My friend Sherrie, over on http://adollopofcream.blogspot.com posted a recipe for a soup made from butterbeans, carrots, and bacon a while back, and I thought it sounded yummy...except for the bacon, that is. Anyway, it's been a while since I read her recipe, but last night I made my own soup...stole it from ya, Sherrie!!...based on hers. Probably hers is a little more complex, but I honestly don't remember, and I didn't go back to check her ingredients. Anyway, here's what I came up with:
Butterbean and Carrot Soup(vegan)
One 15 oz. can of butterbeans, drained and rinsed
One goodsized carrot, cut into thin "coins"
Water or veggie broth to cover the carrot by about an inch
Garlic powder and dried thyme to taste; black pepper
BacoBits!!!!!(Betty Crocker, and near as I can tell, they are vegan! How cool is that, right?)
Put the carrot in a medium saucepan, cover with water to about an inch over the carrots, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down, and let the carrot slices simmer for about 30-45 minutes, so that they are very tender...IF you want to blend them, that is. If you don't, then just cook them until they are as done as you want them.
Once the carrots are at the tenderness you want, add the butterbeans, garlic, thyme, and black pepper, to taste. If you think you'd like a different spice combination, go for it, it's your soup, so season it the way you want. You may want to use salt, too, btw, but I don't use much at all. Anyway...
Let the beans cook along with the carrots until the water has reduced by about half. Now you can either put this in a blender, or use an immersion blender, which is what I did, and puree it. If you use a blender, be very careful, as the soup is extremely hot, and I don't want you to get burned. Remember to hold the lid on the blender container with a kitchen towel, so the soup can't spatter out the top, or the container get too hot for you too hold. If you use the immersion blender, be very careful with it, also. Make sure it is fully immersed before you turn it on, and do NOT pull it out of the hot soup while it's running. I usually set the pan in my sink, so that I screw up and make a mess, at least it's not all over my stove and walls and floor. Just be careful, please.
After you've pureed the beans and carrots, let it heat up again, and this time, add some BacoBits and even a chunk of butter if you want.
This made about two servings, so if you need more, use another can or two of beans, a couple more carrots, and if you want to, you could add diced onion and celery, as well. This is your soup, play with it, make it your own. Sherrie won't mind, honest. And neither will I, because that's what cooking and recipes are all about!
A few weeks ago, I bought a HUGE container of almost too ripe strawberries, so what I couldn't eat immediately, I froze in three batches. Day before yesterday, on the way home from work, I picked up a couple cans of slice peaches. Sitting on my canned goods shelves in my kitchen are some cans of coconut milk. There was also a box of Bisquick(Bisquick is vegan, remember?). So, I wanted to do something to put all this stuff together in one dessert. This is what I came up with:
Coconut Tofu Sauce w/ Strawberries & Peaches(vegan)
About a pint of strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced into a bowl and then macerated with about 1/3 cup of sugar for about an hour, in the 'fridge.
As many peach slices as you want.
13.5 oz. can of coconut milk
12.3 oz. vacuum-packed package of firm tofu
1/2 Tbls. vanilla
2/3 cup sugar
dash of nutmeg and ginger
Put everything except the berries and peaches into a blender, and whirl until smooth. Refrigerate for about 30-60 minutes, to let the flavours marry. Meanwhile, bake a pan of biscuits, according to package directions. I didn't make shortcake biscuits because those call for sugar, and I figured that between the berries and the sauce I had more than enough sugar.
As soon as the biscuits are done, slice them open and put in a bowl. Pour some of the coconut sauce over them, and then spoon on the berries and some of the peach slices. Pour some more sauce over them. I had some flaked unsweetened coconut in the 'fridge, so I sprinkled a good handful of that over the top of the berries, peaches, sauce, etc. Eat. Enjoy. This was sinfully delicious, and I was very, very pleased with myself...again, lol. I'll make it again, believe me...and will probably take care of the leftovers tonight!!!
Until the next time, Happy Eating!
Showing posts with label coconut milk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coconut milk. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Warm Rotini Ssalad w/Balsamic Vinaigrette(Vegan); BacoBits; Coconut Veggie Curry(vegan)
Today is the fourth day in a row that I've been out of work. This could become a habit, lol. I so enjoy being home, but, the rent must be paid, one needs to buy groceries, pay the utilities, etc., so one goes back to work tomorrow morning. Sigh. The reason that I took Thursday off, is that I'm in a bit of an arthritic/fibro flare-uup:swollen hands and fingers, back aches, ankles hurt, etc., so being home hasn't been as much fun as I would've liked. Sigh again, lol. But, I found out yesterday that my boss has allegedly changed my schedule...yet again...so that I will be off on M-W-F, which is fine by me, because it means that after a horrendous two days over the weekend, I no longer will have to drag in again on Monday mornings. That's good. That's very good! Anyway, I'll find out for sure when I go to work in the AM.
When I bought groceries this past Tuesday, I found a really inexpensive brand of coconut milk, so I splurged and bought four cans. Last night I came up with a way to use one of them, a vegetable coconut curry. Not the most original thing, I realize, as I've seen recipes for something very similar all over the net, but I did this one without a written recipe, and it turned out wonderfully.
JB's Coconut Vegetable Curry
A couple good handsful of frozen cauliflower
A good handful of frozen green peas
About two medium carrots, sliced into very thin "coins"
1 can coconut milk
2 tsp. curry powder, more or less to YOUR taste(two worked fine for me)
To taste: ginger(about 1/4 tsp.), garlic, nutmeg(about 1/4 tsp.), black pepper, cinnmon and sugar(about a tsp. of a mix for making toast)
Put the carrots in a saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil over high heat. When boiling, turn heat down, and allow to simmer for at least 45 minutes, or until carrots are as tender as YOU want them. Oh...the pan should be covered. When the carrots are just about done, add the frozen cauliflower and green peas, bring back to a boil, and simmer a few minutes, or until the cauliflower and peas are tender. When they're as tender as YOU want them, drain most of the water from the pan, and pour in the whole can of coconut milk, along with all the spices. Keep the pan over medium-low heat until everything is heated thru. Serve over rice(I used a baked potato). Enjoy.
I thought this was wonderful, and it could easily become one of my favorite comfort foods. It's rich, mildly spicy, creamy, and just plain good, lol. It made enough for two people for one meal, but for me, it made enough for two meals, so it's going to be my supper again tonight. Will I make it again? Undoubtedly!!!
