Italian Stewed Eggplant

"UPS Food Service Feeds Thousands, Grosses Millions"  Newspaper Headline

Here is a recipe that will gross out no one!  It turned out so tasty that I actually fed it to my husband. It began when I found an eggplant in my refrigerator.  As I'm the only one who does food shopping in this house I had to assume that I bought it.  As I'm not too familiar with the ins and outs of preparing eggplant I sought out a recipe in one of my many vegan/vegetarian cookbooks.  I eventually found a recipe that was easy but did not reflect the list of ingredients I had on hand.  I improvised and it turned out pretty darn tasty.

Ingredients:
  1 medium eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch slices
  1 T coconut oil
  1 medium onion, diced 
  1 can (15 ounce) diced tomatoes
  1 T Italian seasoning
  salt and pepper to taste

Distructions:
  On medium to high heat saute the eggplant slices in the oil, lightly browning each side.  Add the onions, top with diced tomatoes, and sprinkle on the Italian seasoning.  If you do not have a container of Italian seasoning just sprinkle on some oregano and basil and maybe a bit of garlic powder.  You could also throw in some minced garlic.

  Cover and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes.  Serve over pasta or rice.  I cooked up some rice pasta which covered both options and worked beautifully.  I also work beautifully, but try not to work too hard!

Honesty is the best policy - Not all of the slices of eggplant fit into the bottom of my largest frying pan so I took the extra slices and diced them, adding them just before I poured on the diced tomatoes.  Whew!  Good to get that off my chest.

Loveya
The Mom

Cinnamon Quinoa

"Wanted: Man to take care of cow that does not drink or smoke."  Classified ad

Maybe that's what's wrong with dairy.  Or maybe it's our educational system!

Today's entry is short and sweet.  It's something I had at my brother's annual Easter brunch.  Always a great get-together with incredible food.  We all bring dishes to pass, preferably with food on them, and my brother provides the ham and Polish sausage along with a plethora of other tasty treats.  I just love the word, plethora!

The picture above shows cinnamon sticks artfully arranged on a plate with a floral napkin ring.  Cinnamon sticks are not the most interesting thing in the world to photograph and I'm doing the best that I can.  That could be seen as a pretty depressing statement but in my world things are pretty good.  And the recipe with the cinnamon sticks is really good!

At any rate, one of the dishes served was a Cinnamon Quinoa.  My brother, Dan, said he simply prepared the quinoa the usual way, by simmering it in water, and merely added 2 cinnamon sticks into the pot.  Then he set out some maple syrup and pecans for optional toppings.  Yummy!  Next to some of the other dishes that were crunchy and salty the cinnamon quinoa was a wonderful compliment.  I can see this dish as a tasty side dish for almost any meal.

I also got the idea of using up cinnamon sticks by putting them into cooking cereal or even rice.  And that's how new recipes are born.  If you can think of other uses for cinnamon sticks that do not involve great bodily harm or substantial pain, please share.  And we thank you.

Loveya
The Mom 

Asian Eggplant

"It's bizarre that the produce manager is more important to my children's health than the pediatrician."  Meryl Streep

Here' a recipe I found interesting because I've never been formally introduced to eggplant in my childhood.  It just wasn't part of our Polish family's repertoire of recipes.  I heard this recipe on a radio cooking show and because it was so close to the type of foods that I eat I simply changed it to eliminate the sugar and cook it in coconut oil rather than olive oil.  I also doubled the amount of ginger because I keep my ginger in the freezer and after a while frozen ginger loses its potency.  If your ginger is fresh, you might want to use a little less. 

Ingredients:
  1 eggplant, medium sized, peeled and cut into chunks
   2 T rice vinegar
  1 t cornstarch
  2 T soy sauce
  Stevia, one smidgen
  1/2 t sesame oil
  1T coconut oil
  2 T fresh ginger, grated
  1/2 cup veggie broth


Distructions:
  In a large bowl stir together the rice vinegar, cornstarch, soy sauce, stevia, and sesame oil.  Set aside.  Heat the coconut oil in a wok or frying pan, toss in the eggplant, and stir-fry for about a minute.  Add the ginger and broth, reduce the heat, and cover.  Simmer for about five minutes.

Finally, stir in the soy sauce mixture and increase to high heat.  Stir and sing until the mixture is slightly thickened.  Enjoy immediately hot or cover and refrigerate and serve slightly chilled.  I did the slightly chilled version over some greens for a salad.  Too wonderful for words! 

I think this preparation would also work with other veggies.  I like the flavor so much that I'm going to explore some options.  I just love options!

