The Philosopher's Scone

Soyrizo Chili Sauce Stuff

2009-06-28T17:07:00.005-05:00

I had a ton of tomatoes from the farmer's market and am growing my own basil, so, I thought I'd make a pasta sauce. However, because I had a bunch of soyrizo left from a previous meal of egg/soyrizo tacos, it turned into a chili-esque mixture.

Ingredients:

couple tbs. olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
bunch of tomatoes, diced
garlic powder
several shakes chili powder
palmful of cumin
a bunch of fresh-cracked pepper
2 cups or so of water
1 hearty scoop of Better than Bouillion (vegan)
2 cans of beans (I used navy beans and black beans.)
palmful of fresh basil
1/4 cup or so ground flax

I sauteed the onion in the olive oil until there was slight browning. I added the tomato, garlic (I normally use fresh but only had powder), a ton of pepper, cumin (this is how it turned into chili instead of Italian sauce), and chili powder for a few seconds to get oils going. Then I dumped in water and the bouillion. I let this stew for at least 30 minutes on low heat to break up the tomato. I had added a little salt to help this process, but found it to be way too salty at the end, so I wouldn't add any salt. This is how I ended up adding an extra can of beans to help cut it some.

After it looked to be sauce consistency, I added the beans, soyrizo, and basil and let that warm through another 10 minutes or so.

I added the ground flax at the very end because I don't like to cook it too long.

This turned out to be pretty delicious even though I was combining two different ideas (Italian and Mexican). My only complaint was it was way too salty, which I'm guessing was the soyrizo and the fact that I added salt to it in the beginning.

I ended up using it the next day at work for our barbecue. I put it on a Smart Dog on a wheat bun and it was delish. My own version of a (vegan) chili dog. A squirt of mustard made it complete!

A couple of my coworkers even braved it with some corn chips (it made a great dip as well as topping or main dish). They usually turn their nose up at anything I make/bring because food with no meat is soooo weird!

Broccoli and "Cheese" Soup

2008-12-03T21:14:00.002-05:00

It's been awhile since I've had broccoli and soup seemed appropriate with the cold weather. I've always thought that yellow split peas taste like cheese, so why not experiment and see how close I could get to broccoli and cheese soup?

Broccoli and "Cheese" Soup

.5c uncooked yellow split peas
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cubes vegan boullion (sea salt and herbs)
3 crowns of broccoli, chopped into small pieces
1 cup soymilk

Cook split peas and onion in enough water to cover by 1-2 inches, adding water as necessary so there's no less than 1/2 inch of water on top. Meanwhile, steam broccoli until soft.

Once peas are tender, about 25 minutes, add boullion and blend mixture together until smooth. Add broccoli and soymilk and mix well. If it's too runny, mix 2TB flour with a few TB of water, add to soup, and stir continuously until it thickens.

It tasted way better than the canned crap I'm most familiar with, which I guess isn't that hard. This will probably become a go-to dish since it was really easy to make. Next time I might roast the broccoli and onions, too.

Curried Carrot Soup with Ginger Lime Barley

2008-11-30T19:24:00.002-05:00

I'm obsessed with making "curried" soups, despite the fact that the "curry" I use is not in any way, shape, or form authentic. I only buy McCormick's because the Giant grocery was remodeling and changing everything around in the store, so I could no longer find my Mexican curry that was strangely amazing. Who knew?

This is pretty easy to make but takes a little while to prep and cook.

Curried Carrot Soup with Ginger Lime Barley

1 bag baby carrots, quartered
1 medium/large yellow onion, diced
1 TB (or more) olive oil
1-2tsp Curry powder
1.5c soy milk + .5c water
.5 cup uncooked barley
1 square inch of peeled ginger, whole
1TB lime juice

For the soup, toss carrots in olive oil and sautee 15 minutes, then add onion. Cook until soft, 20 minutes or so. Add curry powder and cook for another 2 minutes. Add milk and water. Blend together.

Steam barley and ginger in 1 cup of water. Add lime juice when done.

Ladel soup into bowl and top with barley.

Curried Turnip Soup

2008-09-25T18:33:00.003-05:00

I don't ever recall in my entire life eating a turnip. I also cannot recall a time where I ever thought I should eat them. Until this week's trip to the grocery store. I try to get new veggies/foods when I can, and these purple and white beauties called out my name. The parsnips nearby also shouted to me, but ultimately I went for the turnips instead. Maybe next week, parsnips.

Not having had them, I blanked on preparation methods. For some reason I've had curry on my mind this week and had to talk myself out of making curried cauiflower soup last night. Good thing I held off as I had a miniscule amount of curry powder left.

Curried Turnip Soup
6 turnips, peeled and chopped
.5 cup uncooked quinoa
1 small yellow onion
2 cups soy milk (I use unsweetened)
curry powder
4 cloves garlic, minced

Steam turnips. Combine quinoa, onion, and 1 cup water in small pot. Bring to a boil then simmer 15-20 minutes or until water is absorbed.

When turnips are soft, place in large pot (I saved about 1/3 of them because I like my soup chunky). Add milk and curry powder (1-2tsp probably works for most people, though I use more). Blend until creamy. Add garlic.

Ladle into bowls and top with quinoa. Makes 2 large servings.

This was so easy to make and absolutely delicious. Who knew I would love turnips? I bet it would be good with a dollop of Better Than Cream Cheese. Tomatoes might somehow make a nice pairing. I can't wait to experiment this fall. Of course I will roast them, assuming my oven is ever fixed. Yes, I cry every day that I don't have the ability to roast everything in my apartment.

Red Lentil Dal

2008-08-25T18:33:00.003-05:00

Every time I see red lentils I want to buy them, but I'm paralyzed by my inability to determine how to cook them. On my last trip to the grocery store, however, I threw caution to the wind and got a giant bag full. More than I intended since they came out of the bin faster than I anticipated. Fine with me.

Evidently red lentils are amazing with curry since that's what most of the recipes I found were. I settled on one that at least allowed me to tap into separate spices instead of my curry powder (which I love). The Red Lentil Dal recipe is from Epicurious, though mine is slightly modified.

Red Lentil Dal

1 tablespoon olive oil
1.5 onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups water
.5 cup dried red lentils
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
.5 cup bulgur, cooked in 1 cup water until water is absorbed
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
Salt and pepper

Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add half of onions and 2 minced garlic cloves and sauté until tender and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Combine water, lentils, remaining onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, turmeric, cumin and ginger in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are tender, about 15 minutes. Purée have of the mixture until smooth. Mix in sautéed onion mixture. Simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Spoon bulgur into bowls. Spoon dal over. Top with tomatoes and add fresh pepper to taste.

My first dance with red lentils was pretty good, only it really could have used some additional flavor, mostly cilantro. It made 2 good servings and was pretty easy to make, except I dirtied 3 pans in making it. Overall, I'm not as scared of the red lentil and will hopefully enjoy them again soon.

Chocolate Cherry Pudding

2008-08-14T18:53:00.003-05:00

I make pudding all the time because it's just so easy. The fun part is deciding what else to mix in- nut butter, maple syrup, cocoa powder, etc. This week I bought an amazing assortment of fruit that included a bag of delicious cherries (and some green bananas that took a week to ripen, boo). So I've been making this simple, delicious dessert all week.

Chocolate Cherry Pudding

1 cup cherries, chopped
1 cup soy milk
2 TB cornstarch
2TB cocoa powder
1tsp maple syrup (you'll probably want more)

Add cherries, cocoa, and milk to a small pot and let flavors mingle as long as you'd like (an hour is enough). Add corn starch and stir until it mostly dissolves. Add to medium-high heat (not too hot or it'll burn) and stir constantly until it boils. Once boiling it should quickly thicken up. Remove from heat and stir in maple syrup. Enjoy hot or cold.

Curried Roasted Beet Soup

2008-08-14T18:43:00.003-05:00

Today was the first evening this week that they predicted evening rain, so I actually had time to cook a good dinner instead of rushing to the dog park. I opted for the beets since I actually had time and they take forever to cook. This recipe came to me as I rode the Metro home, newspaperless because I was stuck in the Metro for 30 minutes this morning and already finished the sudoku, crossword, and all of the articles. So maybe this morning's fiasco was a good thing.