This pasta salad comes from the "Vegetarian Times: Low-Fat and Fast" cookbook, published in 1997. It's one of the ones I've checked out of the library. The way I happened to make this salad was that I simply closed my eyes, flipped thru the pages a few times, and then just stopped and opened my eyes: there was the salad, so that was supper one night this past week, lol. I was lucky that time, but then I tried to "blind pick" again, from a couple other cookbooks, and didn't fare so well, as I came up with some that had ingredients that I just plain dislike, or that I didn't have. Anyway, I did the best I could with the salad, even tho there were a few things I didn't have, lol.
Warm Rotini Salad w/Balsamic Vinaigrette
8 pz. uncooked rotini
Vinaigrette: 1/3C chopped basil
3 Tbs. Balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Salad: Nonstick cooking spray
2C sliced fresh mushrooms
1 med. yellow bell pepper, seeded, and cut into strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2C halved cherry tomatoes
1/4C(1 oz.)cubed mozzeralla(optional)Vegans can omit entirely, or use a vegan "cheese," such as the Tofutti brand(which I think isn't very good, btw.)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Prepare rotini according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine vinaigrette ingredients. Whisk until well blended. Set aside.
For the salad, spray a medium nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Cook the mushrooms, bell pepper, and garlic, stirring, over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cook, stirring constantly, until heated through.
Drain the rotini. In a large bowl, combine rotini and vegetable mixture. Add vinaigrette and chesse, if using; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Makes six servings.
Well, ok, there's the real recipe, which to me, looks really tasty. But, I had to make some changes: I don't like basil, and I didn't have any mushrooms, yellow bell peppers, or cherry tomatoes. So, uh, what did I have, right? LOL! Ok. Instead of the mushrooms, I diced up half a medium onion and sauteed that with a green bell pepper I just happened to have, as well as...ready for this?...8 frozen Brussels sprouts, and one small carrot, sliced into really thin matchsticks. I had some frozen yellow tomatoes from the bounty that my co-worker had given me earlier this year, so I let two of those thaw. When a frozen tomato thaws, btw, the peels slips off as easily as if you had done the boiling water procedure with it. Anyway. I let the tomatoes sit in a colander while everything else was sauteeing, and then chopped 'em up and put 'em in the pan with the sprouts, onions, carrots, etc. And, when everything was tender enough to suit me, I finished the salad according to the recipe...except that the vinaigrette didn't have basil, it had about 1/6C of dried oregano, and the vinaigrette was wonderful, seriously.
Ok, so I royally changed the recipe, but believe it or not, it was really good. Oh, yeah, I did have some vegan mozzeralla, so I used a couple slices of that, plus I threw in some vegetarian smoked provolone. Goat cheese would've been absolutely fantastic in this, but I didn't have any. The salad fed me for a couple days, but after the second day, I didn't want any more, I got tired of it. I don't know if I'll make it again or not, but I think I will, hopefully with goat cheese and fresh tomatoes. I'm also wondering if a different type of dressing would be as good as the Balsamic vinaigrette was?
Now, about those BacoBits! I just happened to see them at Kroger the other day, didn't have them on my list, and wasn't looking for them. A container of the BettyCrocker brand just jumped off the shelf into my grocery cart, lol, so I had no choice but to buy it and take it home. As near as I can tell, they are vegan, which means that everyone can use them. The only meal I've made with them so far was a "breakfast for dinner" type of thing: Fried 'taters with onions and BacoBits, and then some eggs cracked over the top of the 'taters, a cover put on the skillet, and the eggs allowed to cook and set, sort of a cross between over light, poached, and sunny side up, lol. Good? OHHELLYEAH! Very good, and I ate every single bite of it, too. I think that the Bits would be good in an omelette...in scrambled eggs...in turnip/collard/mustard greens, or even in green beans. I am really pleased that I brought them home and tried them.
One more thing and I'll go quietly away and let you get on with your day. I've added another website to "JB'S Favorites," on the top lefthand of the page. The site is another one that has the recipe ingredient search function, i.e., put in the ingredients, hit search, and it brings up recipes using those ingredients. That's how I happened to make the veggie curry last night: I entered chickpeas and coconut milk, and it brought up a chickpea coconut milk curry. I didn't especially like the looks of that, but thought that coconut and curry would be good, so figured out the rest of it from stuff I had here already. Anyway, the site is www.foodieview.com
Give it a try.
Until next time, Happy Eating!!!
When I bought groceries this past Tuesday, I found a really inexpensive brand of coconut milk, so I splurged and bought four cans. Last night I came up with a way to use one of them, a vegetable coconut curry. Not the most original thing, I realize, as I've seen recipes for something very similar all over the net, but I did this one without a written recipe, and it turned out wonderfully.
JB's Coconut Vegetable Curry
A couple good handsful of frozen cauliflower
A good handful of frozen green peas
About two medium carrots, sliced into very thin "coins"
1 can coconut milk
2 tsp. curry powder, more or less to YOUR taste(two worked fine for me)
To taste: ginger(about 1/4 tsp.), garlic, nutmeg(about 1/4 tsp.), black pepper, cinnmon and sugar(about a tsp. of a mix for making toast)
Put the carrots in a saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil over high heat. When boiling, turn heat down, and allow to simmer for at least 45 minutes, or until carrots are as tender as YOU want them. Oh...the pan should be covered. When the carrots are just about done, add the frozen cauliflower and green peas, bring back to a boil, and simmer a few minutes, or until the cauliflower and peas are tender. When they're as tender as YOU want them, drain most of the water from the pan, and pour in the whole can of coconut milk, along with all the spices. Keep the pan over medium-low heat until everything is heated thru. Serve over rice(I used a baked potato). Enjoy.
I thought this was wonderful, and it could easily become one of my favorite comfort foods. It's rich, mildly spicy, creamy, and just plain good, lol. It made enough for two people for one meal, but for me, it made enough for two meals, so it's going to be my supper again tonight. Will I make it again? Undoubtedly!!!
This pasta salad comes from the "Vegetarian Times: Low-Fat and Fast" cookbook, published in 1997. It's one of the ones I've checked out of the library. The way I happened to make this salad was that I simply closed my eyes, flipped thru the pages a few times, and then just stopped and opened my eyes: there was the salad, so that was supper one night this past week, lol. I was lucky that time, but then I tried to "blind pick" again, from a couple other cookbooks, and didn't fare so well, as I came up with some that had ingredients that I just plain dislike, or that I didn't have. Anyway, I did the best I could with the salad, even tho there were a few things I didn't have, lol.
Warm Rotini Salad w/Balsamic Vinaigrette
8 pz. uncooked rotini
Vinaigrette: 1/3C chopped basil
3 Tbs. Balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Salad: Nonstick cooking spray
2C sliced fresh mushrooms
1 med. yellow bell pepper, seeded, and cut into strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2C halved cherry tomatoes
1/4C(1 oz.)cubed mozzeralla(optional)Vegans can omit entirely, or use a vegan "cheese," such as the Tofutti brand(which I think isn't very good, btw.)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Prepare rotini according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine vinaigrette ingredients. Whisk until well blended. Set aside.