Loveya
The Mom 

Chopped Salad

 "Collegians are turning to vegetables."  Newspaper headline

This is not only a simple dish to whip up but also a tribute to one of my newest kitchen gadgets.  I was looking for a basic food processor to chop nuts for some of my vegan dishes.  Well, was I surprised to find out the prices of basic food processors.  Enter the Ninja!  Love this little chopper and am using it almost every day to incorporate broccoli stems, dandelion greens, peppers, red cabbage, and a myriad of other vegetable matter into foods that we eat.  And in their chopped state most veggies are unrecognizable and consumed by the unwary.  Let's hear it for disguising vegetables!

Best yet, the Ninja, pictured at the left in a rather poor quality picture, is fast and easy to clean.   Best yet, in order to work the thing you get to bash it on the top. You actually stand there and beat the thing as if it deserves a good whack or two.  Generally, it only takes about a half dozen whacks to pulverize almost any food.  And did I mention that the Ninja costs less than half of any other food processor that I looked at while shopping.

Pictured to the right are a bunch of veggies, namely yellow pepper, red cabbage, and carrots.  I simply chopped them into chunks and put them into the Ninja and gave it a few hits.  The color combination makes a happy looking salad that's filled with good nutrition.

Finally, I put the chopped veggies on top of some greens and serve.  Oftentimes I first mix them with some Asian dressing (Aug 18, 2011 blog), or perhaps I'll whip up a simple dressing of apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and just a dusting of stevia powder.  Simple and delicious.

And the final product looks like the picture on the left.  Topped with diced avocado it makes my little heart happy.  As you can see, I didn't get the salad in the picture topped with avocado.   It's been a busy week.

Loveya
The Mom

Vegan Sprinkle On Cheeze & Lemony Creme

"My whole family is lactose intolerant and when we take pictures we can't say cheese."  Jay London

There's enough information out there to get any thinking person to give up dairy.  Also, because most accidents happen in the home, it might be a good idea to give up cleaning.  The logic isn't perfect on that one but I'm going to play it for all it's worth!

And for those of you who are thinking of giving up, or have given up cheese, here are two substitutes that will put a smile on your face and do away with the lactose intolerance blues.  First there's the Lemony Creme, which is a great substitute for sour cream.

Ingredients:
  2 cups raw cashews, soaked for 5 hours
  3/4 cup water
  1/3 cup olive oil
  4 T lemon juice
  1 t salt

Distructions:
  To soak cashews you simply put them into a goodly amount of water and let them sit there.  After the appropriate amount of time, drain and rinse well.  Next, put everything into a blender, or better yet a Vita-Mix if you have one, and whip it good.  Store in the fridge in a jar.

Lemony Creme is delicious when used wherever you'd use sour cream or when mixed with chopped veggies and placed on top of organic mixed greens.  Yum!

Next is a great substitute for dairy-based Sprinkle On Cheese.

Ingredients:
  2 cups macadamia nuts, soaked for 2 hours
  2 T lemon juice
  1 T nutritional yeast
  3/4 t sea salt

Distructions:
  Place all the ingredients into a food processor and process until combined.  Crumble onto a dehydrator screen and dehydrate for 5 to 7 hours.  Store in the fridge in a jar.  More yum!

I served both of these to a group of guests.  We ate them on Bean and Barley Tostadas  (January 10 blog post).  In the picture with this post both the Sprinkle On Cheeze and the Lemony Creme are shown on a vegan, raw chili.  Beyond that I've been recklessly using the Sprinkle On Cheeze on everything except the cat.  Lucky for him I'm a vegetarian!

Loveya
The Mom

Tomato Marinara - Raw

"We are indeed much more than we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than we are."  Adelle Davis

I believe that sometime back I mentioned an easy pasta sauce and said that I would share the recipe.  That day has arrived!

I love this sauce because it can be made in minutes in a blender, there are no veggies to chop if you use grape or cherry tomatoes, and it's delicious.

Ingredients:
  2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, or large tomato cut up
  1T pitted date, Medjool dates work well
  1 t dried oregano
  1/2 t dried rosemary
  1/3 cup olive oil
  1/2 t salt

Distructions:
  Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.  You can then serve this sauce tossed with veggies in a cold salad or warmed over pasta and other tasty ingredients.  Store this sauce in a jar in the fridge and it will keep for 3 or 4 days.

OK.  So the picture can't begin to describe the wonderful flavors in store for you with this sauce.  But it was fun to take the picture and right in the middle of the photo shoot as I was artfully arranging the parsley sprigs on the plate (#*!*#!) my husband walked in.  The was nothing to do but look up at him with a serious expression and say, "I'm starting a new diet today."   I think he really loves the adventure of living with me!

Loveya
The Mom

Portobello Patties - Raw

"Illiterate?  Write today for free help."  Newspaper Ad

When I first happened upon a recipe for Portobello sausage that sounded really yummy my first reaction was, "Wow, I don't have half of those ingredients in my kitchen!"  The results of some major tweaking on my part resulted in a chewy and flavor-filled creation that was pretty darn good, according to a half dozen people that I was able to foist this on. 