Curried Roasted Beet Soup

8 beets
1 red onion, sliced into half-rings
Olive oil
1 ear white corn, uncooked with kernels sliced off
2 cups soy milk
Curry powder
.5c bulgur, uncooked

Fork holes in the beets and bake on 375 until tender, about an hour. Toss onion in olive oil and bake about 25 minutes (so 40 minutes after the beets go in). Meanwhile, cook the bulgur in 1 cup of water with a pinch of salt for 15-20 minutes until water is absorbed.

When beets are soft, let them cool down (I put mine in the freezer for a couple of minutes). Remove the skin, which will be soft and easy to take off. Chop the beets and add to a large pot or blender along with onions, curry, half (or all if you want it smooth) of the corn, and the soy milk. Blend to desired consistency. Spoon into bowl and top with bulgur.

This is one of my favorite dishes I've ever made! Since the onion and beets had cooled and the corn and milk were cold from the fridge, I chose to eat the soup cold. Usually I like my meals hot, but this was so good. It was sweet from the roasting and the corn, but the curry gave it a nice spice and flavor. The color was a beautiful magenta, and the chunks of veggies were delicious. I'm definitely making this again. And again...

Chocolate Bread

2008-08-09T21:07:00.005-05:00

For some reason I just had to have chocolate bread tonight, despite it being 9:15 and close to my general bed time. I scoured the internet- surely there is a quick and easy recipe? Finally, in the depths of vegweb.com I found Cocoa Applesauce Bread. I wasn't sure I had enough flour or sugar, then I double checked and I was good to go. Until I got almost through and realized I only had, maybe 1/4 cup applesauce. Ooops. I made several changes to the recipe, partly to cover for my lack of applesauce and partly because, well, that's what I do.

Chocolate Bread

1 2/3 cup flour (can use 50-50 whole wheat)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
2 TB flax in 6TB water

Mix all of the dry ingredients together. Add wet, being careful not to overmix. Bake in loaf pan on 350 for 50 minutes. Let cool.

Well, all my substitutions/changes could not exactly save this bread. It didn't really rise so it came out log shaped. But the taste is delicious- it's not cakey or overly sweet (probably because I cut the sugar in half), but it's definitely chocolatey.

I'll try it again when I have all of the ingredients.

Eggplant Green Bean Pasta with Tomato Lentil Sauce

2008-08-09T21:00:00.004-05:00

It's the end of my food week so I clearly needed to get rid of some veggies. This is a meal that dirtied a ton of dishes and was not really quick. But it was fun and delicious.

Eggplant Green Bean Pasta with Tomato Lentil Sauce

.25c lentils
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/2 large red onion, chopped/diced

1-2TB olive oil
1 eggplant, cubed
3-5c green beans, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces

3/4c dry rye pasta, cooked

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a pot, cover with water, and boil until lentils become very tender, adding water as necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste. Blend 1/2 of it together.

Heat oil in skillet or pot. Add eggplant and cook 5-10 minutes until starts to become tender. Add green beans and cook to desired consistency. Add salt to taste.

Mix pasta and eggplant/green beans together. Top with sauce. Sooooo good.

Millet (Take Two)

2008-08-02T20:04:00.003-05:00

Last time I tried to cook millet, it turned into a mush even though Dr. Andrew Weil claimed it would come out like rice. So this time I made it with less water. I dry toasted .25 c millet and added 2/3 cups of water along with a half a yellow onion. It came out delicious, fluffy, and amazing. I also had a roasted ear of corn and roasted carrots.

But I'm happy I conquered millet. Now maybe I can conquer pan-frying...

Roasted Beets and Tofu Atop a Garlic Millet

2008-07-27T18:32:00.003-05:00

What an adventurous day. First rye pasta, now millet. I decided to pass up the couscous for this new (to me) grain since it was the only one in the bins I haven't tried. I wasn't so sure what to do with it, but did some Googling and found that it has a 1:3 millet to water ratio and cooked like other grains. I knew I needed to use up the beets in my fridge, but I couldn't decide what the protein should be. Split peas and lentils didn't seem right, and tofu popped into my head. Luckily I was stopping by Whole Foods for something else (which they didn't have) and soy milk and grabbed some tofu as well. I've never seen "Super Firm" tofu before, but it was cheaper than the tofu I buy at other groceries so I couldn't pass it up.

Roasted Beets and Tofu Atop a Garlic Millet

.5c millet (uncooked)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
6 small beets
1 package Cubed Super Firm Tofu, drained
Olive oil spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash beats and pierce with fork. Place on baking sheet and roast for an hour or until done. Spray olive oil on and add salt to the tofu, toss to coat evenly. Add to baking sheet and cook 30 minutes or until browned.

Toast millet in dry pan for 2-3 minutes until it gives off a nutty aroma. Remove from heat and let sit a few minutes. Add 1.5c hot water, bring to a boil, and let simmer 25-30 minutes or until all of the water is absorbed. Add garlic to millet at some point during cooking- the earlier you add, the milder it will be and the later you add, the stronger it will be. I added mine with about 10 minutes left.

When beets are cooked, cut off top and bottom and slice in half. Let cool 10-15 minutes and then remove the skin. Cube and toss in with the tofu and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon mixture on top of millet.

So Dr. Andrew Weil tells me that if you simmer millet, it gets fluffy just like rice. That was a lie. While it came out delicious, it was the consistency of polenta/grits- not what I was expecting. Otherwise, the dish was fun. Each ingredient had a completely different texture and all three flavors seemed to mingle well. I don't think anyone would be wowed by it, but it wasn't a flop.

Summery Rye Pasta

2008-07-27T12:38:00.003-05:00

Since my grocery bill has been low from traveling so much, I decided to splurge a little at the grocery store. I ended up in an aisle I rarely visit and found something amazing- rye pasta. 100% rye. I don't usually eat pasta because it always seems like I get too many calories for not enough filling, but it's nice to have on hand for a quick meal. Today I had some veggies leftover from last week's shopping, so I thought I'd throw most of it together for an easy pasta dish.

Summery Rye Pasta

.75 c uncooked rye pasta
1 small/medium onion, sliced (if you are not a massive onion fan, you may want to use half an onion or a quarter
1 small head of broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1 large tomato
3 cloves garlic, 1 peeled and 2 in skin
.75 TB olive oil plus extra

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut 1 clove garlic into small pieces, add a touch of salt, and make into a paste by smashing with the flat side of a knife. Add to olive oil and set aside. The longer it sits, the better it will be.

Add pasta to boiling water and cook until tender. Spray onion and broccoli with olive oil and toss to coat; spread on baking sheet. Cut tomato in half, spray with olive oil, and place skin down on baking sheet. Add rest of garlic. Bake until browned, about 20 minutes, stirring once midway thorough (leave tomatoes whole an flip garlic).

Add everything but tomatoes to a large bowl. Put tomatoes on top and gently tear open with knife to mush it up. Add garlic olive oil and toss to coat. Enjoy!

This was perfect for an oppressively hot afternoon- I didn't have to stand in a sweltering kitchen to long. The only thing I would add is some freshly ground pepper. Yum.

Mexican Bruschetta - Special LBDelicious Crossover!

2008-07-21T20:07:00.006-05:00

I spent the weekend with some good friends, including LBDelicious. We'd had a long weekend full of delicious but totally unhealth food, so we wanted a light dinner that was somewhat healthy. A quick survey of the fridge found some great crusty bread, an onion, garlic, an avodcado, and colby jack cheese. We tossed around a few ideas and ultimately decided on this delicious snack.

Mexican Bruschetta

1/2 loaf crusty bread

Chunk of cheese cut into squares to top the bread (we used colby jack but vegan cheese would work just as well, especially since it doesn't get as melty)

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

1-2 tsp adobo suace

1 avocado

Juice from 1/2 lime

1-2 tsp Cumin

Preheat oven to 350. Sautee onion in olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes with a little water and adobo and let simmer 20-30 minutes.

Cut bread into 1/4 inch rounds and toast in oven. Flip and add cheese until it melts.

Mash avocado and add lime juice, cumin, and salt to taste. Spread on bread.

Place tomato mixture in bowl as a dipping sauce.

This really hit the spot. In fact, LBD's finance gave an "mmm" of approval. The cumin really pulled everything together. Yum. (Picture coming soon!)