For the salad, spray a medium nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Cook the mushrooms, bell pepper, and garlic, stirring, over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cook, stirring constantly, until heated through.
Drain the rotini. In a large bowl, combine rotini and vegetable mixture. Add vinaigrette and chesse, if using; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Makes six servings.
Well, ok, there's the real recipe, which to me, looks really tasty. But, I had to make some changes: I don't like basil, and I didn't have any mushrooms, yellow bell peppers, or cherry tomatoes. So, uh, what did I have, right? LOL! Ok. Instead of the mushrooms, I diced up half a medium onion and sauteed that with a green bell pepper I just happened to have, as well as...ready for this?...8 frozen Brussels sprouts, and one small carrot, sliced into really thin matchsticks. I had some frozen yellow tomatoes from the bounty that my co-worker had given me earlier this year, so I let two of those thaw. When a frozen tomato thaws, btw, the peels slips off as easily as if you had done the boiling water procedure with it. Anyway. I let the tomatoes sit in a colander while everything else was sauteeing, and then chopped 'em up and put 'em in the pan with the sprouts, onions, carrots, etc. And, when everything was tender enough to suit me, I finished the salad according to the recipe...except that the vinaigrette didn't have basil, it had about 1/6C of dried oregano, and the vinaigrette was wonderful, seriously.
Ok, so I royally changed the recipe, but believe it or not, it was really good. Oh, yeah, I did have some vegan mozzeralla, so I used a couple slices of that, plus I threw in some vegetarian smoked provolone. Goat cheese would've been absolutely fantastic in this, but I didn't have any. The salad fed me for a couple days, but after the second day, I didn't want any more, I got tired of it. I don't know if I'll make it again or not, but I think I will, hopefully with goat cheese and fresh tomatoes. I'm also wondering if a different type of dressing would be as good as the Balsamic vinaigrette was?
Now, about those BacoBits! I just happened to see them at Kroger the other day, didn't have them on my list, and wasn't looking for them. A container of the BettyCrocker brand just jumped off the shelf into my grocery cart, lol, so I had no choice but to buy it and take it home. As near as I can tell, they are vegan, which means that everyone can use them. The only meal I've made with them so far was a "breakfast for dinner" type of thing: Fried 'taters with onions and BacoBits, and then some eggs cracked over the top of the 'taters, a cover put on the skillet, and the eggs allowed to cook and set, sort of a cross between over light, poached, and sunny side up, lol. Good? OHHELLYEAH! Very good, and I ate every single bite of it, too. I think that the Bits would be good in an omelette...in scrambled eggs...in turnip/collard/mustard greens, or even in green beans. I am really pleased that I brought them home and tried them.
One more thing and I'll go quietly away and let you get on with your day. I've added another website to "JB'S Favorites," on the top lefthand of the page. The site is another one that has the recipe ingredient search function, i.e., put in the ingredients, hit search, and it brings up recipes using those ingredients. That's how I happened to make the veggie curry last night: I entered chickpeas and coconut milk, and it brought up a chickpea coconut milk curry. I didn't especially like the looks of that, but thought that coconut and curry would be good, so figured out the rest of it from stuff I had here already. Anyway, the site is www.foodieview.com
Give it a try.
Until next time, Happy Eating!!!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Coconut Jasmine Rice(vegan)
Tuesday was another Kidney Jerk day, so Debra picked me up about 9:45am and off we went. After we left the Jerk's office, we went on to the library, where I had to make myself stop picking out books at 12. Last time we went, I had a very difficult time finding enough to make me happy, and this time, it broke my heart, but I had to stop. But I found a couple books that I've been wanting to read: "The DaVinci Code," by Dan Brown, and another one of the "The .....Tale," by Margaret Frazier. The DaVinci Code is a wonderful book, and much to my delight, at one point in the book, I "solved" one of the riddle clues before the heroes did, lol. The one by Margaret Frazier is one of a series of about 16 books, of which I've read about eight, I think, which is all the library has had, until they stocked this new one, "The Tale of the Reever." These "tales" are all set back in the 1300's, and the detective heroine is a nun. Incredible how she solves murder mysteries without the aid of our modern technology, but, she does! And holds me spellbound thruout the whole book to boot!
The jasmine rice recipe is a spinoff of the coconut rice recipe I posted a while back, but a little more complicated, and a whole lot better tasting. When I made this, I didn't use a recipe, but most likely someone has put it out there on the web somewhere. All I did was check to be sure I wasn't duplicating the earlier one I posted, and I wasn't. I ate the rice with the heated up Moorish Chickpea Stew I posted last week, and much to my delight...and surprise...the stew was MUCH better the second time around, and the rice turned out to be perfect with it, with the sweetness of the rice offsetting the sort of bitter taste of the stew. It was perfect, and I hope to make it again some day.
Coconut Jasmine Rice
1C rice
1(15-oz.)can of coconut milk, plus about half a can of water.
1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla
a handful of unsweetened shredded, dried coconut, toasted until light brown in a dry skillet over medium heat, about ten minutes.
Salt if you wish, but I didn't, and didn't see any need for it.
Bring the coconut milk to boil, add the rice, stir it into the water, and after you've covered the pot, turn the heat down so the rice simmers very gently for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Check it after about ten minutes or so, to see if you think it's going to need more liquid. Mine did, so I added half the can of water to the rice and milk, recovered it, and let it alone fro the next ten minutes.
When the rice was done, I added the cinnamon and nutmeg, as well as the shredded coconut, and stirred it all together. Took the pot off the heat and stirred in the vanilla, and that was it: Coconut Jasmine Rice. And, yes, I will make it again sometime.
Until next time, Happy Eating!
The jasmine rice recipe is a spinoff of the coconut rice recipe I posted a while back, but a little more complicated, and a whole lot better tasting. When I made this, I didn't use a recipe, but most likely someone has put it out there on the web somewhere. All I did was check to be sure I wasn't duplicating the earlier one I posted, and I wasn't. I ate the rice with the heated up Moorish Chickpea Stew I posted last week, and much to my delight...and surprise...the stew was MUCH better the second time around, and the rice turned out to be perfect with it, with the sweetness of the rice offsetting the sort of bitter taste of the stew. It was perfect, and I hope to make it again some day.
Coconut Jasmine Rice
1C rice
1(15-oz.)can of coconut milk, plus about half a can of water.
1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla
a handful of unsweetened shredded, dried coconut, toasted until light brown in a dry skillet over medium heat, about ten minutes.