Notice, before you begin, that you're going to have to have one cup of almonds that have been soaked in water for 8 to 12 hours.  Therefore, before you go to bed on a day when you'll have a bit of free time the next morning, put the cup of almonds into a container, add water, set onto the counter top, and go to bed.  The almonds will be just fine for the night.  Or, you could put the almonds into some water the first thing in the morning and whip up this recipe later in the afternoon.  Life is full of wonderful choices!

Ingredients:
  3 T olive oil
  2 T soy sauce or tamari
  1 T mango chutney
  1 T apple cider vinegar
  4 cups Portobello mushrooms, chopped (I used 3 cups Portobello and 1 cup button)
  2 cups eggplant, unpeeled and chopped
  1 cup almonds, soaked 8 to 12 hours
  1 cup oat flour - quick oatmeal made into flour using blender
  1 T coriander
  4 scallions, chopped
  2 to 4 cloves roasted garlic
  1 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
  S&P to taste

Distructions:
  In a large bowl whisk together the olive oil, soy sauce, mango chutney, and apple cider vinegar.  Toss in the mushrooms and eggplant and allow to marinate for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, process the soaked and drained almonds, along with the coriander, in a food processor until the almonds are small pieces but not too small.  (Don't you just love such specific instructions?) Put into a large bowl. 

Next process the mushrooms with the scallions, garlic, and parsley until chunky.  Add this mixture to the almonds and work in the oat flour with your hands if no one is watching.  Salt and pepper to taste, about one teaspoon and a half-teaspoon respectively, and shape the mixture into patties.  Place on a dehydrator screen and dehydrate at 105 degrees for about 8 to 12 hours.  I made about 12 patties.

OK, this recipe does have mango chutney in it, which is probably not a common product in most kitchens.  But I got a jar of this delicious chutney for Christmas and I used it instead of a plum paste that the original recipe called for.  I would also try apricot jam without too much hesitation.

Yes, this is a time consuming recipe but for most of the time things are simply soaking or dehydrating and you can go about your life casting votes for your favorite contestant on American Idol or wondering if you're ever going to win Power Ball and be able to really speak your mind.

To serve these I actually placed two patties on top of some leftover pasta, which I had lovingly warmed, and covered the whole creation with heated, leftover pasta sauce.  I served this to my husband for dinner and the next morning he was able to get out of bed under his own power.  He didn't ask about the patties.  His motto is, "Please don't tell me what's in it!"

These patties also seem to keep in the fridge for about a week with no noticeable impact on their texture or flavor.   Yummy enough for me to want to make them again!

Loveya
The Mom

Dried Rosemary - Growing Your Own

"A garden is never so good as it will be next year." Thomas Cooper

Dried Rosemary Plant!

I know.  Most people purchase dried rosemary.  But not everyone is lucky enough to have a dried rosemary plant of his or her very own.  I am one of the lucky ones.

OK.  So my rosemary plant died and I stripped off the needles to collect the dried rosemary.  This was the good news.  The bad news is that I once heard that if a woman were able to keep a rosemary plant alive, in the house, through the winter, she would be the head of her household.  It's a goal.

Truth be told, I did keep this particular plant alive last winter.  This winter, however, it seems that I lost control of the situation.  Because I had kept my husband apprised of the head-of-the-household myth last year when everything was coming up rosemary, this year it was necessary to hide the body.  The pot is on a shelf in the basement.  The dried rosemary is in a recipe for a tomato sauce that's good on pizza or pasta.  Recipe to follow on another day.  I've had enough excitement for one day!

Loveya
The Mom

Restaurant Leftover Redo

"Leftovers in their less visible form are called memories.  Stored in the refrigerator of the mind and the cupboard of the heart."  Thomas Fuller

Two of my favorite redo meals come from restaurants.  First on the list is a dish not pictured here because we ate it.  This is a redo of a vegetarian fajita as served in most restaurants featuring southwestern food.  This dish generally comes with some tortillas, beans, rice, lettuce and other goodies, along with a generous platter of sauteed veggies.

What I generally do is eat up all the side items wrapped in the tortillas and take the sauteed veggies home.  At home I reheat the veggies with some soy sauce and serve them over rice.  It makes a meal large enough for two and better yet, it's in a completely different ethnic setting!

The dish pictured here is the leftovers from a curried lentil and sweet potato dish that I enjoyed at a different restaurant.  Because I also had an appetizer and dessert I was able to take half of my entree home.  With dishes that contain beans and/or lentils the redo is generally a soup.

To my leftover curried lentils and sweet potatoes I added:
  carrots, diced
  onion, diced
  celery, diced
  veggie broth, about 2 cups
  salt, to taste
  2 T nutritional yeast (optional)

I sauteed the veggies in a splash of oil for a few minutes and then added the broth.  When the veggies were tender, after about 10 minutes of simmering, I added the leftover curried lentils and sweet potatoes along with a pinch of salt and some nutritional yeast.