White Summer Salad (Hot or Cold)

2008-07-21T19:37:00.004-05:00

I've taken a blog hiatus for the summer since I was globetrotting: Philly, Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, Vegas, Houston, Charleston, and San Francisco (next week). There was little innovation and lots of reliance on standbys (split peas and barley or lentils and bulgar), though I am happy to report that I had no problem getting my airplane food past security this time. I can't remember everything I took onboard, but some highlights include my stuffed acorn squash (which I pulled out in first class), some roasted zuccini and carrots, fresh strawberries with the tops cut off, and many peanut/cashew butter sandwiches.

I just got home from an amazing trip to Charleston and didn't feel like cooking. And didn't have much to cook with. Before I left I remembered my head of cauliflower I bought and didn't want it to go bad while I was gone for 5 days. So I stuck it in the freezer. The entire head. Plunked it right in. I thought I'd see if my experiment worked.

White Summer Salad

1-2 TB olive oil
1 clove minced garlic
1 onion, sliced into semi-rings
1 head cauliflower
1 cube vegan bouillon with sea salt and herbs
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa

Prehead oven to 375. Add chopped garlic to olive oil in a small bowl and set aside. Bring 1 cup water to boil. Add quinoa and cook 15-20 minutes or until water is absorbed. Toss onions and cauliflower with olive oil (I use my pump sprayer). Roast until brown- 25-30 minutes.

Mix quinoa and veggies together in a large bowl. Crush boullion in olive oil mixture until it dissolves. Add to bowl and toss to coat.

This was a perfect easy to make summer salad, and it made 2-3 large servings. I'm sure it will be even better tomorrow cold once the flavors mix. Next time I might add some nuts or seeds for crunch or white beans for a little more substance. Oh, and the cauliflower seemed unscathed by the random freezing.

Rhubarb Applesauce

2008-05-26T19:29:00.002-05:00

Can you believe I've never had rhubarb? I think I had a rhubarb strawberry piece of pie once, but really didn't understand the rhubarb. Well, it's finally in season and I was inspired to purchase some at the farmers market, despite it not looking like the red chute I expected. It looked a little too much like celery. But it did not deter me. The rhubarb farmer had a nice little sign up, undoubtedly from answering the same "what is rhubarb and what do I do with it" question combination repeatedly. It mentioned stewing them, so I figured I'd start there. I asked the woman to help me pick it out and she looked at me like I was crazy, grabbed 2 long stalks, and asked for money. I was a tad embarassed.

Two stands down I was calculating how much money I had left (since they seem to only take cash) and decided I'd take a quick peek, with the intention of not actually getting anything. They had some bins of apples- nothing too exciting, I thought. But there was a kind I'd never heard of- Virginia's own Stayman variety. I took a taste and liked it, so I picked up 4 of them. On the way home it hit me that stewed apples are delicious, and I was told to stew the rhubarb...so why not add them together like I do with other fruits?

Rhubarb Applesauce
2 large apples
2 long chutes of rhubarb
Cinnamon

Cube the apple and cut the rhubarb into 1/2 inch pieces. Add both to a saucepan with 1/4 cup of water. Boil 30-45 minutes until nice and soft. Add cinnamon.

Rhubarb tastes a lot to me like a Granny Smith apple, but maybe even with a little more pucker.
Combining it with the apple was a good idea- came out quite tasty.

Sauteed Beets with Greens, Baked Curried Tofu, and Brown Basmati Rice

2008-05-26T19:10:00.003-05:00

This is a meal. All of my Omnivore's Dilemma reading over the holiday weekend contributed to me thinking I'm eating the best way possible. Really, though, the fresh beets I bought at the farmers market are the only local thing on the plate. But wow are they amazing. Thanks to the book, I assaulted the woman at the stand with a million questions about their farm- which she was excited to answer. No pesticides (no)? How far is the farm from here (2hrs)? Why are these beet greens different than the others (different variety)? $5 later I had a fresh bunch of pesticide-free beets with their greens attached. I may have skipped home a little.

Sauteed Beets with Their Greens
1 bunch beets with greens
olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Cut off the beet ends, peel, and chop into small pieces. Add to the pan and sautee until soft. As they cook, remove thick stems from greens and run the knife through the greens a few times so the pieces are more manageable. When the beets are soft, add the greens and cook 1-2 minutes until they wilt and turn a vibrant green.

Baked Curried Tofu and Brown Basmati Rice
Meanwhile, I had some firm tofu in my fridge that I wanted to do something quasi-new with, so yesterday morning I drained it, sliced it into 15 fingers, and slathered it with some of my random Mexican curry powder and olive oil. So it sat in the fridge soaking up all the curry goodness for almost 2 days. I put the fingers on a baking sheet and popped them in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes, flipped, and cooked maybe 15-20 minutes more until nice and brown.

Basmati rice is pretty easy- 2 parts water to 1 part rice, add a pinch of salt, and cook for 45 minutes. It can take awhile, so I recommend starting with this one.

The beet is perfection. The sweet beet and the bitter greens create something amazing. And amazingly beautiful. I might take the long route back from the kitchen at the office tomorrow so I can make everyone admire my dish. The whole thing was delicious, easy, and perfect for a lazy summer evening.

Arugula and Potato Soup

2008-05-25T17:01:00.004-05:00

A few months ago, back when my TV was actually plugged in, I saw Giada De Laurentiis make a Creamy Arugula and Lettuce Soup that inspired me to make something similar with spinach instead of arugula awhile back. However, I have not stopped thinking about arugula since. It's delicious and it always called my name at the grocery store, but I always held back from purchasing it.

Today I summoned my inner hippy. I rode my bike to work (a practice ride for next week). I walked the mile to and from the farmers market where I purchased some beautiful beets with greens, apples I'd never heard of, and rhubarb. I brought it home and walked a mile to and from the organic store where I finally gave in and purchased arugula to accompany some red potatoes I had leftover. Thanks for the inspiration, Giada.

Arugula and Potato Soup
2.5-3 cups water
1 medium/large red onion, sliced
2 red potatoes, cut into small chunks
3 cups arugula
1 cube veggie boullion

Bring water to a boil and add onion and potatoes. Cook 15 minutes or until onion is transluscent and potato is soft. Add arugula and cook until just done and wilted (it will turn bright green), about a minute. Blend all ingredients with immersion or normal blender. Add boullion. Stir until it's all dissolved. Enjoy.

All of my exercising left me needing some protien so I served mine atop a bed of quinoa. Delicious and easy. Perfect as a rooftop dinner on a beautiful evening. Yum.

Easy Curry Lentil Stew with Quinoa

2008-05-22T19:23:00.003-05:00

Earlier this week I decided to do a quick run by the grocery store after work, and evidently every single other person in the city decided to do the same. I popped in for the essentials- dog food and nut butters, but I also needed some cumin for a pink bean dish I made but didn't blog about because I was lazy. Some how I meandered into the international food aisle and stumbled upon dirt cheap spices, including smoked paprika (something I've never had but always wanted), cumin, chili powder, and curry powder. My last curry efforts have been less than stellar because I'm fairly certain the curry somehow went bad. Really bad.

My old curry was always in a teeny jar and that always spoiled, so of course I bought this giant jar that had no information other than a simple label with the word curry (it was from Mexico). Undaunted, I threw it in my basket and headed to the checkout with the rest of the world.

I wasn't exactly looking for something easy tonight, it just happened that I needed a lot of protein since I had catered lunch at a meeting with no real veggie option. So I went for my go-to lentils.

Easy Curry Lentil Stew
.5 cup lentils
3 cups water
1 medium/large red onion, chopped
2 red potatoes, chopped
15 baby carrots, quartered
salt
3-4 tsp curry powder (adjust to your level)

I brought the water to a boil and added all the ingredients. It looked for 15-20 minutes. With about 5 minutes left I added 2 tsp of the curry. Once it was done, I removed from heat and added the rest. It sat for a few minutes so the flavors could mingle, then I served atop a bed of quinoa.

This dish was one of my favorite things I've cooked in quite some time. The lentils were a bit mushy, which is how I love them, and the curry flavor was perfect. It made 2 portions at about 375 calories each (including the quinoa). Yum!

Lentil Creamed Spinach with Garlic Quinoa

2008-05-05T19:51:00.003-05:00

I thought I'd be creative and make a creamed spinach with soy milk and pureed lentils. I envisioned a thick "cream" sauce so I could eat my spinach on a plate next to my quinoa. That's not quite what I got. And I dirtied 3 pans and numerous other utensils in the process. It was better than watching TV.