Salt if you wish, but I didn't, and didn't see any need for it.
Bring the coconut milk to boil, add the rice, stir it into the water, and after you've covered the pot, turn the heat down so the rice simmers very gently for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Check it after about ten minutes or so, to see if you think it's going to need more liquid. Mine did, so I added half the can of water to the rice and milk, recovered it, and let it alone fro the next ten minutes.
When the rice was done, I added the cinnamon and nutmeg, as well as the shredded coconut, and stirred it all together. Took the pot off the heat and stirred in the vanilla, and that was it: Coconut Jasmine Rice. And, yes, I will make it again sometime.
Until next time, Happy Eating!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Coconut Rice Pudding(vegan)
Back again...twice in one day...wow! This pudding came about because of the vanilla tofu I mentioned in the last post. I had leftover jasmine rice in the refrigerator, I had the tofu, I had coconut milk, and I had unsweetened shredded coconut. So, all I needed was someone to tell me how to put them all together into a pudding. My google search took me to http://eatair.blogspot.com
This is a great site, and this recipe is from someone there named Chris. It's a wonderful recipe, and Chris, thank you for posting it.
Coconut Rice Pudding(vegan)
2C each cooked rice, and soy milk
1/4C sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 of a 6-oz package of silken tofu
2/3C raisins
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 Tbs vegan margarine
In a medium sized saucepan, combine rice, 1 1/2 cup of the soy milk, the sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until it starts to get a little thicker, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, blend the silken tofu and the other 1/2 C soy milk in a blender until smooth and creamy. Add to the pan along with raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Cook about 2 minutes longer. Turn off heat and add margarine, stir until margarince is melted.
For coconut variation, replace 1C of the soy milk with coconut milk, omit raisins, and add a drained can of pineapple chunks. Can replace vanilla with coconut extract, but if you don't have any, don't worry about it.
Ok. First, I used only coconut milk, no soy milk at all. My silken tofu was the vanilla flavored, and if you haven't used it yet, you need to know that it is already textured like a pudding. It doesn't have to be drained or pressed, use it straight from the package. Second, I think, for me, anyway, that if I make this again, I will cut the cinnamon to only 1/4 tsp. The nutmeg is fine, but I added 1/2 tsp. of vanilla, instead of the 1/4, and was very pleased...but, I love vanilla. You might not. No raisins. I don't like raisins. No pineapple, either, as I didn't have any, and don't like it one bit! So instead of the pineapple, I added one good handful of the shredded coconut. OMG! This stuff is just soooooooooo good, it really is. I made it last night, and I hate to admit it, but I finished it this morning, lol. It's not something I'm going to make very often, I know, but I sure am glad that I tried it this time!!!
Until next time, Happy Eating!!!
This is a great site, and this recipe is from someone there named Chris. It's a wonderful recipe, and Chris, thank you for posting it.
Coconut Rice Pudding(vegan)
2C each cooked rice, and soy milk
1/4C sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 of a 6-oz package of silken tofu
2/3C raisins
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 Tbs vegan margarine
In a medium sized saucepan, combine rice, 1 1/2 cup of the soy milk, the sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until it starts to get a little thicker, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, blend the silken tofu and the other 1/2 C soy milk in a blender until smooth and creamy. Add to the pan along with raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Cook about 2 minutes longer. Turn off heat and add margarine, stir until margarince is melted.
For coconut variation, replace 1C of the soy milk with coconut milk, omit raisins, and add a drained can of pineapple chunks. Can replace vanilla with coconut extract, but if you don't have any, don't worry about it.
Ok. First, I used only coconut milk, no soy milk at all. My silken tofu was the vanilla flavored, and if you haven't used it yet, you need to know that it is already textured like a pudding. It doesn't have to be drained or pressed, use it straight from the package. Second, I think, for me, anyway, that if I make this again, I will cut the cinnamon to only 1/4 tsp. The nutmeg is fine, but I added 1/2 tsp. of vanilla, instead of the 1/4, and was very pleased...but, I love vanilla. You might not. No raisins. I don't like raisins. No pineapple, either, as I didn't have any, and don't like it one bit! So instead of the pineapple, I added one good handful of the shredded coconut. OMG! This stuff is just soooooooooo good, it really is. I made it last night, and I hate to admit it, but I finished it this morning, lol. It's not something I'm going to make very often, I know, but I sure am glad that I tried it this time!!!
Until next time, Happy Eating!!!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Italian-Style Tofu(Vegan); Coconut Rice(vegan)
It has rained just about all day, thank goodness, because we still need it desperately. I love the sound of the rain on the skylights here in my little house, but it made me sleep late again this morning, lol. Woke up around 5:30, heard the rain, and rolled over and slept until just about 8, sigh, and didn't want to get up then, really. The ol' back and hips made that decision for me, tho, so I crawled out. And that's just about how my day has been today: Just crawling along, lol. Finished a book, finished the laundry, but couldn't use the computer too much this afternoon because it started thundering. But, life went on anyway!
The two recipes I'm going to post are both from "Vegan with a Vengeance," by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Both of them are easy, and they both turned out good, much to my delight.
Marinated Italian-Style Tofu
1 lb. firm extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed
1/2C white cooking wine
2Tbs. EACH olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Bragg Liquid Aminos or tamari, fresh lemon juice.
2 cloves garlic, smashed
A big pinch each dried basil, marjoram, and thyme
Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Cut the tofu widthwise into eight equal pieces. Marinate for an hour, flipping after 30 minutes.
Place tofu on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Flip over and bake another 10 minutes. Place in the broiler for about 3 more minutes for extra chewiness.
I have to tell you that I made a mistake when I got the tofu ready to marinate: I only cut it four ways, and don't know how I misread "eight." The recipe still came out ok in my opinion, tho. Another change I made was to use oregano, as I don't like basil, and I used mint, because I don't have any marjoram. The thyme I had and used. All in all I thought it was good, I'll make it again, and since I have two pieces left, that's what I'm going to have for dinner tonight.
Isa makes one suggestion about the marinade: "Don't throw it out. Reserve the marinade and get creative. Mix in a little water and arrowroot or cornstarch, then heat it up, and you've got yourself a gravy. Or, use it to stir-fry broccoli or asparagus for a nice, fast side dish: heat up some vegetable oil over high heat, then add your chopped vegetables, pouring on splashes of the marinade as you cook."
Since I'm going to bake a potato to go with the tofu, I'm going to try to use cornstarch and water to make the gravy, and see if I like it on the potato. I dunno, it's pretty intense. Possibly the 1/2C of white wine was a bit much, especially since I don't drink, and, um, have to admit, that wine has been in my cupboard a long time, lol. Oh, well, live and learn, right?