Another addition that can add a bit more color and nutrition is parsley powder.  This is an ingredient I have around by accident, like two of my children.  It seems that grocery stores are not willing to sell parsley by the sprig and so I usually end up purchasing a bunch.  From this bunch I use a sprig or two and then watch the rest of the bunch slowly deteriorate in my refrigerator. 

One day, as the faerie tale goes, I decided to dehydrate extra parsley in my dehydrator (an oven on low would probably work) and then whipped up the dried parsley sprigs in my blender.  I now have a little jar of parsley powder to use in soups or for parsley tea.  I also still have the two children who went on to create beautiful accidents of their own.  Life is good!

Loveya
The Mom
     

Asian Noodle Salad

 "If God had intended us to follow recipes he wouldn't have given us grandmothers."  Linda Henley

Here's a little dish I put together because I had a few leftovers lurking around in my fridge.  Also, I had recently, on a whim, purchased some rice noodles that I wanted to use. 

I stared this dish by making Asian Dressing (August 18, 2011).   To review:

Ingredients:
  1 T Bragg Liquid Amino
  1 T agave nectar
  1 t Bragg apple cider vinegar
  1 1/2 t toasted sesame oil
  1 or more cloves garlic - this time I used roasted garlic (Jan 27 blog entry)
  Bit of grated ginger

Distructions:
  Whisk all together.

To this dressing I added:
  Red cabbage, sliced thin
  Small piece of red pepper, diced
  Kale, finely chopped
  Red onion, diced
  Rice noodles, cooked and drained

You'll notice that there are no amounts listed on the above ingredients.  That's because I was cleaning out the fridge. Also good in this dish might be canned green beans, cooked broccoli, snow peas, frozen peas, and/or sliced water chestnuts.

That's the nice thing about a tasty dressing.  It's a blessing when it comes to creating a new dish in just a few minutes.  And it's a great way for the fearless to clean out the fridge!

Loveya
The Mom

Vegan Beef Barley Veggie Soup

"I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage."  Erma Bombeck

I recently had the privileged of entertaining my son along with his wife and their three teeny daughters.  No, their daughters aren't small, but they've all reached or are about to reach their teenage years.  My goal, if I chose to accept it, was to introduce them to the joys of vegan dining.  I went into this knowing nothing about their eating preferences.

I began with my Really Good Broth (July 24, 2011 blog), which I enhanced with celery, carrots, portobello mushroom, and barley.  To review the broth recipe -

Ingredients:
  3 T soy sauce or tamari
  2 t Kitchen bouquet
  2 T nutritional yeast flakes
  1/2 cup chopped onions
  1/3 t rubbed sage
  2 cups water
  1 t oil

Distructions:
  Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes.

To expand this version for our group of seven that was dining together I doubled the broth recipe and added:

  1 cup baby carrots, sliced
  2 stalks celery, diced
  2 T barley
 1 large portobello mushroom, diced

In order to cook through all of these additional ingredients I partially covered the pot, set it on simmer, and let it go for about an hour. 

Dinner report - my beautiful granddaughters and their parents were open to all of the dishes served and approached everything with a spirit of adventure.  A good time was had by all!

Loveya
The Mom

Black Bean Vegan Brownies

"I'd give up chocolate but I'm no quitter!"  Anon

For some reason a group of us were talking about brownies made with black beans.  I guess we'd run out of gossip or even enough imagination to make up some stuff about people that we barely know.  What is this world coming to!

At any rate, I perused the Internet and sorted through a number of such recipes and finally tweaked one that produced a rather tasty product.  One of the sweeteners in this recipe is bananas, so make sure you use RIPE bananas.  A good time to stock up on ripe bananas is when the store is selling out the overly ripe bananas.  Grab a bunch or two and store them in the freezer until you're ready to whip up a batch of these brownies.

The other sweetener is agave nectar and we've already sung its praises in other recipes - low glycemic index, etc. 

Ingredients:
  15 ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  2 bananas
  1/3 cup agave nectar
  1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  2 t cinnamon
  1/2 cup oat flour*
  1/4 cup quick cooking oatmeal

Distructions:
  Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease an 8x8 pan.  I did not have an 8x8 pan so I used a pie plate.  The world continued to spin on its axis.

*Oat flour - quick cooking oats whipped up in a blender or food processor until they turn into a flour-like substance.  Don't agonize over this.

Place all of the ingredients, except the oat flour and oatmeal, into a food processor or blender.  Whip until smooth.  Stir in the oats and oat flour and place into the prepared pan.  Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean or until you are just too hungry for chocolate to wait another minute.  The batch I made never got to the clean toothpick stage.  They were a fudgy brownie. 