Lentil Creamed Spinach
2 small/medium red onions, chopped
1TB olive oil
2 TB flour
1 bag spinach, chopped
3 portabellas, cubed
.25 cup lentils
.75 cup soy milk
touch of nutmeg (1/4 tsp)
salt/pepper to taste

Cook lentils in small amount of water until all of it is soaked up and the lentils are mushy. You may need to keep adding water as necessary. In a blender, puree lentils with soy milk and nutmeg.

Meanwhile, in a frying pan heat olive oil and add onions. Cook on medium-low heat until they start to brown and carmelize, which may take 20 minutes or so. Add flour and stir. Add cream mixture and stir like crazy. I had to add water because it was too thick (and evidently I added too much). Add spinach. Let it cook down for a minute or so, then stir in with the sauce. Add mushrooms and let cook until spinach is bright green but wilted. Remove from heat and let cool, praying the sauce thickens.

On the side I made some garlic quinoa (toast some garlic in olive oil, then add quinoa and cook as usual).

The dish was not amazing, mostly because it wasn't what I pictured when I dreamed it up. It was alright and could have used some more flavor, though I'm not sure what. Maybe some lemon would have helped it? This will not be my last lentil sauce attempt, but I probably won't make this again.

Stuffed Tomatoes with Sauteed Beets on the Side

2008-05-04T19:55:00.003-05:00

There was a lot of tension in the kitchen tonight as I took on both stuffed tomatoes and beets. Tonight, unlike the past, I came out a champ!

Sauteed Beets
4 beets, washed thoroughly, peeled, and chopped/diced
1 red onion, chopped/diced
1 TB olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Add oil to frying pan. When hot, add onions and cook 10 minutes until translucent. Add beets and cook 20 minutes until done.

Stuffed Tomatoes
2 beefsteak tomatoes
1/2 c lentils
1/2 c bulgur
1.5 cube veggie bouillon

I cut out the middle of the tomatoes, scooping the pulp into the pot. Then I simply boiled the lentils and bulgur together with the tomato for 15-20 minutes, adding the bouillon towards the end. I use vegan veggie bouillon with sea salt and herbs. It's amazing.

Once it was cooked, I scooped it into the tomato, which I did not cook this time.

I was pleasantly surprised by both. Last time I made the beets, I boiled them and ate them by themselves. It was a little too much. The onions helped tone it down some, and I think the cooking method improved the flavor some. The tomato was perfect as the stuffing was amazing. Delicious!

Spicy Garlic Sesame Broccoli with Red Beans and Quinoa

2008-04-29T19:38:00.004-05:00

Work was less than ideal today so I had to let off some steam by taking a long walk with the dog. When I got home I wanted something relatively simple so I could eat and go straight to bed. I knew the fresh broccoli in my fridge would do the trick.

Ingredients
.5 cup quinoa
1TB sesame oil
Several medium heads of fresh broccoli cut into trees (I had maybe 6 cups?)
4 cloves of garlic (less if you aren't a garlic lover like me)
1 cup light red beans
Red pepper flakes to taste
Salt to taste

Cook quinoa (combine with 1 cup water, bring to the boil, simmer 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed). In a large pan (I wanted to use my wok, but it needs to be retired), heat oil on medium. Add broccoli and garlic. Toss to coat. Cook for 5-7 minutes until broccoli becomes bright green and is your desired level of crispness, stirring regularly. Add beans, salt, and red pepper flakes. Cook another minue. Remove from heat.

I ate the broccoli and quinoa side by side, but you could mix them all together or eat the broccoli atop the quinoa. It made 2 large servings (I used a LOT of broccoli). This was so easy and tasty. The sesame oil gave it a nice, unexpected flavor (since I rarely use it). It would have been even better with sesame seeds, but I've never bought them in my life. Maybe next time.

Split Pea and Bulgur Stuffed Tomato

2008-04-28T19:34:00.004-05:00

I was so excited about these beaufiul beefsteak tomatoes at a decent price at the grocery this weekend. I couldn't resist. I knew exactly what I'd do- stuff 'em!

Ingredients
1 medium/large red onion, chopped or diced
.5 cup yellow split peas
.5 cup bulgur
3 TB nutritional yeast
Salt/pepper to taste
2 beautiful beefsteak tomatoes

In a medium sauce pan, bring 2-3 cups of water to a boil and add onions and split peas. Cook for 15 minutes, then add bulgur. Cook for 15 minutes until the bulgur is done. Stir in nutritional yeast and salt/pepper.

Meanwhile, carefully massacre tomatoes by cutting off top and carefully scooping out the middle. Try not to rip the side or cut through the side or bottom. Put guts into stuffing and let it cook for a few minutes (5 to 15).

Add stuffing mixture to tomato and put in oven on 350 for 10 minutes or so. I'm only guessing because I royally messed this part up. I put them in for maybe 20 minutes while the stuffing cooked. I opened the oven and they had deflated. Good thing I have no camera to produce any evidence. I took my flattened tomato and topped it with the...former stuffing, now topping. I use these ingredients together all of the time, but this was definitely one of the tastest ways I've combined them. Probably because I usually mix the tomato in with it, but his time it was separate and I could really taste it.

It made 2 delicious servings and I can only imagine how amazing it would have been if the tomatoes and been little serving bowls. Next time, my friends...

Cherry Biscotti and Mocha Chocolate Chip Muffins

2008-04-15T19:50:00.003-05:00

I have some more enticing to get people at work to come to my 9am meeting I scheduled, so I thought I'd make biscotti. I found an easy Biscotti recipe on vegweb that seemed doable. As I was making them I got scared because it wasn't coming out like I'd hoped, so I found this Mocha Chip Muffin recipe on Post Punk Kitchen, thinking the mocha was perfect for the morning. Strangely, both recipes call for emulsifying, a word I can't recall seeing in a recipe ever.

And I apologize for still not having photos. Food blogging without pictures is like driving the scenic route with no windows. Maybe this weekend someone will buy me a digital camera a few weeks early before my birthday. Jeff, feel free to say something to my dad like, "Hey, Bill, I would love to see pictures in Anne's blog, maybe you could get her a camera while she's in town this weekend. You'd be the greatest dad and colleague of all time." Just a suggestion...

Biscotti

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups of flour (half white, half whole wheat)
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup dried cherries
2 tablespoons flax seeds & 1/4-1/2 cup of water
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup melted vegan soy butter
2 TB macadamia nut liqueuer
1-1/2 teaspoons grated lime rind
soy milk for browning

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine the flour and baking powder; stir in the dried cherries. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wetness of the flax seeds, maple syrup, soy butter, macadamia nut liqueur and orange rind until thoroughly emulsified. Make a well in the dry ingredients. Stir the wet into the dry until soft, sticky dough forms. I needed to add a ton of flour because it was too sticky.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface; with hands, form into smooth ball. Divide the dough into about 6 uniform balls and make into 8-12 inch long strips. The original recipe calls to make 2 long logs, but the dough was too sticky so I had to make them smaller. Transfer each to its own ungreased baking sheet. The original recipe says to brush the top of each log with a bit of soymilk for aesthetics, BUT I tried this on half of mine and it didn't work. They ended up sticking to the pan and not cooking as much as the others.

Bake at 350F for 20 min. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet placed on top of a cooling rack for 5 min. Transfer each log to cutting board. With a sizable and sharp knife, make firm cuts on a diagonal at about every 2cm. The original recipe says "stand the cookies back up (sideways) on the baking sheets," which makes no sense so I just put them back on a pan and return to oven for 20-25 minutes longer, or until golden. Remove to rack and let cool. A little lesson I learned the hard way- don't put on bottom rack, or if you do, watch them very closely. Some of mine ended up a little darker than I'd hoped. So I did what any good chef does- I coated the bottoms in chocolate. I melted 1/2 cup chocolate chips and dipped the underside of each piece into it, placing them on wax paper in the fridge until cool (about 30 minutes).

