Chana Masala(vegan)

The holiday season finally came to an end, and boy howdy, am I ever glad!!! We were so busy at work, and my schedule was so screwed up, I almost lost my mind, and came close to a meltdown a couple times. Managed to hold up, tho, and now I have three days off in a row!!!! I don't have to go back to work until Saturday morning, and I'm definitely grateful, believe me! The best part is that I have NO plans of any kind, and that means that I don't even have to so much as open the door if I choose not to, lol.

Monday morning I had a bone density test, and then a bunch of x-rays taken, mostly my lower back and hips, but a few of my hands. Tuesday I came home from work, and my rheumatologist's nurse was on my answering machine, telling me that the blood work they did last week was fine, and the bone density test came out fine, too. But. As for the results of the x-rays, the doctor wants to discuss those with me on my next appointment, which is the 18th, so, I'm guessing that he's not happy with those results. More will be revealed, lol.

Sometimes when I'm browsing thru recipes, one will jump out at me, looking so good, sounding so easy, and with ingredients that I just happen to have, that I have to try that recipe right then, and this one is one of those. Chana Masala is from India, and I found it on about.com's vegetarian pages. It's basically a chickpea and spinach curry, and I was very happy that I tried it. About.com didn't say how many servings, but I reheated it four times, and got seven servings for myself from it, so let's round it down to six, just to be on the safe side.

Chana Masala

1 can chickpeas in water(garbanzo beans)or 1 1/2 C precooked and 1/2C water

1/2 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

3 Tbs. olive oil

Juice from 1 lemon(about 2 Tbs.)

1/2 tsp. EACH curry powder, coriander powder, cumin, garam masala

1 lg. bunch spinach...or...2 handsful, rinsed

In large skillet, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft, 3-5 minutes

Add chickpeas straight from the can, including all the water. "Add spices and lemon juice, cover, and simmer about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, adding more water if needed, until chickpeas are cooked and soft.

Reduce heat, add spinach, and cover. Allow spinach to wild for 2-4 minutes.

Serve immediatelyl

Note: For heartier Chana Masala, toss in some tofu, cubed, with the chick peas, and serve over rice.

Ok, now I'll tell you what I did, lol. You know I never follow a recipe exactly the way it's written. First of all, I didn't have any garam masala(I've tried to find it at Kroger, and haven't had any luck), so I used a whole teaspoonful of curry powder instead of the half spoonful. For spinach, I used frozen, about two handsful. And instead of tofu cubes, I used three small potatoes, peeled and cut into about 1/2 inch cubes, so that meant that I extended the cooking time, to about 20 minutes, I guess, until the potatoes were done.

This stuff is sooooo good, and while it's cooking, the smell is enough to drive ya crazy, it's so nice. Try it, you'll like it!!! Until 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!!!

"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!!!

Two-Bean Vegetable Soup(Vegan); "Beefless" Stew w/Dumplings(probably vegan)

Good morning, beautiful, sunny day here in the metro Atlanta area, and I'm hoping it's a good day where you are, as well. About 30 minutes ago, I called my doctor, and kinda wish I hadn't, sigh. I think I mentioned a while back that I had to have a renal ultrasound, because my creatinine levels are too high, which means my kidneys aren't working right. So, I had the ultrasound, and this morning, Doctor told me that it shows a mass in my right kidney. I am NOT pleased. This is NOT what i wanted to hear, not today, not yesterday, not any day at all, ok? Doctor is going to call my insurance company for me today, and get the referral for either a CT scan or an MRI, and I'll see him tomorrow, as I need my pain med 'script rewritten. Needless to say, I'm scared. Maybe it's just a cyst. Whatever. Please keep me in your prayers. Thanks.

Yesterday was a really good day, one of the best in a long time, as far as feeling good physically goes. It's probably a combination of the thyroid med starting to kick in, and still being quit from smoking. Whatever it is, I'm not hurting as much as I was, and I had quite a bit of energy and accomplished, for me, quite a lot. Swished and swiped the toilet and sink, stripped the bed and washed the linens, washed and dried and put away two loads of laundry, remade the bed, washed the dishes, took out the trash, and vacuumed the living room and bedroom. Had time to read quite a bit, play on the computer, and cooked supper, too. Today all I plan on doing...all that's really needed, in fact...is washing dishes again, and watering my plants.

I love beans and lentils, and I love soups, so I make quite a few bean and lentil soups/stews, even in warm weather. In one of my last few posts I said that I was going to make a bean/barley/vegetable soup, but I didn't, not exactly. It was basically the same as the recipe I've posted for the bean/barley/vegetable soup, but just a couple variations. No real recipe needed here, just as you like it/to taste.