This next one just plain sounded good, so I bought some jasmine rice and decided to give it a shot. My version is much, much simpler than this one, tho.
Coconut Rice with Toasted Coconut
2C jasmine rice, washed
1(13.5 oz)can coconut milk
1C water
1 cinnamon stick
1/4tsp. salt
Finely grated zest of 1 lime
12C unsweetened shredded coconut
Combine the rice, coconut milk, water, cinnamon stick, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover pot, and simmer 20 minutes. Add the lime zest and stir with a fork. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit 10 more minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the shredded coconut:
Heat a skillet over low-medium heat. Add the coconut and toast, turning frequently, for about 3 minutes, or until the coconut is browned and toasty.
Remove the cinnamon stick from the rice and serve, sprinkling the toasted coconute over each serving. Garnish with lime wedges if you so desire.
Like I said, mine was much simpler. For one thing, altho I had fully intended to buy cinammon sticks, the price was just more than I could deal with. Outrageous, in fact...or at least, for my wallet. Maybe not for yours, I dunno. Plus I forgot the shredded coconut, lol. Duh, right? So, I used the coconut milk, water, and a little margarine, and that's all. Long story short, it was pretty good, and I enjoyed it. There's some leftover in the 'fridge, and one of these days I'll heat it up and eat it.
Now it's time to heat the oven for my baked potato, and see if I can make a decent gravy out of that marinade. Until next time, Happy Eating, and God bless.
The two recipes I'm going to post are both from "Vegan with a Vengeance," by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Both of them are easy, and they both turned out good, much to my delight.
Marinated Italian-Style Tofu
1 lb. firm extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed
1/2C white cooking wine
2Tbs. EACH olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Bragg Liquid Aminos or tamari, fresh lemon juice.
2 cloves garlic, smashed
A big pinch each dried basil, marjoram, and thyme
Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Cut the tofu widthwise into eight equal pieces. Marinate for an hour, flipping after 30 minutes.
Place tofu on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Flip over and bake another 10 minutes. Place in the broiler for about 3 more minutes for extra chewiness.
I have to tell you that I made a mistake when I got the tofu ready to marinate: I only cut it four ways, and don't know how I misread "eight." The recipe still came out ok in my opinion, tho. Another change I made was to use oregano, as I don't like basil, and I used mint, because I don't have any marjoram. The thyme I had and used. All in all I thought it was good, I'll make it again, and since I have two pieces left, that's what I'm going to have for dinner tonight.
Isa makes one suggestion about the marinade: "Don't throw it out. Reserve the marinade and get creative. Mix in a little water and arrowroot or cornstarch, then heat it up, and you've got yourself a gravy. Or, use it to stir-fry broccoli or asparagus for a nice, fast side dish: heat up some vegetable oil over high heat, then add your chopped vegetables, pouring on splashes of the marinade as you cook."
Since I'm going to bake a potato to go with the tofu, I'm going to try to use cornstarch and water to make the gravy, and see if I like it on the potato. I dunno, it's pretty intense. Possibly the 1/2C of white wine was a bit much, especially since I don't drink, and, um, have to admit, that wine has been in my cupboard a long time, lol. Oh, well, live and learn, right?
This next one just plain sounded good, so I bought some jasmine rice and decided to give it a shot. My version is much, much simpler than this one, tho.
Coconut Rice with Toasted Coconut
2C jasmine rice, washed
1(13.5 oz)can coconut milk
1C water
1 cinnamon stick
1/4tsp. salt
Finely grated zest of 1 lime
12C unsweetened shredded coconut
Combine the rice, coconut milk, water, cinnamon stick, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover pot, and simmer 20 minutes. Add the lime zest and stir with a fork. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit 10 more minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the shredded coconut:
Heat a skillet over low-medium heat. Add the coconut and toast, turning frequently, for about 3 minutes, or until the coconut is browned and toasty.
Remove the cinnamon stick from the rice and serve, sprinkling the toasted coconute over each serving. Garnish with lime wedges if you so desire.
Like I said, mine was much simpler. For one thing, altho I had fully intended to buy cinammon sticks, the price was just more than I could deal with. Outrageous, in fact...or at least, for my wallet. Maybe not for yours, I dunno. Plus I forgot the shredded coconut, lol. Duh, right? So, I used the coconut milk, water, and a little margarine, and that's all. Long story short, it was pretty good, and I enjoyed it. There's some leftover in the 'fridge, and one of these days I'll heat it up and eat it.
Now it's time to heat the oven for my baked potato, and see if I can make a decent gravy out of that marinade. Until next time, Happy Eating, and God bless.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Seriously Easy/Quick Dinner Ideas; My new cookbooks!!!
I am thrilled to pieces, because as of yesterday, I have three of the four cookbooks I wanted the most: "How To Cook Everything Vegetarian," by Mark Bittnam; "Veganomicon," by Isa Chandra Muskowitz and Terry Hope Romero; and "The NEW Vegetarian Epicure," by Anna Thomas. The only one I'm still missing is on backorder at Barnes & Noble's online site, "Vegan With A Vengeance," by Isa Chandra Muskowitz. So now, of course, I can't wait to go grocery shopping this week, as I've already found some recipes I want to try.
The ideas I'm posting here came from a Woman's Day magazine. I've only tried one of them, the garlic couscous one, but the others sound pretty darned good, easy, and quick. One of the hardest things about being a vegetarian is that it's not usually a quick process to fix something to eat...or at least, it's not for me. Some of the cookbooks I've read have had a section for what they call "fast food," but the time involved is usually about 45 minutes. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't call 45 minutes all that fast. As far as I'm concerned, fast means 30 minutes or less. That's just my opinion, yours may differ, it's fine by me!
None of these are actual recipes, they are literally ideas, and you'll have to figure out the seasoning amounts for yourself and your family. Basically everything will be "to taste." So, here we go:
Prepare garlic couscous as the box directs. Saute in olive oil onion, red bell pepper, shredded carrot, raisins, and cumin until onion is soft. Mix and fluff w/couscous. I used 1/2tsp. of cumin, and added 1/2tsp. of cinnamon and a whole TBS. of powdered ginger. It was fantastic...and yes, actually fast. Seems like it took less than 20 minutes to get it all together, including dicing the onion and shredding the carrot.
Next one: Mix tofu w/hoisin sauce, scallions, and ground ginger. Heat in a skillet. Can add minced garlic, red bell pepper, and shredded carrots. Haven't tried this one yet, but it does sound good.
Another one: Simmer diced zucchini, chopped onions and canned diced tomatoes w/herbs until zucchini is tender. Serve over hot rice, with goat cheese crumbled on top. Sounds good to me, haven't tried it yet.