If I ever make these again, I'll skip trying to brush with soy milk, and I'll make my logs skinnier. I'd also like to play with the flavors more. One of my coworkers doesn't like nuts so I didn't add any, though the chocolate and cherry combination was great. I'd also avoid the bottom shelf :(

Mocha Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup white, 1/2 cup whole wheat)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup unprocessed cocoa
2.5 teaspoons instant coffee
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners. In a large bowl, sift together dry ingredients (flour through salt). In a seperate bowl, wisk together wet ingredients (soy milk through yogurt) until emulsified. Pour wet into dry and combine until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill muffin tins almost to the top. Bake 18 - 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

These came out amazing! Very fluffy and moist and chocolatey. Originally I was thinking a vanilla cake with chocolate chips, but you really can't go wrong with chocolate on chocolate. I'd go ahead and call these perfection.

Maple Strawberry Muffins and Flourless Cashew Butter Cookies

2008-04-09T19:26:00.004-05:00

I'm giving a lunchtime presentation at work tomorrow on a topic that most colleagues probably don't really care about, so I thought I'd lure them there with baked goods. I didn't want to make more brownies or cupcakes, so I though muffins would be nice. But I wanted a twist and remembered the random fresh strawberries in my fridge. Maple Strawberry Muffins seemed perfect though not healthy by any means. I then caved and thought about a cookie and knew I wanted a nut butter cookie. Thus, the Cashew Butter Cookie was born.

Maple Strawberry Muffins

The recipe I used is very close to this Vegan Blueberry Muffin recipe I found online.

Ingredients

2 cups flour, I used half wheat and half white
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup soy milk
1/4 cup margarine
Egg replacer for one egg, I used 1 TB ground flax mixed with 3 TB water
1 tsp acidic fruit juice, I used some pineapple juice but lemon/orange/lime will do
2 TB real maple syrup
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease a muffin pan. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the soy milk, margarine, egg replacer, maple and pineapple juice and stir until mixed. Add the strawberries.

Spoon the batter in to the muffin pan, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until muffins are golden brown.

The muffins are a little messy because I cut up the strawberries, but they were pleasant.

Flourless Cashew Butter Cookies

I found this recipe for Flourless Nut Butter and Whatever You Want Cookies on vegweb and decided it seemed intruiging and ridiculously easy.

Ingredients

1 cup of cashew butter
3/4 white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 TB ground flax seed mixed with 3 TB water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Dark chocolate morsels to top cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix everything until well combined.

Cover dough and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Form 1 tablespoon dough balls for each cookie. Arrange on an ungreased baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Press down slightly with a fork to make criss cross typical of peanut butter cookies. Top with chocolate.

Bake cookies until puffed, golden on bottom and still soft to touch in center, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to racks; cool completely.

The cookie dough was amazing! I had no idea how much they were going to spread out, however, so I evidently smushed them too flat :( That or the recipe should have called for baking powder, not soda. I'm debating throwing them out, but I'm sure someone at work will eat them...

Spicy Roasted Cauliflower Soup

2008-04-07T19:00:00.006-05:00

While my brother and his wife were in town, we ate at one of my favorite places to take visitors, Zaytinya, which is a delicious Mediterranean mezze (tapas) restaurant. One of the dishes we got was Roasted Cauliflower with sultans, caper leaves and pine nut puree, and it reminded me that I hadn't made my spicy roasted cauliflower in ages. I wanted a whole meal of more than cauliflower and today was ridiculously cold, so I went for a soup.

Ingredients

1 medium/large head of cauliflower
1 medium/large red onion
4-6 cloves of garlic
Red pepper flakes
Olive oil spray or mist
1/2 cup dark red kidney beans
1/2 cup barley
Salt
Parsley

Preheat oven to 375. Break apart cauliflower and place on baking sheet. Spray with oil, add salt and red pepper flakes (.5-1 TB maybe), and mix until coated. Cut red onion in half and slice into thin half moons. Place on separate baking sheet with garlic and spray with olive oil. Roast 20-30 minutes, stirring a few times.

Meanwhile, cook the barley and when it's done add kidney beans, parsley, and salt and stir. When the veggies are done roasting, add half to the barley and blend the other half with .5-1 cup water until smooth. Add the barley mixture, stir, and serve.

It hit the spot on a cold night.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-04-06T08:24:00.002-05:00

I'd been promising my brother and his wife the whole weekend that we'd make cookies, and we got just drunk enough last night for that to come true. I didn't have chocolate chips, just (non vegan) butterscotch chips and pecans. I'm pretty sure we would have eaten it no matter what I put in.

I found this recipe for Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies on vegweb and used it since I actually had all of the ingredients. I've used Enola in baking the past few times, mostly because I want to get it out of my pantry, and I've become the accidental food chemist. Through several baking attempts and random mental notes, I realized that Enola makes baked goods very crispy and not expand. A long time ago I made the best white chocolate peppermint cookies a few different times because they were so great, but they turned out different each time because, as it turns out, I used Enola once and another oil another time. So these chocolate chip cookies I made ended up like some of the others I've made with Enola- they don't expand and get unusually crispy. But not necessarily in a bad way, it's just different. And we were drunk so it really didn't matter.

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup applesauce (or 1 egg substitute)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup of some kind of chips, chocolate or whatever you prefer
1/2 cup nuts

Preheat oven to 375. Mix first 5 ingredients together. Mix flour, salt & baking soda in separate bowl, then add to the first bowl. Mix in your chocolate chips/nuts and drop on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for about 8-10 minutes.

You can't really go wrong with cookies.

Low-Cal Banana Muffins/Banana Bread

2008-04-04T08:31:00.005-05:00

Since I have company in town I can actually make a lot of baked goods without fear that I'll eat them all before they have time to even cool. So I busted out an old recipe for Banana Muffins. I have no idea of its origin, but I do know that I changed it significantly from whereever I got it anyway.

Ingredients

1c white all purpose flour

3/4 c wheat flour

2 ¼ tsp baking soda

1/2tsp salt

2/3c sugar

1 TB ground flax mixed with 3 TB water

1 TB oil, I used Enola which is allegedly not all absorbed by your body

2 TB unsweetened applesauce

2 TB vanilla soy milk

Vanilla extract, I omitted this becuase I have none

2 mashed bananas, I used 2 from my freezer that I let thaw on the counter for an hour

1/2c chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, etc)

Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Mix the wet together in a small bowl. Add the wet to the dry and mix until batter forms. Bake on 350 for 25-30 minutes if making muffins (recipe makes 12) or for 45 minutes if making bread. Each muffin has 140 calories without nuts and 175 with nuts.

The apartment definitely smelled amazing while these baked, and they turned out nicely. They were moist on the inside and had a nice crust on the outside. It seemed, though, like they could have used more salt or maybe a little more banana.

Guiness Cupcakes with Macadamia Frosting

2008-04-02T19:34:00.007-05:00

Guinness = delicious, and cupcakes = delicious. So Guinness cupcakes should be stellar, right? A good friend who is a fellow Guinness lover had a medical procedure done where he couldn't eat/drink for awhile, so I thought I would make him some cupcakes for when he got home. And I figured it would be ok to make a dozen of them since my brother and his wife came in later that day. The point being that I knew I wouldn't eat them all because I had enough people to help me.

I found this great recipe on Dulcedo for Guinness Cupcakes with Baily's Irish Cream Frosting and I had to make it. Evidently it's actually from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, which was an excellent gift from a great friend for my 10 year cancer survivorship anniversary. I must have been too busy ogling the hazelnut cupcakes to notice the stout cupcakes.

Ingredients for Cupcakes

3/4 cup soy milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour

1/3 cup unprocessed cocoa powder (original recipe calls for Dutch-processed)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup Guinness

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I omitted this because I'm running low)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the soy milk and the vinegar. Add the Guinness, sugar, oil, and vanilla to the soy milk mixture and beat until foamy. Add the dry ingredients in two batches and beat until well incorporated.Fill your cupcakes containers of choice 3/4 full.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly touched. Transfer to a wire rack and allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Icing

I got lazy and made a simple icing:

2-3 cups confectioner's sugar

2 TB macadamia liqueur

Splash of vanilla soy milk

Mix together and enjoy.

These were solid chocolate cupcakes. I think I overdid it with the icing- it's incredibly sweet and may detract from the cake. There was a nice thing crunch on top where I evidently overcooked them, but I think it made them better. And you cannot taste the (very minimal amount of) Guinness.

Easy Bean Dip and Mashed Basil Garlic Cauliflower

2008-04-01T19:54:00.004-05:00

I got home late because I stupidly stopped by the gym after work. Why is that stupid? Because it was gorgeous outside. Back to dinner, I wanted something easy.

