Tofu with Steak Sauce and Onions(Vegan); Three-Cheese Pasta with Spinach

Hi, there, it's sure been a while since I last posted, and I didn't realize just how long until I got here. For a while, I just didn't feel much at all like cooking, as I've been pretty depressed, very tired, and probably you can understand, right?

A couple weeks ago, I had my second appointment with my rheumatologist, and he gave me two shots of cortisone in my lower back, on either side of my spine. It took a couple weeks to take effect, but boy howdy, I can sure tell the difference at work now. As to how long they will last, I of course have no idea , but I'm enjoying it for now. The results of the lab work and x-rays showed that my problem is "a touch" of arthritis, some degenerative discs, caused by the arthritis, and from the questions he asked me and the places he poked and prodded, he determined I also have fibromyalgia. No surprise there. Y'know, I think I've already told you this, tho. Anyway.

The flexeril and the lyrica together have helped me sleep...too well, in fact, so I've cut the flexeril in half. My insurance, however, has run out for the BC/BS fiscal year, and this time, it included my prescription plan!!! Some of my meds are extremely high, over $100, so I don't quite know yet what I'm going to do. But, in the meantime, I sure don't hurt as bad as I did. Even tho I'm not going to stop working, I will start receiving the early Social Security retirement checks, starting towards the end of this month, so that will help some, I'm sure.

Ok, let's get to the important stuff, right? The food, lol. This recipe came from about.com's vegetarian pages, and it's really good. I made it last night and loved it, and will make it again.

.......................................Tofu with Steak Sauce and Onions........................................

1pkg.firm or extra firm tofu, well pressed

2Tbs. olive oil

1 onion, sliced

2Tbs. balsamic vinegar

1 Tbs. steak sauce

1/3C water

1Tbs. flour

Slice tofu into 5 or 6 strips, about 1/2 inch thick.

Saute onions in oil until they turn brown and begin to carmelize, then add tofu and allow to cook until lightly golden brown. Add balsamic vinegar and steak sauce and stir to combine. Add next the water and flour and whisk to combine . Allow to cook until the sauce thickens.

Serve over rice, or hamburger buns.

First of all, I used a vacuum-packed firm tofu, and I think that I should've used a water-packed extra firm, pressed. The flavour most likely wasn't affected, but the tofu simply crumbled, so the strips didn't happen. Actually that was ok with me, as I was able to cut it into cubes. The steak sauce is your own choice, of course. Mine was the Kroger brand knock-off of A-1, which I really like. Instead of rice, I used toasted hamburger buns, and really enjoyed this a lot. My sides were plain boiled potatoes, and green beans with bacos sprinkled over.

This next recipe isn't really a recipe at all, it's just a general idea of the ingredients and sort of guessing at the amounts. You can adjust this to fit your own likes, and what your family likes. Basically, it's failproof, and quite easy. It came about because I needed to use up about three ounces of garlic and herb goat cheese before it went bad.

...............................................Three-Cheese Pasta with Spinach.................................

Set a large pot of water to boil, well salted. While the water heats, melt about three tablespoonsful of butter in a medium-sized skillet, or a sauce pan if you prefer, over fairly low heat. I like my skillet. When the butter melts, stir in a couple tablespoonsful of flour with a whisk, and let it heat for a few minutes, to take out the raw flavour of the flour. Then add about a cup of cold water(use milk or soy milk if you prefer, I just didn't have any milk), stirring constantly with that whisk. Once this is all stirred in, add another cup of water, and turn up the heat to a little less than medium. Stir often. When the sauce starts to simmer, it may thicken up more, so you can add more water or milk if you prefer.
When it reaches the consistency YOU like, start adding your cheeses. I used the three ounces of garlic and herb goat cheese, one slice of smoked provolone, and a few good shakes of Parmesan. Keep stirring, because this has a tendency to scorch, and stirring helps the cheeses to melt. If you want to...and I did...you can season the sauce with black pepper, thyme, and just a dash of nutmeg. Your water should be boiling by now, so turn the heat down on the cheese sauce, and add as much spaghetti as YOU want to the pot. Try not to add too much at a time, as the water should stay boiling, or at least at a simmer, as you add it. Stir the spaghetti around and around until it's all under water, and let it justkeep boiling until it's done as much as YOU want. I like my spaghetti really soft, you may prefer al dente. Your choice. Ok, while the s'getti boils, take some frozen chopped spinach from the freezer, and add a couple good-sized handsful to the cheese sauce, and stir it well, to make sure the spinach isn't in large clumps, and that all of it is coated with cheese. It won't take but about five minutes for it to thaw, get hot, and be tender enough to eat. Drain the s'getti thoroughly, and put it back into the empty pot you cooked it in, pour the sauce over it, mix it all together, and that's it. It's done. Your sides can be whatever YOU want...I don't think I bothered with a side, just ate the pasta. After all, it had spinach in it, so there was my veggie, right? I really thought this stuff was great, and I hope you enjoy it, too.