...................................Two-Bean Soup................................................................
One can each pinto beans and cannelini beans
Onions, garlic, bay leaf, thyme...all to taste
Potatoes, celery, carrots...as many or as few as YOU like.

Drain and rinse the beans, set aside. In a large pot, saute the diced onions, celery, carrots, and garlic for about five minutes, or until the onion starts to get tender and is translucent. Add the peeled and diced potatoes, the two types of beans, and about 6-8 cups of water w/veggie buillion cubes or veggie broth or plain water. Season with dried thyme and the bay leaf. Cover and bring to a boil, and allow to simmer until the veggies are tender enough to suit you, probably about 30 minutes or so. I like mine really smooshy, so I let it simmer for closer to an hour. Your choice...I won't know, and it's fine with me. The soup can be left the way it is, or, if you like, and I do, use a potato masher or fork to mash up some of the veggies, which will thicken the soup somewhat. Serve this with a pan of hot, buttered, biscuits. Or cornbread. Or grilled cheese sammiches. Or just saltines or bread and butter. Your choice.

...........................JB's World Famous "Beefless" Stew, this time with dumplings....

Ok, ok, so it's not really world famous, and altho I never once looked at a recipe to come up with this lentil stew, I have no doubt that there are several thousand recipes just like this, or very close to it. There are probably enough variations of lentil soup to make a different one every day for at least three years out there, seriously. The important thing, tho, is that it's good, and even confirmed meat-lovers will ask for seconds, no kidding. Again, no real recipe needed, it's to taste/as you like it, ok?

Enough dried lentils for your family. Lentils don't need to be soaked, btw. You can just use them right out of the bag. And I don't recommend using canned ones, if there even is such a thing. I don't think I've ever seen canned lentils, just canned lentil soup, and that was just plain nasty. Anyway, I digress........

Put the lentils in a colander, pick them over and take out any little rocks or bad lentils, and rinse them really well. Set aside.

In a large pot, saute onions, carrots, celery if you like(I don't), and garlic. Meanwhile, wash, peel, and dice some potatoes, and then add them to the rest of the veggies. Add the lentils, a bay leaf, and enough water to cover all of it by about three inches or so. If you want to, you can use veggie broth or add veggie buillion cubes to the water. Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer until the carrots are tender, about 30-45 minutes. Lentils will cook that quickly, in case you've never used them before, which is just one of the reasons I like them so well.

Now for the dumplings, and I'll give you a REAL recipe for them, right off the box of biscuit mix. So, this is where it stops being vegan, because the biscuit mix has small amounts of casein and buttermilk listed in its ingredients. Dumplings can be veganized, but you'll have to use your own biscuit recipe for them, as I don't have one. I suppose self-rising flour, shortening, and soy milk would do it, tho, right? Anyway...

2 cups biscuit mix
2/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1 qt. broth
Mix first three ingredients. Drop by teaspoonfuls into boiling broth. Cover and simmer 5-8 minutes. Yield: 16 servings.

I used much smaller portions for myself, and didn't use the poultry seasoning, I just left them plain. And instead of broth, I dropped them, using an infants feeding spoon, on top of the lentil stew.

This was a really good meal. The dumplings were small and good, and just set the stew off to perfection. In fact, when I heat up the leftover two-bean soup, I'm going to make dumplings again, instead of biscuits.

Until next time, Happy Eating.

Lentil Shepherd's Pie(Vegan); Creamy Nut Sauce w/ Spaghetti or Noodles(vegan)

Before I go any further here at all, I need to tell you that I forgot something in my last post. The Two Cheese Potato Casserole was sent to my email by a very dear cyber-friend of mine, but she neglected to tell me where she got it from, other than it was also sent to her. The recipe is NOT one of my own creations, so if the creator of said recipe is reading this, be aware that I think it's a great recipe, and I am NOT taking credit for it. There! Got that off my shoulders, lol. I couldn't stand for anyone to think I had deliberately tried to steal a recipe of theirs to pass of as one of my own, because, that just ain't my style.

Something else...Lap, and Joycie, I know y'all are reading here on occasion, so please, tell the folks on the forum that I've tried...again...to post there, and can't. I even logged out and then logged back in again, to no avail. This is soooooo upsetting, I miss y'all so much. WAAAAAAAAAA! Anyway, tell everyone hello, please...and thank you.