One more: Saute sliced apples and onions in oil until tender. Stir in sauerkraut until hot. Pour over grilled tofu slices, seasoned w/sage, salt, and pepper. Spread brown mustard on bread, and make sammiches. Sorta kinda like a Rueben, and I think I'd like it if I ever actually tried it...which I will, some day.
Last one: Saute sliced bell peppers and onions in oil until tender, stir in unsweetened coconut milk, frozen peas, curry powder or paste, and salt. Boil, then simmer until slightly thickened. Serve over rice, noodles, or potatoes.
So, there ya have it, and until next time, Happy Eating.
The ideas I'm posting here came from a Woman's Day magazine. I've only tried one of them, the garlic couscous one, but the others sound pretty darned good, easy, and quick. One of the hardest things about being a vegetarian is that it's not usually a quick process to fix something to eat...or at least, it's not for me. Some of the cookbooks I've read have had a section for what they call "fast food," but the time involved is usually about 45 minutes. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't call 45 minutes all that fast. As far as I'm concerned, fast means 30 minutes or less. That's just my opinion, yours may differ, it's fine by me!
None of these are actual recipes, they are literally ideas, and you'll have to figure out the seasoning amounts for yourself and your family. Basically everything will be "to taste." So, here we go:
Prepare garlic couscous as the box directs. Saute in olive oil onion, red bell pepper, shredded carrot, raisins, and cumin until onion is soft. Mix and fluff w/couscous. I used 1/2tsp. of cumin, and added 1/2tsp. of cinnamon and a whole TBS. of powdered ginger. It was fantastic...and yes, actually fast. Seems like it took less than 20 minutes to get it all together, including dicing the onion and shredding the carrot.
Next one: Mix tofu w/hoisin sauce, scallions, and ground ginger. Heat in a skillet. Can add minced garlic, red bell pepper, and shredded carrots. Haven't tried this one yet, but it does sound good.
Another one: Simmer diced zucchini, chopped onions and canned diced tomatoes w/herbs until zucchini is tender. Serve over hot rice, with goat cheese crumbled on top. Sounds good to me, haven't tried it yet.
One more: Saute sliced apples and onions in oil until tender. Stir in sauerkraut until hot. Pour over grilled tofu slices, seasoned w/sage, salt, and pepper. Spread brown mustard on bread, and make sammiches. Sorta kinda like a Rueben, and I think I'd like it if I ever actually tried it...which I will, some day.
Last one: Saute sliced bell peppers and onions in oil until tender, stir in unsweetened coconut milk, frozen peas, curry powder or paste, and salt. Boil, then simmer until slightly thickened. Serve over rice, noodles, or potatoes.
So, there ya have it, and until next time, Happy Eating.
Friday, December 19, 2008
JB's Chocolate/Coconut/Banana Pie with Rice Crust
And it didn't turn out as yummy as I had thought it would, sigh. I'm quite disappointed in it, in fact. After thinking about it, I realized that when it comes to chocolate, I'm much too much of a purist to like a pie with so many other flavors in it. The rice crust was totally an experiment, and I learned something: It don't work, lol. Next time it will be a plain ol' chocolate pie with a graham cracker crust.
The pie isn't actually bad, not at all. It just has too many things going on to suit me, that's all. The rice crust was made just like a graham cracker crust, but with cooked rice...butter and brown sugar...patted into the pan, which was a 9" round cake pan. Then I made the chocolate: blended one package of silken tofu, 1/2C unsweetened cocoa powder, 2/3C sugar, 3tsp. vanilla extract, 3Tbs. of cornstarch all together until it was smooth and creamy, about 4 minutes, I'd say. While it was all whirling merrily in the blender, I patted the crust into the pan, and sliced a large banana over the crust. When I stopped the blender, I poured about one cup of sweetened grated coconut into the mixture, stirred it all in with a rubber spatula, and poured about half of it into the pan, covering the bananas. Then I sliced another banana on top of that, and finished pouring the rest of the chocolate mix on top of those bananas. Then I sprinkled a good handful of the grated coconut over the top, and put the whole thing in a 325ºF pre-heated oven for 45 minutes. The 45 minutes, which was a guess, was the perfect timing for this pie, as it came out exactly like I had hoped it would: solid, but not burned.
Now. Do I like it? Not too much, no. Will I make it again? Nope, I sure won't. Will I try a plain chocolate pie sometime? You bet your sweet whatever I will, lol. And, I will use more chocolate and less sugar, too.
For dinner last night, I went into my beloved freezer and pulled out the last of the cabbage/tomato/sour cream concoction I made, um, last week? I think so. Anyway, I heated that up, baked a potato, and heated up some frozen winter squash I'd found at Kroger this past Wednesday. It's been a long, long time since I've had that kind of squash, and truly enjoyed it, and there's enough left for another meal with it. YUM!
So, I'm thinking that possibly I'll use that leftover squash tonight to make a sorta/kinda/but-not-really succotash for dinner. What I'm thinking is to drain and rinse a can of Great Northern beans, and mix those and the squash together, along with some roasted red peppers and some onions. Maybe. Not sure yet, but will let you know later on, lol.
Until next time, Happy Eating!!!
The pie isn't actually bad, not at all. It just has too many things going on to suit me, that's all. The rice crust was made just like a graham cracker crust, but with cooked rice...butter and brown sugar...patted into the pan, which was a 9" round cake pan. Then I made the chocolate: blended one package of silken tofu, 1/2C unsweetened cocoa powder, 2/3C sugar, 3tsp. vanilla extract, 3Tbs. of cornstarch all together until it was smooth and creamy, about 4 minutes, I'd say. While it was all whirling merrily in the blender, I patted the crust into the pan, and sliced a large banana over the crust. When I stopped the blender, I poured about one cup of sweetened grated coconut into the mixture, stirred it all in with a rubber spatula, and poured about half of it into the pan, covering the bananas. Then I sliced another banana on top of that, and finished pouring the rest of the chocolate mix on top of those bananas. Then I sprinkled a good handful of the grated coconut over the top, and put the whole thing in a 325ºF pre-heated oven for 45 minutes. The 45 minutes, which was a guess, was the perfect timing for this pie, as it came out exactly like I had hoped it would: solid, but not burned.
Now. Do I like it? Not too much, no. Will I make it again? Nope, I sure won't. Will I try a plain chocolate pie sometime? You bet your sweet whatever I will, lol. And, I will use more chocolate and less sugar, too.
For dinner last night, I went into my beloved freezer and pulled out the last of the cabbage/tomato/sour cream concoction I made, um, last week? I think so. Anyway, I heated that up, baked a potato, and heated up some frozen winter squash I'd found at Kroger this past Wednesday. It's been a long, long time since I've had that kind of squash, and truly enjoyed it, and there's enough left for another meal with it. YUM!