Ok, I was going to post a couple soup recipes, but I'm tired and hungry, to they'll just have to wait. Until next time, Happy Eating!!!

Alfredo Pasta Sauce(non-vegan, but might be able to veganize ot)

There's a little story behind this recipe, a story that proves that at least one large corporation listens to its customers. I've browsed the Kroger website time and time again, and have never been able to find the vegetarian products on their site that I know darned well they sell. They have recipes and menu plans for other products in the store, but nothing about the vegetarian products. So, in their comment box, I typed them a message telling them that I felt like they were discriminating vegetarians, and that I wished they would post vegetarian recipes on their site. And yes, I was nice about it. Really. Well, I got an email thanking me for my comment, and telling me that someone would be in touch with me concerning it. Yeah, right, was my thought. HA! I got an envelope in the mail from Kroger, and when I opened it, there were three pages of vegetarian recipes using tofu. Plus, someone had clipped a piece of paper to the front page, giving the source of these recipes: www.soybean.org. So, that's the story behind this recipe. I made it for my supper last night, and loved it.

................................................................Alfredo Pasta Sauce.....................................................................

1(12 oz.)package soft tofu, drained

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/4C Parmesan cheese, grated

1/4C Romano cheese, grated

1 Tbs. soybean oil

1 1/2 tsp dried basil

1 Tbs. dried parsley

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. onion powder

Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender. Blend until creamy and light, about 1 1/2 minutes. Heat sauce in microwave or stove top and serve over hot pasta.

Ok, of course I didn't follow the recipe exactly, but I came awfully close. The only tofu I had wasn't soft, and it came in the vacuum-pack box, so it made a very thick sauce, which I didn't mind. I also didn't have any Romano cheese, so I used all Parmesan instead. I don't like basil, so I used Italian seasoning blend instead. And, I thought this stuff was wonderful, I really did. It's very easy, and I usually have the necessary stuff to make it...with my substitutions, that is. I think that if you didn't heat it, it might make a good dip or spread for crackers and chips. If you live where you can buy vegan "cheeses," then I think you could make this as a vegan recipe, altho I'm not really sure what's available out there.

Anyway, that's it for today, and until the next time, Happy Eating!!!

Pappardelle with Caramelized Onions and Parmesan(non-vegan)

The Pappardelle recipe is from Martha Stewart's "Everyday Food," December, 2008. It's one of my favorite food magazines, and I try to get each one that hits the newstands. This recipe was already vegetarian, but even the ones that aren't are usually adaptable to the vegetarian diet.

Pappardelle with Caramelized Onions
and Parmesan Cheese

1Tbs. olive oil
2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 package (8.8 ounces)pappardelle pasta OR 8 ounces fettuccine
2Tbs. butter
2 ounces Parmesan, shaved with a vegetable peeler

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and thyme, season with salt and pepper. Cover, and cook, without stirring, until onions have released their liquid, about 5 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until deep golden brown, 25-30 minutes more. When bottom of skillet darkens, add a few tablespoons water, and scrape up browned bits with a wooden spoon.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When onions have about 10 minuts left to cook, add pasta to water in pot, and cook until al dente. Reserfe 1/2 cup pasta water, drain pasta, and return to pot.

3. Add onions and butter to pasta in pot, season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Gradually add enough pasta water to creat a thin sauce that coats pasta. Serve pasta topped with Parmesan.