The bean dip is easily the best thing I've made in awhile and perfect for a party. I blended together:

1 cup dark red kidney beans (I'd cooked some dry beans weeks ago and had extra, so I threw them in the freezer and they came out ok but a little mushy- perfect for a dip)
1 TB Better Than Cream Cheese
.5 tsp chipotle powder (maybe a little more)
.5 tsp chili powder
Lime juice
Cilantro

I ate it with 3 pieces of toast and would have eaten it off my floor.

The cauliflower was easy. I steamed a medium head of cauliflower and realized when it was almost done that I meant to roast some garlic. So I threw 3 cloves into the steamer for a few minutes. Then I removed the cauliflower but kept the garlic in while I chopped up some basil. I added the basil and 1TB Earth Balance margarine and mashed, then chopped the garlic and mashed in as well. Delicious!

Easy Vegan Brownies with Cashew Butter Icing for the 100th Post!

2008-03-31T19:04:00.005-05:00

Since this marks the 100th post (Jennilicious 3, Veganne 97), I'm going all out with brownies. Well, they are actually for work, but I've been waiting for something good to blog about to celebrate the occasion.

I can't believe I've never blogged about these "Scrum-Diddly-Umptious Vegan Brownies" on Recipe Zaar because they is great. It is a good chocolate fix and no worries if you eat half of the pan in one sitting- it's only got 950 calories total so less than 500 calories for half (sans icing). Sometimes it comes out a little cakey, probably when I don't add the chocolate chips. But following the recipe as-is below makes the greatest brownies ever.

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semisweet vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly spray or oil an 8 x 8 baking pan. Mix applesauce, sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl. In another bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (and cinnamon if using) together. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the applesauce mixture. Mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips (and walnuts if using). Spread in prepared pan and bake 25-30 min, until center is firm and not sticky. Cool completely before slicing.

I iced half of the pan with a concoction I made by heating together 3TB cashew butter and .25c soy milk. It wasn't very smooth and not what I wanted- good thing I only iced half. The taste was ok, but the consistency was off. Maybe I should have heated the cashew butter without the milk.

And the camera is dead. Gone to camera heaven. It took 10 pictures on 4 brand new batteries and acted strange. Anyone want to buy me a digital camera?

Boiled Beets

2008-03-22T20:43:00.003-05:00

My first experience with beets was Thanksgiving 2007 when my family went out for dinner. I was feeling adventurous and plopped a beet on my plate as we passed the dishes around. Surprisingly I thought they were tasty despite being obviously straight out of a can (like all the other food). Within weeks of returning home, both my brother and father had bought fresh beets, and I'd been thinking about it, trying to come up with the best way to cook them.

I'd stare at them at the grocery store, reluctant to bring something home without knowing anything at all about how to cook it. Week after week they'd call my name between the spinach and the cauliflower. And to be perfectly honest, I wasn't 100% sure those dirty things were actually beets. Then, on the week where I severely underestimated how many veggies I needed, for some reason I reached in the bin and grabbed four beets.

And they sat in my fridge all week as I ate every single other thing I had, beating myself up for not buying more veggies. I finally started researching how to cook them and, naturally, wanted to roast them. However, all the roasting recipes require putting the beets in a foil pocket. Great. I don't have foil. I cook everything with a basic metal spoon, so I tend to consider foil along the lines of a bonus or just flat out cheating. So my next option was to boil them. And that I did.

I put my 4 beets in a pot with enough water to cover them and let them boil for at least an hour, scared to death they'd boil over and stain everything in my kitchen. They didn't. They just gently boiled away. When they seemed soft after gently pushing on them, I placed them in another pot with cold water where they sat for a few minutes. Using my fingers, I removed the peel, which was much easier than I anticipated. I sliced them up on a white plate, added salt, pepper, and Earth Balance soy butter.

They are reminiscent of potatoes, but not quite the same. They were alright, but I'm not eager to boil them again. I do, however, really want to try roasting them and I had the strange urge to puree them. Ok, that's not so strange for me since I look for any excuse to break out the immersion blender. The best part is that nothing is stained, not even the white plate I put them on. Whew.

I tried taking a photo, but they were camera shy.

Creamy Beer Onion Soup

2008-03-21T21:36:00.004-05:00

Shiner Bock. I had one tonight at the movies as I watched The Unforseen, a great movie about uncontrolled growth in Austin and the environmental impact. It took me back and made me a little homesick. Especially the Shiner.

I got home and was starving, and the Shiner wouldn't leave my thoughts. The only vegetables I have left are beets and onions and the beets seem like they'll take forever to cook. Beer Onion Soup just seemed ideal.

Ingredients

2 medium/large red onions, cut in thin half circles
Olive oil to coat the onions
1 bottle beer (Shiner)
2 cups water
1 cup soy milk (optional)
Salt and pepper

Roast the onions and get the beer boiling in a pot with water. When the onions are done, add them to the beer along with salt and peper and let simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the beer reduces down by half. Blend with immersion blender to smooth out, especially if you used 2 onions. Remove from heat and mix in soy milk.

At one point while the onions were simmering in the beer, I tasted the broth and was immediaely disappointed. I probably would have cried except I'd gotten rid of all my tears once I sliced into the onions. But I added some more water and let it cook a little longer. It got better but I was still concerned. Then I added the soy milk and it was perfect. Exactly what I wanted on a cold night. I also used 2 slices of bread to soak it all up. I would have made croutons but didn't feel like turning the oven back on.

Cream of Spinach Soup with Bulgur

2008-03-19T20:39:00.004-05:00

I got home from work late after attending a less than stellar networking event/seminar on advocacy. And I decided to walk the 2 miles home without changing into my sneakers. Sometimes I'm brilliant like that. At least the event gave me time to plan dinner, which needed to be fairly easy since I was getting home late. Not too inspiring, but what can you do...

Ingredients

1 TB vegan margarine (I love Earth Balance)
1 medium red onion, diced or chopped into whatever size you prefer
4 cloves of garlic
1 bag fresh spinach, washed and chopped
2 TB flour
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
2 cups water
1.5 cubes veggie boullion
1 TB Better Than Cream Cheese
.5 cup bulgur + 1 cup water

I followed the same process as my Cream of Mushroom Soup. I heated up the margarine and added the onions, cooking for 10 minutes until translucent. Then I added the garlic for 2 minutes and the spinach until it sarted to wilt. I added the flour and stirred for a minute or so (I evidently don't "get" how to use flour as a thickening agent), then the soy milk and water. I stirred, hoping it would thicken, and it didn't, so I assumed that would never happen and added the bouillon and cream cheese. Once it was all melted and mixed in, I removed from heat. While that was cooking I also got the bulgur going- simmering with the lid on for about 15 minutes or until the water was absorbed.

It hit the spot after a long day. And I'm too tired to think of ways to improve it. Ok, well maybe make it all milk with more cream cheese, but then I'd get fat again.

Split Peas and Barley with Spicy Kidney Bean Cream Sauce

2008-03-18T19:20:00.005-05:00

Uninspired. That's how I felt on the Metro ride home from work as I desperately tried to come up with a dinner idea. And that's how I continued to feel as I stared at my bare cabinets in search of something that caught my eye. Nothing. The problem is that I got all my veggies in at lunch with my Spring Vegetable Salad and needed grain and protein for dinner, limiting my choices severely. I really wanted some veggies, but evidently I didn't do such a good job grocery shopping and will barely have enough to last me to this weekend. So I went for my go-to dinner and made split peas and barley. Except I got a sudden flash of inspiration as I was walking the dog.

Ingredients

.5 cup yellow split peas
.5 cup barley
1 large red onion
2 TB Better Than Cream Cheese
.5 TB chipotle in adobo sauce
.5 cup cooked dark red kidney beans
Fresh cilantro to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine split peas, barley, and onion in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until tender, checking to make sure there's enough water. Remove from heat and add cilantro, salt, and pepper. Meanwhile, blend together the cream cheese, beans, and chipotle until smooth. It makes 2 medium/small 375 calories servings.

Experiment successful. It wasn't overwhelmingly spicy, but it had great flavor and was easy to make.

Spring Vegetable Salad: Harnessing the Power of Steam

2008-03-17T18:40:00.004-05:00

All winter I've been obsessed with roasting. Since spring is around the corner I decided to try a new cooking method to obsess over, one that doesn't raise the temperature in my apartment. Tonight, the steamer basket became my new best friend.

