But I'll get to cook a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner this weekend! Again, it won't all be vegan, but for this occasion, I'm ok with that. Now I just need to decide what to make! Some things I'm tossing around are:

Stuffing
Mashed potatoes
Mushroom gravy
Red onion and gouda macaroni & cheese
Steam-sauteed green beans with almonds
Baked pumpkin
Cranberry sauce
Dinner rolls
Sugared cranberries
Fruit salad
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie

Weekly Menu - week of November 23

2008-11-24T07:57:00.002-06:00

Sunday - burritos

Monday - bean and veggie soup/stew/chili, rice

Tuesday - leftovers

Wednesday - Thai tofu & veggie pizza with peanut sauce, and make-your-own-pizza for the kids

Thursday - Thanksgiving! I don't get to cook this year, which I'm both happy and sad about at the same time.

Friday - Zuppa Toscana, french bread

Saturday - South Indian Spicy Mushroom Curry, rice, spicy onion & carrot pickle

Crockpot Fever

2008-11-23T10:14:00.003-06:00

If you know me in real life, you likely know how much I dislike slow cookers. I've never understood the appeal, and can count on two hands the number of times I've used mine since we got married 6 1/2 years ago. In my experience, it doesn't save that much time when you factor in the prep work beforehand. I like to saute the veggies and sear the meat (back when I ate meat) before making soups and stews anyway, so it just didn't make sense to use a slow cooker. Now, though, that both Brad and I will be working full-time starting in January, and Brad may even be working a couple hours away and only be home on weekends, I've decided to give the slow cooker another go. In the past week, I've used the slow cooker to make refried beans, navy bean soup, spiced apple cider, and baked oatmeal, all of which were great! I put the oatmeal in last night, and we had warm, toasty, yummy baked oatmeal for breakfast as soon as we woke up. Nice! The refried beans I made because the kids love them, and we've been eating on them for days, in burritos, on nachos, as a dip for chips while watching football, etc. Maybe the slow cooker is growing on me.

It's cold outside, and I still have the urge to simmer this morning, so I took it upon myself to clean out the pantry and make something warm and filling. We still have a few cans of beans left from our Hurricane Gustav stockpile, so I put those to use, along with some corn, enchilada sauce, tomatoes, tomato sauce, vegetable stock, and chipotle peppers. I also threw in the half of a leftover eggplant and half of a block of tofu that have been sitting in my fridge for several days. I think this is going to be good! I'm going to go ahead and post the recipe now, before I forget what went in it, then I'll update this evening to let you know how it turned out. I think it's going to end up being chili-like, but we'll see.

Note: The beans, corn, tomato sauce and vegetable stock are all the standard 15ish-oz cans, while the diced tomatoes are the larger can, and the enchilada sauce is the slightly smaller (12-oz?) can.

Slow Cooker Hodgepodge Pantry Cleaning Stew/Soup/Chili

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, drained
1 can vegetable stock
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can green enchilada sauce
3 chipotle pepeprs in adobo sauce, coarsley chopped
1/2 large eggplant, cut in 1/2-inch dice
1/2 block of extra firm tofu, drained and pressed, cut in 1/4-inch dice
2 Tbsp cumin
2 Tbsp chili powder

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 6 hours.

Thai Green Curry Tofu with Jasmine Rice

2008-11-18T18:30:00.005-06:00

I haven't had green curry since we were in Japan, which was...good grief, it's been more than 11 months since we left Japan!! Thai Erawan, just off Blue Street in Yokosuka, had the best green curry that I absolutely adored. I bought a tub of green curry paste at Whole Foods earlier this year, as well as a tub of red. I was less than pleased with the red curry paste, so I haven't been really motivated to try the green yet. I found a little packet of green curry paste at World Market last week, and tried it tonight.

It was good! Spicy as hell, but delicious! And look how pretty!

Thai Green Curry Tofu

1 oz green curry paste
1 can light coconut milk
1/2 to 1 cup vegetable stock
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut in 1-inch chunks
1 small summer squash, cut in 1-inch chunks
1/2 medium eggplant, cut in 1-inch chunks
1/2 block tofu, drained and pressed, cut in 1-inch chunks
1 large yellow onion, cut in 1-inch chunks
1 green bell pepper, cut in 1-inch chunks
1 to 2 cups fresh broccoli florets
Hot, cooked jasmine rice

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add curry paste and saute for 2 minutes. Add coconut milk and vegetable stock, whisking to combine thoroughly. Add sweet potato, summer squash, eggplant, tofu and onion. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes, or until sweet potato is just tender. Add bell pepper and broccoli. Cover and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes longer, until broccoli is crisp-tender but not soft.

Serve over hot jasmine rice.