Looks like it would be good, doesn't it? Well, it is, I really liked it a lot, even tho...of course, sigh...I had to make some changes. I didn't have any papperdelle or fettucine, so I used rotini, instead. I also don't have the kind of Parmesan that can be shaved, I just have the kind in the shaker jar, and didn't think that would be good. So, I used a mixture of crumbled goat cheese and a couple slices of the Smoked Provolone, and it was great. I love caramelized onions, so this was a hit all the way round for me, and yes, I'll make it again sometime.

Monday I made a sort of stirfry. When I went to Kroger last week, I found some Chinese-style veggies in the freezer, a combination of mushrooms, green beans, garlic, and onions. The first thing I did was dice a medium onion, and put it in a skillet with hot oil and butter, and let it cook a while, enough to soften it some, and to start it turning golden brown. While the onion cooked, I cubed a package of extra-firm tofu. I put the tofu in a bowl, and poured teriyaki sauce all over it, with some goodly sprinkles of garlic powder and dried ginger. Stirred it all up, to coat the tofu with it, and dumped it into the same skillet as the onions. I also had put the Chinese veggies into some boiling water, just long enough to soften them up somewhat, and once they were soft, I drained them, and put them into the same skillet as the onions and other veggies. Probably this should've been served with rice, but I baked a potato. I really enjoyed this dish, and hope that the veggies will be a regular in the Kroger freezer department.

Last night I made soup: carrot, onion, potato, cauliflower, thyme, garlic powder, tarragon, and black pepper. No recipe here, sorry, just throw it all in a pot and use whatever seasonings you like. Oh, I also used two veggie buillion cubes in the water, and used about 12 cups of water. Once everything was in the pan, I brought it to a boil and let it simmer for about 45 minutes, until everything was all done and soft. I used my immersion blender, and that's all there is to making that soup. Took me roughly an hour, I think, and there's enough for supper this evening.

So, until next time, Happy Eating!!!

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!!!

"Loaded Potato Salad,"(non-vegan); Peach Crisp(vegan);Pasta w/Chickpeas and Zucchini(vegan)

So far I've swished the toilet, made the bed, washed and am now drying a mixed load of laundry, and that's it. Some time today I've got to wash the dishes, and as long as it doesn't pour down rain again,take out the trash, too...as well as clean out the 'fridge. Exciting day off, yes? That's fine, I'm going to have enough excitement in a month or so to last quite a while: I'm moving out of my teeny tiny little one-bedroom house and into a two-bedroom apartment, just across the street from where I am now. Plus, I gain a small storage shed in my back yard, and a bathroom with a BATHTUB!! Not just a shower, but a real, honest-to-goodness tub, lol. Um...senior moment here: Did I already post about moving?!?!?

This past week I tried to make some oven-dried tomatoes, but I wasn't pleased with the results at all. I don't know if I sliced them too thin, had my little toaster-oven too hot, or what, but they were nasty, sigh. However. Some day I will try again, and possibly next time they'll come out ok. The directions I read said to set the oven at 250ºF, and leave the 'maters in the oven until they were dried, about two-three hours, but by the time mine were dry, they were burned. Nasty. I took them off the baking sheet anyway, put them in a container with some olive oil and garlic, but they were still nasty, and the peels were impossible to chew.Better luck next time, right? Right!

My other failure this past week was the Pasta with Chickpeas and Zucchini, which altho I thought was yucky, I'm still going to post, because I'm assuming somebody likes it, or it wouldn't have been a printed recipe in August, 2009's issue of "Real Simple." Different strokes for different folks, for sure.

Linguine with Chickpeas and Zucchini(vegan)

12 ounces linguine(3/4 of a box)
2Tbs. olive oil
3 small zucchini, cut into thin half-moons
Kosher salt
1 15-0z. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan(2 ounces)

>Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water, drain, and return the pasta to the pot.
>Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the Zucchini and 1/2 tsp. salt. Cook, tossing often, until just tender, 4-5 minutes. Add the chickpeas, garlic, and red pepper and cook, until heated through, 2-3 minutes.
>Toss the pasta with the reserved pasta water and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan. Divide the pasta among bowls and top with the zucchini mixture and the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan.