I served these brownies to my husband and told him they were a banana cinnamon brownie.  I did not mention the black beans because his food attitude is, "Don't tell me what's in it because then I might not like it."   Black beans, for all their nutritional value, are not something that most chocolate eating beings want to find in their brownies. 

An additional note - because these brownies were so moist I guessed that they were capable of growing hair so I stored them in the fridge.  They stayed moist for about a week.  I'm going to whip up another batch this weekend.  Life is good!

Loveya
The Mom

Spanish Rice

"The Cardiologist Diet: if it tastes good, spit it out."  Anon

The reason for the above quote comes from a phone call I just received from a friend.  She was telling me about the different recipes she's tried from my blog and ended by assuring me that everything really tastes good!  I love it when people find out that healthy food can also taste good.  And I also love it when I can take a recipe and make it simpler.  Here's a recipe that I recently had a go at and I love the results.

Yummy Spanish Rice

Ingredients:
  1 T olive or coconut oil
  1 onion, red or sweet, chopped
  1 red pepper, chopped - any color will work
  4 or more cloves roasted garlic, mashed (Jan 27 blog)
  1 cup rice, uncooked
  diced tomatoes, 14.5 ounce can
  salsa, 14.5 ounces
  water, 7.25 ounces
  1/2 t paprika
  1/2 t basil
  1/2 t oregano
  1/2 t cumin

Distructions:
  Saute the onion and pepper in oil for 3 to 5 minutes.   Add everything else.  Now the fun begins!

At this point you can either put everything into a 9.5x13 roasting pan, cover with foil, and bake at 375 degrees for about an hour, or you can put everything into a heavy kettle, cover, and simmer for about an hour.  Either way, it's a good idea to roast or cook everything for about 30 to 40 minutes and then check and stir it every so often until the rice is done.

As you can see by the recipe, I used the diced tomato can to measure the salsa and water - filled for the salsa and half-filled for the water.  That means I didn't have to dirty a measuring cup.  Also, you get to choose the degree of heat in the salsa, which means you can make this dish as mild or spicy as you wish.  Furthermore, I used only the 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon to measure all of the spices.  Again, fewer dishes to wash.  Incredibly clever or incredibly lazy?

 Some recipes for Spanish rice include celery and mushrooms, so if you have some in the fridge that are looking for a home feel free to add them or any other ingredient that strikes your fancy.  As for the resulting rice dish, it's great as a side or under veggie chili.  It's also good with re-fried black or pinto bean tacos or tostadas.  The fun never ends!

Loveya
The Mom

Bud Nip

"Don't worry about avoiding temptation.  As you grow older, it will avoid you."  Winston Churchill

Because some of us no longer have to worry about avoiding temptation, there are other things we might want to concentrate on avoiding.  Such as, incidental additives to our foods.  This was brought to light when a young girl, Elise, did an experiment for school to find out how long it takes a sweet potato to grow a vine.  Unlike sweet potatoes of yesteryear, the sweet potatoes now sold in most grocery stores don't grow vines, as Elise learned as she waited for a vine to appear.  That's because sweet potatoes are treated with the chemical, chlorpropham, more commonly known as Bud Nip.  It keeps taters and other veggies from sprouting once they're picked and sent to market.  That's the good news.

The other news is that Bud Nip is also sprayed on crops of alfalfa, lima and snap beans, blueberries, cane berries, carrots, cranberries, ladino clover (ideal for livestock pasture), garlic, seed grass, onions, spinach, sugar beets, tomatoes, safflower, soy beans, gladioli and woody nursery stock.  Whew! It's sprayed on crops that don't sprout, such as blueberries, because Bud Nip also controls grass weeds while the crops are growing.

More news is that Bud Nip is moderately toxic and may cause irritation of the eyes or skin.  But that's just a maybe.  When laboratory animals are exposed to chlorpropham there seem to be symptoms of poisoning, such as listlessness, in-coordination, nose bleeds, protruding eyes, bloody tears, difficulty in breathing, prostration, inability to urinate, high fevers, and death.  When autopsies are done on the animals there is inflammation of the stomach and intestinal lining, congestion of the brain, lungs and other organs, as well as degenerative changes in the kidneys and liver.  Talk about a reason to take a second look at a chemical that's sprayed on crops consumed by humans!

But there is a way to keep away from ingesting Bud Nip.  It's good old organic produce that you can purchase in most large grocery stores or grow your own self.  For more information you can Google Bud Nip and watch Elise's presentation on You Tube.  So far over 450,000 people have watched it.  Possibly, a number of these people might decide that organic food isn't that expensive after all.

Loveya
The Mom

Roasted Veggie Soup

 "Be careful about reading health books.  You may die of a misprint."  Mark Twain

As promised, while under the influence of the Kindness Faerie, I'm going to share my spontaneous recipe for Roasted Vegetable Soup.  It seems that I developed this craving for roasted veggies, made way too many, and then got sick of eating them after the fourth day.  What to do?  My Vita Mix to the rescue!