Weekly Menu - week of November 15

2008-11-15T18:40:00.003-06:00

Sunday - dinner with friends

Monday - class night

Tuesday - Green curry tofu and veggies with jasmine rice

Wednesday - Navy bean soup with cornbread

Thursday - leftovers

Friday - Zuppa Toscana with french bread

Saturday - leftovers

Cooking day

2008-11-13T19:35:00.004-06:00

I cooked so much today! It's been awhile since I've spent this much time in the kitchen, and it was really fun!

First I made a batch of French bread, although I took the shortcut route and prepared the dough in my seldom used bread maker. I think it's the first time I've used it in about three years, but it really came in handy today on the dough cycle, to be able to just put everything in and let it go to work. I took the dough out mid-afternoon, shaped it into 4 small balls instead of one long loaf, and then baked them on some stoneware. We shared one for a snack, spread with Earth Balance and Marmite (yum!), then had another with some leftover minestrone soup that I made last night (sorry, no pictures of either bread or soup).

While the dough was mixing up in the bread maker, I made some vegan vanilla ice cream using a recipe from A Vegan Ice Cream Paradise. This was my first time making vegan ice cream, and it turned out really well! I made the Fancy Pants Vanilla, and modified it very slightly, using almond milk instead of soy milk (I still used soy creamer), and corn starch instead of arrowroot. I ran it through our cheapo ice cream maker for about 30 minutes, then put it in a container in the freezer to firm up more. I'm really excited to try some other recipes from that blog! I think I see a lot of ice cream in our future...

The last thing I made today was apple crisp. I used the recipe that I grew up with, my Grandma's recipe, that has a crumbly strudel-type topping instead of the oat topping most people seem to use. The only thing I changed was subbing Earth Balance margarine for the butter, and I don't know how well that worked. While the apple crisp tasted delicious tonight, for some reason that apples cooked down into mush, and the topping never fully crisped up. I think that real butter may be the key to the perfect crispy, crumbly topping, so if you're not vegan, then by all means stick to the original recipe. I did pop this directly under the broiler for several minutes at the end of the cooking time, which helped somewhat. Regardless, though, this was delicious, even if it was more applesaucy than chunky. I served it topped with several miniature scoops of vanilla ice cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon. So satisfying!

Middle Eastern Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions

2008-11-11T19:30:00.004-06:00

Ok, this is my first time cooking this dish, but it is automatically jumping up to the top of my list of favorite recipes. It's amazing! As I mentioned in my last blog, we had this dish at Roman's, a great restaurant here in town, and we flipped out over how delicious it was, so I was excited when I saw a recipe for it in the Vegan Planet cookbook I bought last weekend. This is the first recipe I've made from Vegan Planet, and if it's an indicator of things to come, I'm delighted! What a great recipe! It was so easy to make. It takes awhile, between letting the lentils simmer, and then letting the rice cook with the lentils afterwards, but there's hardly any active prep time, and it's well worth the wait. I don't want to step on Robin's toes by posting the recipe, but I'll give you the basic idea, and then recommend that you run out to your nearest bookstore forthwith and get yourself a copy of this great cookbook!

To make this dish, your first pre-cook some lentils, and while they're cooking, saute up some diced onion (it calls for shallots, but I used an onion since I was too lazy to go to the store). Remove half the onions and set them aside, then to the rest of the onions, add in lentils, spices, rice and water, then let it simmer away until the rice is cooked. While that's cooking, you cook the reserved onions in some olive oil until they're dark brown, caramelized and crispy. The dish is served topped with the crispy onions.

Seriously, there are not enough good things I can say about this dish! It's immensely satisfying, and was even better than what we had at the restaurant. Delicious! My picture doesn't do it justice, but I hope you can get the idea. The only thing I would do differently next time would be to have much, much more crispy onions on top. We couldn't get enough of them!

My girls weren't too interested in this dish, so I boiled up extra lentils and some plain jasmine rice, and they had that for dinner. Meg ate two big plates of plain lentils and rice, and would have eaten more if we'd let her. I bought a pound of jasmine rice last week, and they've already eaten almost all of it! They can't get enough of hot, unadorned jasmine rice in a bowl. That's my girls!

Gnocchi with Thyme Vinaigrette and Lemon Cashew Cream

2008-11-09T18:52:00.002-06:00

I came across this recipe from VeganYumYum earlier this year, and was immediately attracted to the idea of a vinaigrette and cream on pasta. I used prepackaged gnocchi, so it was a very quick meal to throw together.

I made my mom's spinach salad to go with it, omitting the eggs, subbing vegetarian bacon, and toasted pecans instead of slivered almonds. Delicious!

Overall, the gnocchi was good, but the combination of the lemon in the cashew cream, and the vinegar in the vinaigrette was just a little too much for me. Next time I think I'll just go with something like a mushroom wine sauce. But the thyme vinaigrette is absolutely delicious, and I think it would be fantastic on salad, or for dipping crusty french bread. Definitely a keeper! I want to give a big THANK YOU to VeganYumYum for a great recipe! I can't remember for sure, but I think this might be the first recipe I've made from that blog, but I've been reading it for a long time. Go check it out if you're not familiar with it. It's a well-written blog with stunning pictures. Keep up the good work!