There, I've had a little breakfast, put the dishes in soak, and in a little while will go hang up the last load of laundry. Other than that, all I've done, and all I intend to do, has been to swish the toilet and make the bed. Hopefully, once the med for the thyroid gets into my system, in a couple to three weeks, I'll have a little more energy, and will actually dig in and get this poor little house cleaned. Reckon I'll find out, right

Ok, on to the next two recipes...wow, four in one week, lol, and three of them total winners, in my opinion. The first two are on the post just before this one, just in case you hadn't realized that. The recipe here, for a Lentil Shepherd's Pie, is a combination of two different recipes from about.com, plus an addition of my own, and I was very, very pleased with the results. Definitely a keeper!

Lentil Shepherd's Pie

1 cup lentils, cooked and drained
1 onion, diced
1/2 tsp. each dried sage and oregano
1 tsp. salt, dash cayenne pepper
4 large potatoes, peeled and boiled until tender
1/2 to 1 cup hot soy milk, or, 1/2 C each soymilk and "sour cream," or "soygurt"
1 C frozen mixed peas and carrots, canned if that's all you have, or fresh if you like.
1/4 C Parmesan cheese(optional), the vegetarian kind

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

When the potatoes have been peeled, rinsed, and cubed, place them in a saucepan and cover with salted cold water by about 1/2 inch. Place over high heat, covered, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to where the water will be simmering, and let cook about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender enough to mash.

When potatoes are done, drain them, and mash them with the soy milk or the mix of soy milk/sour cream or soygurt, however you prefer, along with as much margarine as you like...or Earth Balance for vegans. If you're using the Parmesan cheese, mix it in with the potatoes now. Set aside.

In a saucepan, combine the lentils, onion, peas and carrots, seasonings, 2Tbs. margarine, and 1 cup water. While this heats, mix 1/4 flour with 2/3 C soymilk with a fork, until smooth. Stir this into the saucepan with the veggies, bring to a boil, and allow to simmer until it begins to thicken. Once it thickens, check for seasonings, and if needed, add more salt and pepper.

Spread the lentil/veggie mixture in a large baking pan[I used a metal 11in.X7in. pan]. On top of this, I put several slices of the smoked provolone cheese I love so well, but to keep this vegan, you don't have to use it, and, in fact, neither of the recipes I read used it. On top of the cheese, spread the mashed potatoes, and sprinkle with a little more Parmesan if desired[I didn't]. Bake 30-40 minutes, or until potatoes are slightly golden, and the sauce mixture is bubbling. Let sit for about three minutes before serving. This looks to me like it would be four hefty servings, or six not-so-hefty, but adequate, servings. Depends on whether or not you serve some side dishes with it.

Like I said, I was very pleased with this, and as it's not too much work, I'll make it again, believe me. It's one of those dishes you could probably serve to your omnivore friends and they'd enjoy it.

This next, and last, recipe for today, is from "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian," by Mark Bittman, and again, this one is a keeper. I loved it.

Creamy Nut Sauce

1 cup unsalted nuts, preferable cashews, walnuts, almonds, or hazelnuts[Mr. Bittman says, however, that any nut OR seed will work, so choose your own favorite one].
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil or 4Tbs.(1/4 stick)butter...Earth Balance for vegans
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg(optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup cream[soy milk works very well], plus more for thinning if desired.
Milk or veggie stock for thinning, if desired.

1. Use a food processor or blender to grind the nuts to the consistency of coarse meal.
2. Put the oil or butter in a deep skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot or the butter is melted, add the ground nuts. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes fragrant, about a minute. Turn the heat down to medium-low and continue cooking and stirring until the mixture darkens and forms a sort of passte...this is the roux. Sprinkle with nutmeg if you like, salt, and pepper.
3. Pour in the cream and stir or whisk to blend with the roux. Gently cook the sauce without boiling, stirring frequently, until it thickens, 5-7 minutes. Taste, adjust the seasoning if needed, thin if desired, and serve. Makes about 2 cups.

I poured this over hot spaghetti, served some green peas on the side, and ate like a queen that evening. This stuff is wonderful, I love it, and will absolutely make it again...and again...and again.

It's time to hang up my laundry so my uniforms will be clean for tomorrow, time to do the dishes so i can eat supper tonight, so, until next time, Happy Eating!!!!

Falafel Plate(can be veganized); TwoCheese Potato Casserole(non-vegan)

Good morning, welcome back. How was your week, did it go well for you? Mine was good, I actually had FOUR good days in a row at work, paid the rent and all the utilities in full, bought groceries, and paid the full 20% co-pay for a medical procedure yesterday, so I seem to be doing well.

Today is 43 days, 1274 cigarettes NOT smoked, $243.81 and 9 days, 7hours of my life saved. Not bad, eh? I love the way the quitnet.com calculator can do that, lol. I sure couldn't figure it out, even if I sat down for a couple hours with my own calculator!!!