I simply placed the roasted veggies into the Vita Mix, which is a blender with the ability to pulverize drywall, added some coconut milk along with a dash of salt and some curry powder, and turned the ingredients into a sauce.  Not content with a cream soup I added a few more veggies.  But let's put that into recipe form.

Ingredients:
  roasted cauliflower (January 16 blog entry)
  roasted carrots and onions (leftovers)
  1 can coconut milk
  dash of salt
  1T, more or less, curry powder

Whip all of the above together in a blender until creamy.

Add:
  onion, chopped
  carrots, in bite sized pieces
  celery, sliced

Final Distructions:
  Simmer everything together in a covered saucepan on low heat until the veggies are tender.  The soup in the picture above also has some purple kale in it because I had some on hand.  I also splashed in a bit of parsley water because I simmered some parsley stems in water before I threw the stems onto the compost heap.  Do I ever just use a recipe and leave it at that!   Seldom.  But the world continues to spin on its axis.

PART TWO:  Cup of Soup

I did take a portion of the creamy broth and freeze it in an ice cube tray.  After that the little cubes were easy to story in a plastic container in the freezer.  The uses for these little treats are almost endless (three) - they include adding one to some cooked rice, plopping one into a soup to add richness, or making a mayo substitute for a loved one who is trying to get his blood pressure under control.   Here was my plan on that score.

I took one of the cubes, defrosted it, and mixed it with some ground flax seed to make it into a paste.  Then I spread the mixture onto some tasty, wholegrain bread that is well-loved and added some cucumber slices from a seedless cucumber that I cut horizontally to create lovely slabs of cucumber.  Mikey likes it!

I'm planning on also using this spread in pita pockets with tomato and other veggies for a little variety in the lunch box.  My little mind is now imagining all the other veggie spreads that would be possible and delicious.  Go, little mind, go!

Loveya
The Mom

Roasted Garlic

"We could certainly slow the aging process down if it had to work its way through Congress."  Will Rogers

Garlic Ready for the Oven!

This is one of the easiest, fastest, and lo-fat ways that I've found to roast garlic.  I thought this up my own self on a day when I wanted some roasted garlic but didn't have the kind of oil on hand that I generally like to use.

So I decided to simply wrap the garlic with a tablespoon of veggie broth, first in parchment paper and then the whole thing in foil.   I roasted it for about 45 minutes at 400 degrees.  When I went to check on it (I had been busy writing the "embellished" journal that I'm leaving for my kids to find when I'm gone to that big remodeled kitchen in the sky) there was a distinct odor of something burning.

When I opened the package it seemed that the veggie broth had burned but the garlic cloves were unscathed but a bit too mushy.  I tried the process again, this time adding a splash of water to the package instead of the veggie broth.  As you can see by the picture above I reused the foil from my first attempt, I have entirely too much time on my hands, and I forgot to take my meds today.

Perfectly Roasted Garlic!

The second attempt to roast garlic with plain water at 375 degrees for 30 minutes resulted in beautifully roasted garlic.  The first batch of mushy garlic went into a soup.  The second batch is in the fridge and awaits a creative bolt of lightening to strike my creative culinary centers, which is alliteratively nice to say.   Perhaps a curry veggie dish over rice.  Big Yummy!

Loveya
The Mom

Chipotle Sauce

"Confidence is going after Moby Dick in a rowboat and taking the tartar sauce with you."  Zig Ziglar

Notice the Sauce!

For the astute blogees among you, you might have noticed that the January 10 Beans and Barley Tostada had a drizzle of red sauce on top.  (See repeat of the picture on the left.)  It's one of my new favorite sauce recipes because it contains one of my favorite flavors - chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.

This sauce is easy to whip up, makes over two cups, and keeps well in the fridge.  I also like this sauce drizzled on soups and sauteed vegetables.


Ingredients:
  1 T olive oil
  1/2 cup chopped onion
  2 large cloves garlic, minced
  1 - 14.5 can diced tomatoes, drained
  1 cup tomato sauce
  2 chipotle chilies in adobo, chopped
  1 smidge stevia powder
  1/2 t salt
  3/4 cup coconut milk

Distructions:
  Saute the onion in the olive oil on medium heat for about 3 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute.  Stir while it gets to know the onion.  Garlic is delicate and when burned it becomes bitter.

Adobo Sauce sans Tostada

Place the drained tomatoes and tomato sauce into your blender and whip it up for a bit.  Leave it as chunky or make it as smooth as you like.  Next, add the tomato mixture along with everything else except the coconut milk to the onions and garlic.  Simmer, partially covered, for about 15 minutes.  Stir occasionally.