So, there ya go, and if you try it, let me know how you like it, ok? I was so disappointed with it, but just couldn't make myself take more than a few bites, just didn't like it. Had to throw out the whole pot, sigh. What a waste!!

On the plus side, tho, I made a couple loaves of banana bread that turned out well. The recipe is here in my blog somewhere, but to find it, you'll have to go to the list on the left and click on bananas or bread. But it's there, it's good, it's vegan, and I love it.

The Loaded Potato Salad was an effort to help use up a whole lot of fresh cucumbers that my co-worker brought me from her garden, along with a lot of yellow tomatoes(those are the ones I tried to dry in my toaster-oven, and I don't like them quite as well as red 'maters.). I also had an apple in the 'fridge, so used that, as well. I loved the salad, even without any onion or boiled eggs in it. I left those out deliberately, to help avoid stomach issues.

Loaded Potato Salad(non-vegan)

About three medium potatoes, boiled with jackets on, cooled, and then peeled and cut in dice.

1 medium apple, peeled...or not, your choice, but I can't chew the peels so I take them off...cored and cut in small dice.

2...or more, again, your choice...medium cucumbers, peeled and cut in dice.

Handful of washed and halved cherry tomatoes

Small hunk of goat cheese, crumbled, and a couple pieces of vegetarian smoked Provolone cheese, torn into small pieces. If you leave the cheeses out, and use vegannaise instead of real mayo, then this would be vegan.

Mayo to taste Black pepper Garlic powder and onion powder to taste

Once the 'taters are cooked, cooled, and diced, put everything in a large mixing bowl and mix together. Cover the bowl and let it chill for at least 20 minutes before serving, so all the flavours can marry. This made enough to last me about three meals, and I loved every bite of it. If I'd put onions and boiled eggs in it, I admit it would have been even better, but without them, I didn't have any gastric distress and was able to go to work the next morning without any problems. The goat cheese I used had a rind on it that had been soaked in red wine, and it was wonderful cheese. I hope I can find it again, and, I apologize, but I don't remember the brand name, just that I bought it at Kroger.

The last time I went grocery shopping, I went to Food Depot, specifically because they were selling fresh peaches for 38¢ a pound, and I LOVE fresh peaches. So, I over bought, but even so, didn't lose any of them. Part of them went into a Peach and Strawberry Shortcake, and with plenty of whipped topping, it was fantastic. Several of them were eaten out of hand, leaning over the kitchen sink to catch the juice, lol. And the last six went into this Peach Crisp, which altho I liked it, and ate all of it, wasn't one of the best I've ever had, so I learned something from it: even if a recipe for it calls for vanilla, don't use it. Don't use cinnamon, either. Just peaches and sugar, about 1/3 cup, I guess.

Peach Crisp(vegan)

6 good-sized peaches, peeled and sliced(I just used a sharp knife and peeled away, but, to make it easier, you can drop the whole peaches into a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds, then take them out and put them into a bowl of ice water. The skins should slip right off after that.).

1/3 cup sugar

Place peaches in a lightly greased 9"round pie pan, and stir in the sugar. Set aside while you prepare the "crisp." And preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Mix together 1/3 cup EACH raw oatmeal, flour, and, if you like, shredded coconut. If you don't want to use, or don't have, the coconut, just use equal amounts of the oatmeal and flour to equal one cup...duh, 1/2 cup each, lol.

Cream together 1 stick margarine(light Blue Bonnet, or, Earth Balance)and 2/3 cup packed brown sugar, until light and fairly fluffy. Use a mixer if you wish, but I just used a fork. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Mix the dry ingredients with the margarine mixture, and crumble over the peaches. You'll probably have to use your fingers to get it spread relatively evenly over the peaches, but again, it doesn't have to be perfect.

Put it in the oven and leave it there for about 45 minutes...start checking after 30 minutes. The peaches and the topping should be just about bubbling, and while not exactly set hard, sort of set in an almost jiggly way, and still moist. Now, you can cool this or eat it hot, your choice. If I'd had any, I would have put either whipped topping or vanilla ice cream with this, but I didn't have any, so I didn't. 'Tis ok, it was still good.

I think that's all for this week, so until next time, Happy Eating!!!