The medical procedure yesterday was a renal ultrasound. As soon as my pc doctor gets the results, he'll call me, and then he'll refer me to a kidney specialist. I'm not to pleased about this, believe my. It's a weird sensation knowing that my kidneys may be shutting down, but hopefully my doctor has caught it in time that the specialist can do something to keep it from getting worse, and to keep me from having to have dialysis. My other medical problem is treatable with medication, and I started taking yet another drug this past Tuesday...this makes five prescriptions I'm on now. "The road to better living thru chemicals." I guess I should be grateful for the chemicals, they are probably keeping me alive, eh? Two are for high b/p, one is a pain pill, one is Zoloft(antidepressant), and the new one is for an underactive thyroid. Probably the specialist will prescribe another one, too, sigh. But, I don't know that for sure, so I'm just gonna keep it in the now. And ask you to keep me in your prayers, please. Thanks.

Ok, I've got some real recipes for you this week, well, sort of: one of them comes from a box mix, lol. The other one is real, tho, and very good, too. The first one is for a falafel plate, and it came from the May 5th, 2009, issue of Woman's Day.

Falafel Plate

1 box(6oz.)falafel mix[they used Near East, I used Fantastic Foods]
1 cup plain yogurt
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and shredded
2 tsp. white vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. each pepper, salt, and sugar
1 small red onion, thinly sliced, 1 cup green lettuce, 2 plum tomatoes, sliced thin
4 pita breads

1. Heat oven to 375ºF. Prepare falafel according to package directions for baking
2. In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, cucumber, vinegar garlic, pepper, salt, and sugar. Set aside.
3. Place onion in a glass bowl with water to cover. Microwave for 1 minute or ujntil onion softens. Drain.
4. Arrange falafel on a platter with cucumber sauce, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and pitas. Serves four.

Ok, the Fantastic Foods box didn't give baking directions. The mix made seven flat patties, which I put in the oven for about ten minutes. They seemed to be done enough, and not too done, so I guess I judged the time ok.

I don't use dairy products, so instead of yogurt, I used the Tofutti brand of "sour cream" for the sauce, and quite frankly, the sauce turned out to be the best part of the whole thing!!! The next day, I diced up a tomato in the leftover sauce and ate it with some buttered sourdough bread, and it was great, absolutely great. Much better than the falalels, which I didn't really care for, and no, won't be making them again. I WILL made that sauce again, tho, and use it as a sort of side dish or even a sandwich spread. It's that good!!!! Oh, btw, using the Tofutti brand sour cream was what veganized it.

Two Cheese Potato Casserole[could possibly be veganized, by using vegan cheeses]
4 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
8 oz. cream-style cottage cheese
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 green onion, chopped, or more to taste
1 Tbs. fresh parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Paprika

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 1 1/2 qt. casserole dish.
Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 15 minutes, and drain well.
In large bowl, combine next 6 ingredients, and mix well. Stir in the potatoes, and spoon all into the casserole. Bake for 25 minutes. Sprinkle the cheddar and paprika over the top, and bake 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted.

This was to die for, no kidding, even tho I had to make some substitutions along the way. First of all, I didn't have any cottage cheese, so I had to fake it: 8 ounces of firm silken tofu, crumbled up, salt and pepper and a teaspoon of cider vinegar, and let it sit a couple minutes, to sour it a little. It was a pretty good substitute. The sour cream, of course, was the Tofutti brand. Now, here's where I went off on my own, lol: I mixed in maybe two tablespoonsful of chevre goat cheese, flavored with dried tomatoes and basil, just to give the "dairy" base a little boost of flavor, as it was really pretty bland. I baked it in a ten inch glass pie plate, turning the oven 25º lower than the recipe called for. When it was time to sprinkle it with the cheddar, I just laid four slices of my beloved smoked provolone vegetarian cheese over the top, and put it back in the oven for about ten minutes, I guess. Totally forgot the paprika!!! Loved it, I really loved it, but don't imagine I'll make it often at all. It's one of those things that's just a "tad" too much work, lol. We all know I'm lazy, right?

I've discovered another good "meat" product, too, and ate it with the Cheese and Potato Casserole last night: Gardenburger brand "BBQ Riblets." Very, very good, and when I can afford them, I'll buy them again. The flavor is a wonderfully deep and rich smoky bbq sauce flavor, and the ribs are a very meaty texture, and actually taste sort of meaty, too. Wish I could figure out how to do that here at home. If you know how to do it, please email me and tell me, would you? My email is on the left side of the page, quite a ways down, btw.