Finally, pour in the coconut milk and simmer, uncovered, for another minute.  Stir and marvel at the lovely sauce that you've created.  Remove from the heat and use or store in a jar in your fridge.

Today I used some of this delicious sauce on top of a cauliflower and carrot soup that I created out of some leftovers in my fridge.  Will share that recipe with you sometime this week.  

Note:  The liquid I drained off of the diced tomatoes was poured into a container in the freezer that contained a vegetable soup.  As my mother used to say, "Waste not, want not".  She also used to say that some day I'd thank her and a penny saved is a penny earned.  Two out of three isn't bad!

Loveya
The Mom

The Rest of the Story

"He who wants to change the world should already begin by cleaning the dishes."  Paul Carvel

So, I'd really like to know more about this Paul Carvel who talks about cleaning the dishes.  Does he, Mrs. Carvel?

Not able to find an answer to that, I decided to tell you a little about the rest of my story.  This impulse was brought about by perusing other food blogs and marveling over the myriad of professional looking pictures that display, in a dozen or more images, all the steps that would lead to the creation of each and every dish.  I might have whipped myself into a state of shame over my own meager photo offerings, but one of my many mantras, pulled up for just such occasions is, "Imitation is suicide".  That and, "Be yourself, everyone else is taken," kind of sum up my ability to stay comfortable with my dishwasher-less kitchen and farmhouse kitchen cabinets.

Kitchen remodeling, after we bought our 100 year old home, consisted of painting the kitchen 2 shades of purple and stenciling pithy sayings on the walls.  A modern, remodeled kitchen would have only set us back a bundle but would not have improved my cooking skills.  And so I work in the comfy space that I have, tweaking and tasting, and washing mountains of mismatched dishes and cookware.   

This morning, while a blizzard swirls around outside, I roasted a batch of Beets and Tatters and cooked up a pot of Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage.  I didn't have the raisins that are called for in the red cabbage recipe so I substituted dried cranberries, calling to mind the counsel of Miss Piggy, "You've got to go with what you got!" 

Loveya
The Mom

Roasted Cauliflower

"Please understand the reason why Chinese vegetables taste so good. It is simple.  The Chinese do not cook them, they just threaten them."  Jeff Smith

Here is a recipe that changed my mind about cauliflower.  My mind was that I did not like cauliflower.  Not even raw when dipped into a gallon of ranch dressing.  Just one of those things that has no explanation.

Then I found some recipes for roasted cauliflower that relied on just curry or curry plus a lot of cheese for the flavor.  Well, thought I, if it's cheesy flavor that's desired, why not use up some of those nutritional yeast flakes that are sitting in a jar in my fridge.  That nutritional yeast that has a bunch of things going for it like maintaining ideal intestinal ecology and optimum cholesterol levels.  That, and the bit about nutritional yeast improving blood production and liver health and function.  What's not to like!

Ingredients:
  cauliflower, large head
  2 T olive oil
  1 T curry powder
  2 T nutritional yeast flakes


Distructions:
  Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Break or cut the cauliflower into medium to small florets and place into a large bowl.  Try to make the florets about the same size.  Toss the florets with the olive oil.  Once coated with oil, the cauliflower, not you, add the curry powder and nutritional yeast flakes and toss again. 

Spread the coated florets in a single layer in a roasting pan that's covered with parchment paper if you don't want to be scrubbing a pan all afternoon, cover with foil, and roast for about 15 minutes.  This steams the cauliflower and gets the cooking process going.
 
Remove the foil and roast another 10 minutes.  Turn the florets over (I used a spatula which worked beautifully) and roast an additional 10 to 15 minutes.  By turning the florets they'll get a nice crispy brown coating on both sides.  Crispy brown things are so delicious!

Serve immediately.  If you don't, the crispy brown will turn to uncrispy but will still be tasty.  I even enjoyed the cold cauliflower the next day as a sneaked-treat right out of the fridge.

True confession:  I had my husband taste this creation.  He lives by the motto: please don't tell me what's in it because then I might not like it.  He's made it clear over the years that he does not like anything that contains curry.  He loved the cauliflower.  And he's cute as a button!  A rather large button.  I just love sneaking nutritious food into his diet!

Loveya

The Mom

Beans and Barley Tostada

"Self delusion is pulling in your stomach when you step on the scale."  Paul Sweeney

One Layer, Kidney Bean on Top!

Here is a great way, besides barley soup, to get a little more barley into your eating plan.  (Notice how carefully she continues to avoid the word, diet.)  And why barley, you may ask?  Because barley is a great source of dietary fiber, which is effective in lowering blood cholesterol and can reduce the risk of heart disease.  Because barley is naturally cholesterol-free and low in fat.  Because barley contains vitamins and minerals including niacin, thiamine, selenium, iron, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus and copper.  And because barley contains antioxidants and phytochemicals.  Let's hear it for barley!