So, I'm thinking that possibly I'll use that leftover squash tonight to make a sorta/kinda/but-not-really succotash for dinner. What I'm thinking is to drain and rinse a can of Great Northern beans, and mix those and the squash together, along with some roasted red peppers and some onions. Maybe. Not sure yet, but will let you know later on, lol.
Until next time, Happy Eating!!!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
JB's PDG Tempeh Gravy
I made the tempeh gravy Tuesday evening, and was very pleased with the results. And, as always, learned something. What I learned about the tempeh was that when I'm trying to brown it, do it by itself, don't do it with the onions in the pan with it. It's too easy to end up with burnt onions, but not nice and crispy tempeh crumbles. Having said that, I'll explain how I made this gravy...and without any recipe, btw.
First I put about a tablespoonful of evoo and one of margarine in a big skillet...the one I have is non-stick, but if you don't have one, well, don't sweat it. I diced up half a medium onion, and an 8-oz. package of tempeh, and when the oil and margarine were good and hot, put the onion and tempeh in the skillet, and just let them brown, stirring fairly often, probably for about ten minutes or so. During the last few minutes, I added a good teaspoonful of minced garlic, and some salt and pepper. The tempeh seemed to have sucked up all the grease, so I added about another tablespoonful of oil, this time using safflower oil, as I didn't really want the evoo taste in the gravy. Then I put about an 1/8C of all-purpose flour over the mixture, stirred it in well, and let it cook for a couple minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste. Then I added about a cup or so of soymilk...really don't know quite how much, just until I thought it was a little too thin, because as it cooks, it's going to thicken up. Brought the whole shebang to a gentle simmer, let it simmer for just a few minutes, and there it was: tempeh gravy!
Did I like it? Well, it was ok, and I'll probably make it again sometime, but believe it or not, the next time I do, I'm going to add a few squirts of honey to it. There was a slightly bitter taste in it, and I think a little honey would be just the thing to get rid of it.
Yesterday at Kroger, I bought another package of tempeh, and I also bought a honey-based bbq sauce to try, so one of these days I'm going to try bbq tempeh again. Don't hold your breath waiting for this one, tho, as it's going to be awhile before I do. Tempeh just isn't one of my favorite things, altho I'm still hoping to find a way to use that I really, really, really like.
One of my plans for either today or my next day off is to try to make a Chocolate-Banana-Coconut Pie, with...ready for this?!?!?...a Rice Crust. Over on the foodieblogroll, the ingredients for the January Royal Foodie Joust(RFJ from now on)are coconut or coconut milk, rice, and bananas. My immediate reaction to those was "PUDDING!" Then I gave it some more thought, and decided that maybe a pie could work, too. So, I bought the grated coconut and some bananas, as well as some more silken tofu, and I already have the cocoa powder and rice. Sooooooo, I'll let you know how it turns out. Seems to me that it should be absolutely rich, creamy, and good!!!
Until next time, Happy Eating!
First I put about a tablespoonful of evoo and one of margarine in a big skillet...the one I have is non-stick, but if you don't have one, well, don't sweat it. I diced up half a medium onion, and an 8-oz. package of tempeh, and when the oil and margarine were good and hot, put the onion and tempeh in the skillet, and just let them brown, stirring fairly often, probably for about ten minutes or so. During the last few minutes, I added a good teaspoonful of minced garlic, and some salt and pepper. The tempeh seemed to have sucked up all the grease, so I added about another tablespoonful of oil, this time using safflower oil, as I didn't really want the evoo taste in the gravy. Then I put about an 1/8C of all-purpose flour over the mixture, stirred it in well, and let it cook for a couple minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste. Then I added about a cup or so of soymilk...really don't know quite how much, just until I thought it was a little too thin, because as it cooks, it's going to thicken up. Brought the whole shebang to a gentle simmer, let it simmer for just a few minutes, and there it was: tempeh gravy!
Did I like it? Well, it was ok, and I'll probably make it again sometime, but believe it or not, the next time I do, I'm going to add a few squirts of honey to it. There was a slightly bitter taste in it, and I think a little honey would be just the thing to get rid of it.
Yesterday at Kroger, I bought another package of tempeh, and I also bought a honey-based bbq sauce to try, so one of these days I'm going to try bbq tempeh again. Don't hold your breath waiting for this one, tho, as it's going to be awhile before I do. Tempeh just isn't one of my favorite things, altho I'm still hoping to find a way to use that I really, really, really like.
One of my plans for either today or my next day off is to try to make a Chocolate-Banana-Coconut Pie, with...ready for this?!?!?...a Rice Crust. Over on the foodieblogroll, the ingredients for the January Royal Foodie Joust(RFJ from now on)are coconut or coconut milk, rice, and bananas. My immediate reaction to those was "PUDDING!" Then I gave it some more thought, and decided that maybe a pie could work, too. So, I bought the grated coconut and some bananas, as well as some more silken tofu, and I already have the cocoa powder and rice. Sooooooo, I'll let you know how it turns out. Seems to me that it should be absolutely rich, creamy, and good!!!
Until next time, Happy Eating!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Crunchy Granola
According to an email from foodieblogroll today, the widget is on my blog, but I'll be darned if I can see it, lol. I went over to their site and sure enough, found my blog listed with the others. Right now I don't understand, but I'm sure not going to complain, and am going to get in touch with Sherrie(http://adollopofcream.blogspot.com) and ask her to help me...Sherrie, I saw your comment, so thank you, I appreciate you. A LOT!!!
Yesterday I kinda went crazy in the kitchen, but since it was chilly, grey, very, very rainy(which was wonderful and we still need lots more rain), it was a perfect day to do that. I made a batch of homemade granola, another tofu eggnog cheesecake, and then for dinner, a pot of Cauliflower/Potato Soup. There's enough soup left for dinner(do you say dinner or supper, btw? I used to say supper, but now it's dinner...don't know why.)tonight, plus enough to freeze for another time, a time when I won't want to cook.
The granola is from "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian," by Mark Bittman, one of the books on my wish list. So, without further ado, here's his recipe:
Crunchy Granola
6C rolled oats(not instant or quick-cooking)
2C mixed nuts and seeds, like sunflower seeds, chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews, and sesame seeds
1C shredded coconut 1tsp.ground cinnamon, or to taste Dash salt
1/2 to 1C honey or maple syrup, or to taste
1C.raisins or chopped dried fruit.