This has made me hungry, so I'm going to go find something for breakfast. Until next time, Happy Eating!!!

More St. Patrick's Day: Colcannon; Pease Porridge...Vegan

When I posted two days ago, I clicked the wrong thing at the wrong time, and published the post before I was ready to. Duh, right? So this evening, I'm going to post two more recipes, both of which are from the same site: http://vegparidise.com/cookingwith83.html.

Before I do, tho, I want to tell you that I made the Vegetarian "Beef" and Guinness Stew last night, and that I loved it. It was really good, and I'm going to have it for supper again tonight. What really amazed me about it was the seitan, it was sooooo good prepared the way the recipe says to do, and I fully intend to do cook seitan that way again. It was fantastic, and after all the unkind things I'd said about seitan before, it shocked me, lol. Anyway...here's the first recipe.

Two-Tone Colcannon

2lbs. boiling potatoes(Yukon Gold, white, or red rose)
4C finely shredded purple cabbage
3C finely shredded green cabbage
1/4C water
2tsp. extra virgin olive oil
3/4-1/C soymilk
1-1 1/2Tbs. nutritional yeast flakes(optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
4 green onions, sliced

1. Scrub potatoes, don't peel, and cut into quarters or eighths if they are very large. Put in 4-qt. saucepan, and cover with water by 1 inch. Cover pan and bring to boil over high heat. Lower to medium-high, and boil gently for about 8-10 minutes, or until fork tender.

2. Meanwhile, put 3 cups purple cabbage and all of the green cabbage and the waater into a large, deep skillet, cover, and steam over high heat about 5-7 minutes, or until cabbage is tender.

3. Remove cover, add olive oil, and cook and stir 1-2 minutes, or until cabbage is thoroughly softened. Set aside.

4. Transfer cooked and drained potatoes to large bowl and mash with enought soymilk to creat a smooth, creamy texture. Season with the yeast flakes if using, along with salt and pepper. Add the potatoes to the cabbage along with half the green onions and mix together.

5. Transfer the colcannon to an attractive serving bowl or platter and garnish with the remaining green onions. Finish by garnishing the perimeter of bowl or platter with the remaining purple cabbage. Makes five to six servings.

Pease Porridge
2C water, and 1C green split peas[I would prefer yellow, but can't find them around here...or at least not in Kroger)
2tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4-3/4tsp. low sodium soy sauce
1/4tsp. pepper

Combine water and peas in 2-qt. saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower heat to medium-low, partially cover pan, and cook for 45 minutes, or until peas are soft enought to mash and the water is absorbed. Check the water content occasionally during the cooking and add more if needed. The mixture will be very thick.

Transfer peas to processor and add the olive oil, soy sauce, and pepper. Process until very smooth and fullypureed. Transfer peas to an attractive serving bowl, or spoon onto a serving platter and shape into a shamrock. Makes four servings.

Ok, that's it for now, it's time to turn on my oven so I can bake some biscuits to go with my "beef" stew this evening. It's raining and chilly and damp and the perfect night for a good, hot soup...and buttered biscuits!!!

Until next time, Happy Eating!

St. Patrick's Day Vegetarian Recipes

The post before last, I told you I would find and post some St. Patrick's Day recipes, so, here they are. The first one comes from www.about.com from the vegetarian pages there. If you've never been there, I highly recommend you check them out. Hopefully my link works, but if not, copy and paste into your address bar, and then after going to about.com, type "vegetarian recipes" into their search bar. Should work just fine.

First of all, since the first recipe calls for seitan, I'm going to post the definition of seitan from about.com, for anyone that doesn't know what seitan is.

Definition of Seitan: "Altho it is made from wheat, seitan has little in common with flour or bread. Also called 'wheat meat,' 'wheat gluten,' or simply 'gluten,' seitan becomes surprisingly similiar to the look and feel of meat when cooked, making it a popular meat substitute. Seitan is also high in protein, making it a popular protein source for vegetarians....Seitan also is the base for several commercially available products such as Tofurkey deli slices.

Seitan can be prepared by hand using either wheat flour or vital wheat gluten, and is made by rinsing away the starch in the wheat, leaving high-protein gluten behind. Prepared seitan can be found in the refrigerated section of most health food stores."

I don't think that's a really good definition, but it'll have to do.

Vegetarian "Beef" and Guiness Stew

Prep time: 10 minutes Cooktime: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
Approx. 14oz.seitan, cut in thin strips
2Tbs. each soy sauce and olive oil
1Tbs. steak sauce
3Tbs. butter or margarine(vegans can use Earth Balance)
1 onion, diced, 3 ribs celery, chopped; 2 carrots, chopped; 2 med. potatoes, diced;
3cloves garlic, minced.
2-12oz. bottles of Guiness stout, OR 1 bottle and 1 1/2C veggie broth
2Tbs. flour/ 1Tbs. chopped fresh thyme(1/2Tbs.dried); 1tsp. sugar, optional.