I needed something with protein but didn't want to use the usual suspects (lentils/split peas), then I had the brilliant idea to use quinoa since it is a complete protein. I also wanted to use some fat in my favorite form- olive oil- to help me feel full when I reheat it for lunch. And the asparagus made me feel like it is spring, which it almost is. This dish was incredibly easy to make.

Ingredients

1 bundle of asparagus (I estimate mine was about 24 stalks), bottom woody part removed and cut into bite size pieces
2 medium/large tomatoes
1 large red onion, sliced into large pieces
4 cloves garlic, chopped
.5 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1-2 TB capers
1 TB olive oil
Fresh dill to taste, I think I used about .25 cup
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring garlic, qunioa, and water to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes or until all the water is absorbed, just like rice. I actually stick my ear in the pot to see if I hear water. In another pan, add onions to steam basket for 7-10 minutes or until they begin to soften. Add tomatoes (whole) and steam for about 4-5 minutes or until the skin starts to pull away. Remove tomatoes and add asparagus. Steam with onions for 2-3 minutes (it's done when it's bright green).

In a large bowl, cut/mush tomatoes so they are bite sized. Add olive oil, asparagus, onions, capers, dill, quinoa, salt, and pepper. Thoroughly mix and adjust seasoning as necessary. It makes 2 large servings or could be 4-5 servings as a side dish.

I ate it hot, but I bet it's great cold. It was nice, light, and refreshing. It seems like a good potluck food.

Baked Bananas

2008-03-16T11:30:00.005-05:00

I was doing a little blog checkup this morning and noticed that somehow I've never posted about Baked Bananas- the greatest healthiest treat of all time! I make it every single Saturday and Sunday that I'm home and thinking about making it the rest of the time. Overripe bananas are the best for a lot of things because all of the sweetness comes out. And as I mentioned in another banana post, you can just throw them, peel and all, into the freezer and use for Baked Bananas, smoothies, baking, etc.

Bananas are also very good sources of vitamin B6 and good sources of vitamin C, potassium, fiber, and manganese. Not to mention they protect cardiovascular health, soothe ulcers, improve elimination, protect your eyesight, build better bones, and promote kidney health. And who know how amazing cinnamon is! It's an excellent source of manganese and a very good source of fiber, iron, and calcium. It's anti-clotting, anti-microbial, controls blood sugar, boosts brain function, improves colon health, and protects against heart disease. And how can unprocessed cocoa be bad for you with its flavanoids and healthy fats? Baked Bananas = Super Snack.

Ingredients

1 banana

1TB cocoa (unprocessed and unsweetened)
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Preheat oven to 350-375 degrees.

Slice 1 banana lengthwise, careful not to pierce the bottom skin. Place banana, the older the better, on foil lined baking sheet or in a Pyrex dish (there are juices that leak out that may harm an otherwise nice baking sheet, though I don't line mine in foil because mine are not nice). Add about a Tablespoon of cocoa inside the banana. You may have to slightly open it up so the cocoa doesn't get all over the pan. And it's probably best to try for about a teaspoon at a time for the same reason. For extra excitement, you can add a half teaspoon of cinnamon. Bake for 15-20 minutes (the peel will be black). It will be soft and mushy so be careful transfering to a plate. Savor and enjoy. And then let me know how amazing I am for introducing you to the greatest food ever.

Creamy Tomato Soup w/Cauliflower Base

2008-03-15T19:30:00.004-05:00

Yes, it's another tomato soup recipe. But it's different this time, I swear! I had some poor tomatoes that were on their last legs and I knew I wanted to roast them because, well, I'm obsessed with roasting. Oh, and it makes them taste even more amazing. Usually I use tofu as the base to make it creamy, but I wanted to use cauliflower to be a little different. And because it, too, was on its last leg.

Ingredients

1 medium head cauliflower, cut into small pieces

8-10 roma tomatoes

4-6 cloves garlic still in paper

1 cup unsweetened soy milk

Olive oil for roasting tomatoes

.5 cup fresh basil leaves (whole)

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Steam califlower until soft. Meanwhile, cut tomatoes in half lengthwise and toss with olive oil (I used my oil sprayer-genius). Place cut side up in baking dish and add garlic. Check after 15 minutes and rotate dishes and flip the garlic over. Check after 10-15 minutes to see if garlic is soft. When it's become soft or just started to brown remove and let cool a few minutes. When tomatoes start to brown, remove from oven.

In an empty pot or blender, add cauliflower, tomatoes, basil, garlic (remove paper, you can generally just squeeze it out), and salt and pepper. Blend together until it turns a nice shade of orange-pink and becomes smooth. It makes 2 large servings or 3 medium servings, and you get most of your veggie servings all in one sitting.

I could eat this every day. I would consider adding some red pepper flakes and/or some croutons, but it's pretty perfect as-is. Maybe some wine, but I'm still not sure how to cook with it yet, so maybe next time.

Deconstructed Green Bean Casserole

2008-03-13T19:18:00.003-05:00

I blame Top Chef for me using words like "deconstructed." I don't know if what I did fits, but I'm going to pretend like it does and that I'm an amazing chef.

I thought of this recipe yesterday while making my "cream" of mushroom soup and almost couldn't wait a whole day to make it. It was pretty simple and contained 3 things:

Green beans- about 3 cups trimmed on both ends and steamed.

2 cups of "cream" of mushroom soup, which was about half the recipe (though I added a little pepper)

1 large red onion, cut in half and sliced in half rings, tossed with some olive oil and roasted on 375 for 20 minutes, stirring every 5.

I put the green beans on the plate, topped with he soup, and topped with the onions. Voila!

Just what I expected- and better than the original. "Fried onions" in a can scare me and roasted onions are definitely healthier and tastier. Next time I'd add a little salt on top of the green beans and maybe cut them into smaller pieces so they fit on my spoon. Or I could use a fork...

"Cream" of Mushroom Soup

2008-03-12T19:37:00.003-05:00

The portabellas I bought this week were calling out to me- and they wanted to become the tastiest "Cream" of Mushroom Soup ever. And I made their dreams come true.

I did a little Googling and came up with a recipe based on a recipe from The Modern Vegetarian's blog and one from Veganfood.net. My hybrid:

1 TB olive oil
1 medium/large red onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
5 medium portabello caps, diced in large pieces
1.5 cups water
1.25 cups unsweetened soy milk
2-3TB flour

I sauteed the onion in the olive oil until soft. I added the garlic for a few minutes until fragrant and then put in the shrooms. I let it cook 2-3 minutes and added the water and some salt. As that came to a boil, I mixed the flour with the cold milk (I think to prevent clumping). Once boiling, I added the milk mixure and let it simmer for a few minutes. When it didn't thicken as I was expecting, I happily got out my immersion blennder. Scooping out about half of the chunks into a bowl, I blended the remainder in he pot until nice and smooth. I added back the chunks, stirred, and removed from heat.

It was so creamy, rich, and delicious. If you aren't a HUGE garlic lover, you can probably just use 2 cloves. It made 2 large servings at 250-300 calories a piece and could have stretched to 3 servings. I put mine on top of some barley for some extra texture. And I licked the bowl clean.

I thought about adding a cube or two of veggie boullion but wanted it "naked" first. I debated adding pepper, too, but it was just so good I was scared to mess it up.

Still no camera...but it wasn't pretty anyway- it was dark grey.

Tomato Basil Tofu atop Barley

2008-03-01T19:36:00.003-05:00

Thinking I'd mastered pan frying tofu, I thought it would be a great dinner. I finely chopped up 1/2 red onion since I was out of garlic, added a few leaves of fresh basil, salt, and 2 TB olive oil all to the frying pan. I tilted it and let the flavors mingle for a couple of hours.

In a small pot I added 1 cup of water and .5 cup barley, brought to a simmer, and let cook for 30 minutes until all the water was gone. As that cooked, I put the frying pan on medium heat and when the oil was hot, I added some strips of extra firm tofu (I cut 1 block into 12 strips). I let it fry for 10 or so minutes and was getting worried. So I tried to flip it, but most pieces stuck. It was not a good moment.

It looked like some of the bits in the pan were starting to burn, so I added 2 large tomatoes, 2 plum tomatoes, more chopped fresh basil, and .5-1 cup water. I let it simmer for 15 minutes or so. When the barley was done, I made two servings and topped with the tomato basil tofu mixture.