1. Preheat the oven to 300ºF.
2. Put a 9X13-inch roasting pan over medium-low heat(put the pan over 2 burners if it's convenient). Add the oats and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to change color and become fragrant, 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the nuts and seeds and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the coconut and cook, stirring for 2 minutes more. Add the cinnamon, salt, and sweetener, stir, and put in the oven. Bakde for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice.
4. Add the dried fruit, stir,cool on a rack, continuing to stir once in a while until the granola reaches room temperature. Transfer to a sealed container and store in the refrigerator; it will keep indefinitely.
A couple of his variations: use 1/2C coconut milk with 1/4 or more honey; add 2 Tbs. vanilla extract to the sweeteners. Omit the coconut if you like.
So, there's the recipe, and here's how I ended up making it. I didn't have any shredded coconut, so I added the 1/2C coconut milk to the honey, for a total of 1C. I also added the two Tbs. vanilla...I love vanilla. I used cashews for the nuts, they were all I had, and I used two snack-size boxes of raisins, as that was all I had, also. My 9X13 pan turned out to be too flimsy to heat over the burners, even on very low heat, and started to scorch the oats, so they didn't really get toasted the way they should've been. Next time I will use a heavy skillet. I will also leave the granola in the oven longer than 20 minutes, as it didn't come out dry and crispy, just sort of damp and chewy. But, it's still good, and since I had everything already here, it didn't cost me anything, and I have a lot of cereal now. Oh, I will also buy some shredded coconut when I make this again, and then will only use the honey for the sweetener.
As for the soup, I didn't use a recipe, just cooked it by gosh and by gorry, lol. I finely diced one large carrot, half a good-sized onion, and one large stalk of celery. While these cooked gently in about two tbs. of evoo and margarine, I peeled and diced three medium potatoes, and added those to the mix, along with a good tsp. of minced garlic. Then I added a 16-oz. bag of frozen cauliflower, and a 32-oz.carton of low-sodium vegetable broth, let it come to a boil, and simmered it until everything was very soft, about 30 minutes. When the veggies were all soft, I used my immersion blender to puree it, and there ya are: soup. Thick, good, nice and hot, and perfect for a rainy, chilly evening.
Another thing I've prepared this week is Cashew Butter. As much as I love peanut butter, it hates me with a passion, so when I get the urge for a PB&J, I make cashew butter. It's really easy, too. All I do is dump a can of cashew pieces into my blender, and start off with about 4Tbs. of vegetable oil, in this case, I used safflower. I use the pulse button for a few turns, to chop the nuts, and then change to blend. The hardest part about this is having to continuously scrape down the sides of the blender, as the blender will reach a point where it's just spinning, all the nuts and oil have been slung onto the sides. So, that's the time to start adding more oil, a tbs. at a time, until it reaches the consistency you'd like. Mine was very crunchy, as I like it that way. And I enjoyed several cashew butter and strawberry jam sammiches!!! CB&J's, lol.
Until next time, Happy Eating!
Yesterday I kinda went crazy in the kitchen, but since it was chilly, grey, very, very rainy(which was wonderful and we still need lots more rain), it was a perfect day to do that. I made a batch of homemade granola, another tofu eggnog cheesecake, and then for dinner, a pot of Cauliflower/Potato Soup. There's enough soup left for dinner(do you say dinner or supper, btw? I used to say supper, but now it's dinner...don't know why.)tonight, plus enough to freeze for another time, a time when I won't want to cook.
The granola is from "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian," by Mark Bittman, one of the books on my wish list. So, without further ado, here's his recipe:
Crunchy Granola
6C rolled oats(not instant or quick-cooking)
2C mixed nuts and seeds, like sunflower seeds, chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews, and sesame seeds
1C shredded coconut 1tsp.ground cinnamon, or to taste Dash salt
1/2 to 1C honey or maple syrup, or to taste
1C.raisins or chopped dried fruit.
1. Preheat the oven to 300ºF.
2. Put a 9X13-inch roasting pan over medium-low heat(put the pan over 2 burners if it's convenient). Add the oats and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to change color and become fragrant, 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the nuts and seeds and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the coconut and cook, stirring for 2 minutes more. Add the cinnamon, salt, and sweetener, stir, and put in the oven. Bakde for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice.
4. Add the dried fruit, stir,cool on a rack, continuing to stir once in a while until the granola reaches room temperature. Transfer to a sealed container and store in the refrigerator; it will keep indefinitely.
A couple of his variations: use 1/2C coconut milk with 1/4 or more honey; add 2 Tbs. vanilla extract to the sweeteners. Omit the coconut if you like.
So, there's the recipe, and here's how I ended up making it. I didn't have any shredded coconut, so I added the 1/2C coconut milk to the honey, for a total of 1C. I also added the two Tbs. vanilla...I love vanilla. I used cashews for the nuts, they were all I had, and I used two snack-size boxes of raisins, as that was all I had, also. My 9X13 pan turned out to be too flimsy to heat over the burners, even on very low heat, and started to scorch the oats, so they didn't really get toasted the way they should've been. Next time I will use a heavy skillet. I will also leave the granola in the oven longer than 20 minutes, as it didn't come out dry and crispy, just sort of damp and chewy. But, it's still good, and since I had everything already here, it didn't cost me anything, and I have a lot of cereal now. Oh, I will also buy some shredded coconut when I make this again, and then will only use the honey for the sweetener.
As for the soup, I didn't use a recipe, just cooked it by gosh and by gorry, lol. I finely diced one large carrot, half a good-sized onion, and one large stalk of celery. While these cooked gently in about two tbs. of evoo and margarine, I peeled and diced three medium potatoes, and added those to the mix, along with a good tsp. of minced garlic. Then I added a 16-oz. bag of frozen cauliflower, and a 32-oz.carton of low-sodium vegetable broth, let it come to a boil, and simmered it until everything was very soft, about 30 minutes. When the veggies were all soft, I used my immersion blender to puree it, and there ya are: soup. Thick, good, nice and hot, and perfect for a rainy, chilly evening.
Another thing I've prepared this week is Cashew Butter. As much as I love peanut butter, it hates me with a passion, so when I get the urge for a PB&J, I make cashew butter. It's really easy, too. All I do is dump a can of cashew pieces into my blender, and start off with about 4Tbs. of vegetable oil, in this case, I used safflower. I use the pulse button for a few turns, to chop the nuts, and then change to blend. The hardest part about this is having to continuously scrape down the sides of the blender, as the blender will reach a point where it's just spinning, all the nuts and oil have been slung onto the sides. So, that's the time to start adding more oil, a tbs. at a time, until it reaches the consistency you'd like. Mine was very crunchy, as I like it that way. And I enjoyed several cashew butter and strawberry jam sammiches!!! CB&J's, lol.
Until next time, Happy Eating!
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