Preparation:
Saute seitan in olive oil and soy sauce until slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat, add steak sauce and stir until seitan is lightly coated. Remover from heat and set aside.

In large pot, saute veggies and garlic in butter or margerine 3-5 minutes, or until onions are slightly soft. Reduce heat and slowly add Guinness, gently stirring to combine. Add flour, thyme, salt and pepper and stir well[I guess this is where you would add the optional sugar.]. Add seitan and allow stew to simmer until stout reduces and stew thickens, about 40-5- minutes.

Reader Review:
"WARNING:...Guinness is not a vegetarian beverage. It contains isinglass...a byproduct of the fishing trade used to settle/clarify the stout....There are...stouts out there that don't use isinglass, so by all means, try this recipe."

And btw, I haven't tried any of these Irish recipes yet, so I can't give my opinion of any of them. But, they all looked good to me, and eventually, I do plan on cooking them. I was going to make this stew tonight, because I have some seitan in the 'fridge, but I'm not going to have time. And I don't have any steak sauce...I don't eat steak, so why would I have it, right? Anyway, maybe I can get by with a mix of ketchup, mustard, garlic, and Balsamic vinegar?

Ok, all of these next recipes come from a wonderful blogsite called "Vegetarians in Paradise." I found a whole bunch of Easter/Passover recipes there today, but, I'm not going to post them, because there are so many that I jsut do NOT want to copy them all down and then come here and post them, lol. Lazy. So here's the URL for the St. Patrick's Day recipes, and once you're there, click on "holidays" and look for Easter...or whatever holiday you choose. http://www.vegparidise.com/cookingwith83.html
Hope that works, sigh...if not, use the copy and paste, and the address bar. You knew that, tho, right?

Irish Soda Bread(Vegan)
1 1/2C plus 2Tbs. unsweetened soymilk and 1Tbs. plus 1 1/2tsp. vinegar
4Cwhole wheat pastry flour[according to "Vegan with a Vengeance," by Isa Muskowitz, you can use all-purpose flour if you prefer, or if you don't have any wheat flour.]
1tsp. each baking soda and salt.

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Combine woymilk and vinegar, and set aside.

3. Sift the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Form a well in center, and add soured soymilk, stirring with a large spoon until mixture forms a dough firm enough to shape into a ball.

4. Place dough on parchment paper and form into a circle 8in. in diameter and about 1 1/2 in. thick. Using a sharp knife, make 3 vertical slits about 1/2in. deep, and 2in. apart. Then, crisscross with 3 horizontal cuts about 2in.apart(plus signs: +++). These will make it easier to slice the baked bread into portions.

5. Bake the bread 40-45 minutes or until bread forms a golden brown firm top and bottom crust[it should sound hollow when tapped on the top]. Serve immediately or warm gently to serve later.

This is not the same recipe I used for the soda bread I posted about in an earlier post, without the recipe. This one is less complicated, a few less ingredients, and I'm anxious to try it, but I don't have any flour, and forgot to buy any yesterday. Sheesh.

Vegan Soups: Cauli-Potato; "New England Boiled Dinner"

Friday morning, day off, looks nice out there, and according to my neighbor's thermometer on the carport, it's headed for the 60's, not bad at all. Last Sunday, the 1st, we had rain(and also on Saturday, the 28th), and quite a bit of it, too. Then in the early afternoon, we had SNOW! Yep, right here in Georgia, we had beautiful, gorgous, fluffy white stuff, and it came down good, too. Sadly, it only lasted a few hours, but it gave us almost two inches, I guess, and the backyard at the Waffle House looked like a fairyland: the trees were just covered in white, and it was lovely. There's a church sort of catty-cornered across the street from my teeny tiny little house, and the kids played out in the yard all afternoon, laughing, screaming, just having a ball. When I went to work the next morning, I saw that they had built a HUGE snowman, and a smaller one beside it! Don't you know those little kids had a great day?!?!