Ingredients:
  4 cups water
  2 cups salsa
  1 can (14.5 ounce) diced tomatoes, not drained
  1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
  1 cup pearl barley
  1 T olive oil
  1 T chili powder
  2 t cumin
  1/2 t salt, more or less to taste
  freshly ground pepper to taste
  cayenne pepper, dash
  1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  1 can navy beans, drained and rinsed
  1 can corn, drained
  corn tortillas
  onion, chopped (optional garnish)
  avocado, diced (optional garnish)

Distructions:
  In a large pot combine the first 11 ingredients.  That's the water and up to and including the cayenne pepper.  Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the barley is tender.  Continue to stir occasionally.

Add the beans and corn and return to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat and cook uncovered for an additional 10 minutes.  Yes, you might want to continue to stir occasionally.

During the last few minutes warm a batch of corn tortillas in the oven.  Just throw them on the rack for a minute or two.  Make sure the oven is on!  I don't assume.  The tortillas don't have to be hot, just warm, because the bean and barley concoction is hot enough.

Place a tortilla onto a plate, dish on some bean and barley mixture, and continue to layer until it's high enough to satisfy you hunger and your aesthetic self.   Garnish with chopped onion and/or diced avocado if you wish.  Balance a kidney bean on top of the whole thing just because you can.

Note:  This makes a whole bunch and freezes well.  You could skip the corn tortillas and serve it in a bowl as a soup.  Life is good!

Loveya
The Mom

What Do Vegetarians Eat?

"In order to change we must be sick and tired of being sick and tired."  Fannie Lou Hamer

I just holiday-gathered with the last segment of family to exchange gifts, catch up with each others lives, and dine.  The family member who was hosting and knows of my vegetarian lifestyle emailed to ask, "What do vegetarians eat?"  At first I thought that this was an obvious bit of information that everyone should know.  But then...

Before I started on my own dietary journey I imagined vegetarians as eating nothing but cold salads day after day.  Not very appealing.  But after years of thrashing around cookbooks and websites and in my own kitchen, I've come up with a much wider understanding of vegetarian food.  I emailed the hostess with the list of what I eat and said I'd be bringing two salads to share. 

I brought the Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salad (Nov 30) and the Red Cabbage and Cranberry Salad (Dec 29).  I enjoyed the asparagus and mashed potatoes that were served along with some delicious wine.  This was a chance to share and also let people know that I don't sit home nibbling carrot sticks and longing for the days of buffalo wings.  OK.  There are some days of longing.  I did enjoy one afternoon of Christmas cookie orgy.  My family makes the best cookies! 

And then there's the other part of what I consider healthy eating.  I avoid most things made with wheat, sugar, or processed foods in general, except for the yearly cookie fest.  This isn't necessarily what others see as necessary in a vegetarian lifestyle.  I recently found a vegan cookbook that looked promising.  While paging through it, however, I found that most of the recipes were full of oils and sugars and faux foods.  Those are foods created to look like "normal" foods but are really made out of product described in polysyllabic words.  I have a problem with that. 

Bottom line?  I think that bottom lines need to remain an individual thing.  I once tried being perfect and it was a real drag.  So this year I'm going to strive for pretty good.  I'm also going to strive to fill my days with more smiles and less anxiety.   May your 2012 be pretty good, too.

Loveya
The Mom

Beets and Taters

"What I say is that, if a fellow really likes potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow."  A. A. Milne

Someone told me that they had this great side dish for the holidays, which consisted of roasted chunks of beets and sweet potato.  According to their recollection the beets and sweet potatoes were simply scrubbed, cut into chunks, tossed with olive oil, and roasted.  I thought that sounded like a nice start to a recipe.  I researched other variations on this theme and came up with this little dish.

Ingredients:
  2 largish beets, peeled and cut into chunks
  3 T olive oil
  3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  1 t salt
  1/2 t black pepper
  1 largish sweet potato, scrubbed and cut into chunks
  4 small Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
  1 red onion, peeled, halved and cut into thick slices
 
Distructions:
  Toss the beets with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and roast on a large pan at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  Note - parchment paper on the pan makes cleanup easy. This is a good time to get the other ingredients together while the beets are doing their thing.

Meanwhile, toss the other ingredients in a bowl with the additional 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  When the timer goes off after the initial 15 minutes, add these ingredients to the beets and roast for an additional hour, tossing the ingredients every 20 minutes.  This will give you three blocks of time during which you can clean a cupboard, shampoo a small dog, or give yourself a manicure. Serve hot.

As this makes a goodly amount of side dish, I felt compelled to create a second way to enjoy this lovely concoction.  I took the cold leftovers and tossed them with a splash of balsamic vinegar and chunks of avocado.  By serving them on a bed of spinach this dish becomes a salad!  I happen to have leftovers because the love of my life will not eat anything that contains beets. More for me!

Loveya
The Mom