Weekly Menu - week of November 9th

2008-11-09T12:56:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I splurged on two new vegan cookbooks: Vegan With a Vengeance, and Vegan Planet. I already have Veganomicon, so I guess I'm a little out of order just getting VWAV now, but I couldn't resist any longer. I initially walked into the bookstore looking for Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, but alas, it was nowhere to be found. I've had a raging sweet tooth lately, so I'd love to get my hands on that book at some point. These two books are awesome, though! So many great recipes that I can't wait to try! Hooray!

One recipe in particular that I'm dying to try is from Vegan Planet: a lentils and rice dish with crispy shallots on top. We had this at a local mediterranean restaurant several weeks ago, and absolutely loved it, so I was excited to see it in Vegan Planet.

Here is my menu plan for the week:

Sunday - Gnocchi with herb sauce, spinach salad, french bread

Monday - night class, so we will forage (as much as I love this class, I will be so glad when it's over. I hate having class in the evening!)

Tuesday - Middle Eastern lentils and rice with caramelized shallots

Wednesday - Minestrone soup, french bread

Thursday - Leftovers, apple crisp

Friday - Dinner out with Brad's family before he goes to his drill weekend

Saturday - Mac & "cheese", broccoli

Vegan Reuben Burger

2008-11-09T12:35:00.003-06:00

I've been craving a Reuben sandwich lately, and today we decided to try our hand at a vegetarian version. Surprisingly, rye bread was nowhere to be found at the grocery store. I guess it's an exotic ethnic food around here (picture me rolling my eyes)? So we used individual ciabatta rolls instead. I made some vegan Thousand Island dressing with Vegenaise, ketchup, sweet pickle relish, white wine vinegar, and threw in some caraway seed to try to make up for the absence of rye bread. It worked!

We used vegan Boca Burgers, topped them with sauerkraut and the dressing, and Brad had swiss cheese on his while I kept mine vegan.

It was good! The sauerkraut, caraway and Thousand Island dressing are, for me, what makes up the essence of a Reuben, so I was happy. I actually took my Boca Burger off midway through and gave it to the dogs, and just ate what amounts to a Sauerkraut and Thousand Island sandwich, and enjoyed it even more that way. Next time I might roast up some veggies like eggplant and zucchini, and put them on in place of the Boca Burger. I bet it would be good!

Stir-Fried Vegetables and Tofu with Jasmine Rice

2008-11-06T19:22:00.005-06:00

Brad and I are taking a History class together for fun this semester -- The World Since 1960. It's an absolutely fascinating class, and our professor is a phenomenal lecturer. I swear, each class session is as entertaining and interesting as going to movies, and we look forward to Tuesday and Thursday mornings with happy anticipation. So far we've covered the history of intelligence gathering, the arms race, Vietnam, Israel and the Middle East, China, and today we started on Western Europe. I love this class! In discussing China, we've been reading Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Chen, the story of her arrest and imprisonment during the Cultural Revolution. I highly recommend it if you have a chance to read it. The subject matter is sobering, but in reading it last weekend, she mentioned a bowl of rice with steaming vegetables piled on top, and something about that stuck with me, and inspired tonight's dinner: Stir-fried Vegetables and Tofu with Jasmine Rice.

This is one of those recipes that's hardly worth typing out. Cook a pot of jasmine rice. Toast some sesame seeds in a hot, dry skillet, and set aside. Stir-fry green beans, onion, red bell pepper, mushrooms and tofu with ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and rice wine vinegar. Fill a bowl with rice. Pile veggies and tofu on top. Sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds. Devour.

Yum!

Election Food

2008-11-04T19:30:00.002-06:00

It's election day! Did you vote? I voted this afternoon, and only had to stand in line for about 20 minutes. I cast my vote for Obama, and I'd like to say that I did so happily, but knowing that Louisiana is almost certainly going to McCain didn't do a lot to make me feel that my vote actually mattered. I think it's high time we did away with the electoral college. Who's with me? I've never lived in a swing state, so I've yet to feel that my vote really mattered in the grand scheme of things, but at least I voted!

We're prepared to camp out in front of the TV tonight, half working on homework, and half watching the election results come in. And of course we need sustenance for that! We had yummy, peanutty noodles based on this recipe from use real butter. This is an easy, fresh and filling meal that's deeply satisfying. It doesn't even really require a recipe. I just soaked some rice noodles in hot water, filled a plate with shredded carrots, cucumber matchsticks, bean sprouts, baby spinach, tofu and cilantro, and whisked together a batch of peanut sauce. All that remains when it's time to eat is to put some noodles in a bowl, pile on all the veggies and tofu we wanted, and top it all with peanut sauce and a sprinkling of crushed red pepper. Toss it all together, and there's your dinner! We ate ours cold, but I'm sure it would be equally as good heated through. I plan on taking some to work tomorrow for lunch. Yum!