I went to my doctor this past Wednesday, the 4th, and wish I hadn't gone. The good news is that, finally, my b/p is just about normal: 125/85, and my pap smear was fine, along with my cholesterol and sugar. But. Sigh. Sad news: my urinalysis showed a borderline high for creatin(creatine? creatinine? Not sure...), so Doc has taken me off the diuretic and replaced it with something else, told me to cut way back on my pain meds(I can't. I can't work without them. I can't even stand up straight without them.), and back off the protein. Now, that's just plain ironic, because I'd been afraid I wasn't getting enough! My thyroid level is borderline low, which may have something to do with the fact that I'm so tired most of the time, and also with the fact that I'm overweight. Sure. That's it. My weight has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I eat, and that I eat a LOT, lol. Anyway, I'm to go back in six weeks, and have the thyroid and urinalyisis re-done, so if you're a praying person, please include me in your prayers, ok? If the creatin level isn't normal, it means that my kidneys may be failing, and that's, well, that's kinda scary, y'know. Anyway...this is a food blog, so let's talk about soups, ok?

Both of these soups were cooked without using anybody else's recipe, altho I'm sure there are recipes for cauliflower soup all over the place. In fact, I know for sure that there's one in "Laurel's Kitchen." As for the "New England Boiled Dinner Soup," I don't think I've ever seen a recipe like it before. It came about because I realized that the cabbage in my 'fridge was going to turn bad, so why didn't I fix a New England Boiled Dinner, minus the meat, for dinner? Somewhere along the line I realized I could probably make a wonderful soup with the ingredients, so I did. And here's the "recipe," altho it's mostly one of those "to taste" sort of things.

New England Boiled Dinner Soup

Two or three good-sized potatoes, scrubbed, peeled, and chunked into about 1/2" piece
Roughly a quarter of a medium-sized head of cabbage, diced.
Two or three good-sized carrots, diced very small.
About ten cups of water, with two vegetable buillion cubes and one big bay leaf.
1/2 large onion or 1 small one, diced very small.
As much garlic as you like.
One or two stalks of celery, diced very small.
Good dashes of dried thyme and tarragon, depending on how well you like them.
Salt and black pepper to taste.
Olive oil and margarine(vegans can use Earth Balance, I use Blue Bonnet)

Put about a tablespoon each of the oil and margarine in a large pot. When it has melted, add the diced onion, celery, stir and allow to soften, about five minutes or so. Add the carrots, garlic, and potato, stir to coat with the oil/margarine, and then add the water, buillion cubes, bay leaf, thyme, tarragon, and salt and pepper. Bring to a full rolling boil, turn heat to low, or whatever will keep the soup simmering gently, cover, and walk away. Cook this as long as you want to. For me, about 45 minutes to an hour is good, because I want the carrots to be extremely soft, and the potatoes to sort of "melt" into the liquid. I've read that if the potatoes aren't allowed to cook long enough to be extremely soft, that they have a tendency to make the soup a little "gluey." I don't know, I always cook my 'taters to death. Anyway, once everything is as tender as you want it, you can ladle it out just like it is, you can blend it in a blender...be very careful, don't put it all in the blender at once, and make sure to use a towel to hold the cover of the blender on tightly. You sure don't want to get burned. You can also use an immersion blender, or, like I did, just mash the whole mess with a potato masher. This thickened it up some, but still left some texture. And don't forget to take the bay leaf out and throw it away.

This made enough to feed me for about three days, if I remember correctly. All I had with it was some biscuits...yup, the box mix, lol. The soup was wonderful, and I'll make it again sometime.

By the way, for those of you who aren't from the New England area, and may not know what the Boiled Dinner is, this is for you: The New England Boiled Dinner has either ham or corned beef in it, along with potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. Some cooks add beets to it, too, but I'm not a beet person. All of this is boiled(duh, right?)in one pot, making it one of the easiest meals to fix. The first day, it's served seperately, each person taking as much of each veggie and the meat as they like. The next day, the meat is simply served cold and sliced, but, oh, the veggies!!! The veggies are all turned into what's known as "Red Flannel Hash," which sounds dreadful, I know, but trust me, it's fantastic. I actually like the hash better than the actual first meal from this. Melt some grease in a large skillet(the thrifty New England housewife would no doubt use bacon grease that she had saved), and put all the leftover veggies in the skillet. As they heat up, start cutting them...my grandmother had a small juice can with both ends taken out that she used strictly for this hash...until they are smooshed up together. Let them fry until one side is brown, turn it over, and let the other side brown. Serve it with butter and, believe it or not, cider vinegar. The beets turn the whole thing reddish, hence the name of Red Flannel. Wonderful stuff, and it can be made without the meat, just boil the veggies together, and then hash them up the next day.

Cauli/Potato Soup
One head of cauliflower, washed, and broken into florets(I cheated and used a 1lb.package of frozen cauliflower, so you can, too, if you want to).
Two or three good-sized potatoes, scrubbed, peeled, and diced.
1/2 large onion, or 1 small, diced.
One or two stalks of celery, diced.
One large bay leaf, or two smaller ones.
Thyme and tarragon to taste.
Salt and black pepper to taste.
About 8-10 cups water, and two vegetable buillion cubes.

You probably don't even need directions for this, right? So, I'll try to make this short and sweet.

Put some oil and margarine(vegans use Earth Balance or all oil, your choice)in your soup pot, get it hot, toss in the onions and celery, let them soften, add the cauliflower and potatoes, and then the water and buillion cubes. Cover the pot, bring to a boil, turn the heat down and let it simmer until everything is as tender as you want it. For me, that's about 45-60 minutes. Take the bay leaf out and throw it away, and then do what you want with the soup: blender, immersion blender, leave it the way it is, or mash with a potato masher, which is what I did with this soup, just like the last one. And that's all there is to that!!!

Good soup, and I know I'll make it again, because I've made it before...it's one of my favorites.

I've been doing some hunting for vegan/vegetarian St. Patrick's Day recipes, and hope to have some for you before the 17th, St. Patrick's Day. What I've found so far is Irish Soda Bread, which I made last night. It didn't turn out too well, so I'm going to have to try it again...whenever I get around to buying more flour. I also found a vegetarian recipe for "Beef and Guiness Stew," which is a challange for me, as I'm a teetotaller, which means I'd have to substitute something for the Guiness. Apple cider? Vegetable broth? Don't know yet. To go with it, of course I found Colcannon(cabbage and 'tatties together), which I actually cook for myself sometimes, and a Pease Porridge, which is green split peas. I'd prefer the yellow ones, but can't find any around here. And of course, Irish Coffee, which I won't make, and some kind of dessert, but I've forgotten what it was, lol.

Oh, well, right? So, until next time, Happy Eating!!!

Unstuffed Sweet and Sour Cabbage

The last two weeks have been brutal. For one thing, I worked 11 days with only one day off, and that was after six days...brutally busy days, at that...in a row. One of those days was Thanksgiving, which normally would be my Thursday off, but I was told it was mandatory to work. So how come several folks who usually do work on Thurdays were given the day off, hmmm? Talk about attitudes! Then I was off one day and came right back into five more. Most of these days have been wicked busy, but, in a positive light, I made enough money to get December's rent paid, all the utilities and a doctor's bill paid, and spend a LOT of money on groceries a couple days ago. Plus, I have a whole bunch of library books to read, including the new cookbook on my list, "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian," by Mark Bittman. That sucker is over 900 pages, just packed with excellent information, techniques, recipes. Awesome book, and of course is on my Christmas list. Any takers?~?~!!...snicker

Ok. Last time I posted, Sherrie and I were doing a pantry challenge. I've seen the soup she posted on A Dollop of Cream, and it looks and sounds fantastic. I ended up with a can of 'maters and one of rutabagas, and managed to utilize them both...two different recipes, both, as far as I was concerned, excellent!!!

With the rutabagas I made a Potato/Rutabaga salad, without using a real recipe. Just make a potato salad the way you like it, and dump in the drained can of rutabagas. How hard is that, right? I thought it was super, I really did.

With the tomatoes I made Unstuffed Sweet and Sour Cabbage, from a recipe I'd found in Family Circle(I 'think"), which, btw, also fulfilled my personal challenge of one recipe and one craft idea from each magazine each month. The recipe was originally a meat recipe, but I simply left out the meat, and loved the results...enough to eat it two times, in fact. So, here goes:

Unstuffed Sweet and Sour Cabbage Serves four

1(2-lb.)head green cabbage, quartered lengthwise and cored
1/2 C reduced-sodium vegetable stock
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, divided
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 (28-oz.)can whole tomatoes in juice(I had to used diced ones. It worked fine.)
1/3 dried cranberries(I'll die of hunger before I'll use cranberries in anything!!)
3 Tbs. red-wine vinegar
1 Tbs. packed dark brown sugar(all I had was light brown. It worked fine.)
2 Tbs. chopped flat-leaf parsley(all I had was dried, used 1 Tbs., worked fine.)

Place cabbage in a deep 12-inch heavey skillet with broth, 1 garlic clove(sliced), and a rounded 1/4tsp. salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then cook, covered, turning cabbage occasionally, until very tender, about 45 minutes, adding more broth or water if necessary.

Meanwhile, cook onion and remaining garlic in oil in a heavy medium pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 8 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and stir in tomatoes and their juices, cranberries, vinegar, and brown sugar, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally and breaking up tomatoes with spoon, until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with salt.

Pour sauce into skillet with cabbage and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

So, there ya have it, and I hope you like it, I sure did.