It was a little oily but yummy. It made two 500 calories servings and was filling. It could use a little more flavor- maybe veggie boullion or the rest of the onion. Now I'll go back to cowering in fear of the beast that is tofu...

(No camera batteries yet, my apologies!)

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pretzels (Dog and Human Treats)

2008-03-01T14:37:00.004-05:00

Today my lovely Tara turns 8! In celebration I wanted to make some dog-friendly and people-friendly treats. Pretzels seemed like the right way to go. I did my googling, but didn't use vegan since I thought it might be easier to veganize it myself. But, the first entry for "peanut butter prezel" was this vegan recipe. I had all of the ingredients and it seemed easy enough.

These are the ingredients I ended up using:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup soy milk
3 tablespoons natural creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vegan sugar
1 teaspoon salt

I mixed it all together, split into 2 balls, and then pinched off little bits and rolled into long chains with my hands. Since Tara is 8, I twisted them into figure 8's. They cooked 20ish minutes on 400 degrees and I took them out when they started to get brown.

I was a little worried initially about the consistency- would they be super soft? hard? Well, they came out sort of both. I may have overcooked them, which made them a little crunchy, perfect for dogbart and alright for humans. Then I nuked .5cup vegan chocolate chips for about a minute and dipped some of the pretzels into it. I put them on wax paper and placed them in the fridge to cool, about 30 minutes. These are clearly for humans only.

To make them better for dogs, you just leave them in the oven for several hours once you turn it off. They get nice and crunchy (too hard for humans), perfect for doggies. I would have taken a photo, but the camera batteries died the other day while I was taking a movie of Tara stalking a housefly.

Overall, as human treats the pretzels were not amazing. They seemed a little bland, although I could see them being good as more savory treats (herbs and cheeze, maybe). I might experiment with them again, but they're definitely not going to be used for impressing anyone.

On the Road Again

2008-02-11T16:37:00.001-05:00

I made another one-night jaunt over to the west coast and knew I'd have limited access to decent foods. So I think I actually packed more food than clothes. I took:

Barley and split pea soup with roasted onion and nutritional yeast
2 bananas
2 TB cocoa powder to dip bananas in
Spinach/chickpeas/tomatoes/onions atop quinoa
1/2 cup walnuts
3 peanut butter sandwiches (2 pieces whole wheat 50 calories bread with .75-1 TB PB)

I had some fruit at the event I was there for, but because I went a long time without eating, I was starving by the time I got back to the airport. And then my flight was delayed. So I ended up buying a bag of jalapeno chips and a hummus/veggie sandwich in case the plane didn't have any food I could eat. However, I lucked out- United offers snackpacks that aren't horrible for you. My RightBite included:

Bumblebee Sensations Lemon & Pepper Seasoned Tuna Medley (3 ounces, 110 calories)
Late July Organic Crackers (1 package, 100 calories)
Wild Garden Hummus (1 jar, 73.5 calories)
Stacy's Multigrain Baked Pita Chips (1 ounce, 130 calories)
Fino Selections Gouda cheese (1 ounce, 101 calories)
Newman's Own organic California raisins (0.5 ounce, 45.5 calories)
Mini-Toblerone (12.5-gram bar, 66.5 calories)

Sweet Potato Supreme

2008-02-11T16:09:00.000-05:00

I spent a ridiculous amount of time and energy going grocery shopping today, despite the fact that I'm leaving for 10 days on Saturday. So when I got home it was already 3 and I was starving. I wanted something quick that I could get going while I cooked lunch and I remembered my favorite go-to veggie for quick- the sweet potato.

I nuked a medium/large sweet potato for about 12 minutes while I chopped up some fresh cilantro and chives from my up-until-this-point-sort-of-disappointing Aerogarden as well as 1 clove of garlic. When the potato was done, I cut it in half and cut out a small hole from the middle of each half to which I added some Earth Balance margarine, garlic, herbs, and salt and pepper. I meant to add chili powder but forgot.

I smushed it all up and ate it on 2 pieces of whole wheat toast. Perfect quick afternoon meal.

Lentil Burgers Pt II: Repurposed and Back with a Bite

2008-02-03T20:39:00.000-05:00

Since my lentil burger recipe made a million burgers, I had some for dinner last night and lunch and dinner tonight. I figured I'd do something a little different for tonight, so I changed them up a little bit. Not much, but enough.

To the cauliflower cheeze sauce I added a little spicy brown mustard. It was the best move I've ever made. Since I bought bread today, I made an open faced sandwich with my new sauce on the bread side and on the top so my roasted onions seasoned with salt and pepper would stick. Amazing.

Sweet Potato Lentil Burgers

2008-02-02T18:13:00.000-05:00

I had an extra sweet potato, and, while I was tempted to make another pot of soup with it and some peanut butter, I opted for something new. I did some Googling and found someone else who's done some Googling and came up with something similar to what I wanted. These red bean, sweet potato, and quinoa patties seemed great, so I took a crack at it and made a few substitutions.

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa

1/2 cup uncooked lentils

1 medium (fist-sized) sweet potato

1 medium red onion

4-5 cloves garlic

6-7 baby carrots

1-2 TB chopped fresh basil

1-2 tsp dried basil

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 TB red wine vinegar

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/4 cup uncooked couscous in lieu of breadcrumbs

This used up a lot of pots, so I inititally cooked the lentils until tender but not quite mushy. Then at the same time in different pots, I:

Boiled the sweet potato that I'd cut into small chunks
Cooked the quinoa

Cooked the onion in a little olive oil until clear, then added garlic and carrots for another few minutes.

Once done, I added them all to a bowl that could have been slightly bigger, along with the basil, vinegar, salt and pepper. I smushed the sweet potatoes on the side of the bowl and mixed everything together. I added the couscous at the end and gave it a few more stirs. Then I let it sit in the fridge for a few hours until I was ready for it.

I'm not a big fan of frying, whether it's deep or pan. After shaping into patties, I sprayed some olive oil (my mom gave me a great pump thing so it sprays just a little pure oil) on both sides and put on a baking sheet at 350 for 20-30 minutes, flipping mid-way through the cooking time. I cranked it up to 400 for the last 10 or so minutes to get it crispier. It made 7 large patties, though I ate one before I cooked it. You can easily stretch it to 8, and I calculated there are about 1000 calories in the whole batch.

I didn't have any bread, and didn't want to make roti since the patties were slightly labor intensive. So I steamed a head of cauliflower and made a cheezy cauliflower sauce for the patties. I put about 1/2 cup of the cooked cauliflower in my immersion blender attachment (a blender is fine) and added some salt, pepper, fresh cilantro, soy milk, tahini, and nutritional yeast.

Spicy Sweet Potato Soup with Quinoa

2008-01-31T20:48:00.000-05:00

I've been eating leftover soups this week as well as going with my fallback of barley and split peas, so tonight I thought I'd get a little exciting with my food choices. I had a lot of good ingredients sitting around so I came up with this soup, which is a variation of of sweet potato soup I've made before.

I cut 2 medium sweet potatoes into small wedges and boiled them until soft. I also added about 1tst of fresh ginger. When the potatoes were done I added another 1tsp or so of fresh ginger, some chipotle powder, chili powder, and salt. I blended with the immersion blender and added 1 cup of soy milk and 2 TB of red wine vinegar. I'm pretty sure I should have added the vinegar in before the milk, but oh well.

In another pan I sauteed 4 cloves of garlic in a little bit of olive oil and then added 1c water and .5cup quinoa. Once that was done, I added 6 chopped scallions, salt, and juice from 1/2 of a lime. I scooped the soup in a bowl and, surprise, surprise, added the quinoa mixture to it.

It was pretty spicy but delicious.

Black Bean Soup with Mango Relish

2008-01-27T19:22:00.000-05:00

I bought a bunch of dried beans a few weeks ago at the organic market by my house. I used them in some amazing chili, which sadly never made it to the blog. But I'd been really wanting to use the black beans separately, and I was hoping to come up with something involving mango and rice. So I Googled black bean mango rice recipe and came up with this Cuban Black Bean Soup with Mango Relish.

Unsurprisingly, I didn't have a lot of the ingredients. So I improvised and made it my own way. The ingredients I used:

1TB olive oil
2 diced red onions
4 chopped garlic cloves
1-2TB chili powder (I ran out of cumin...)
2tsp fresh chopped ginger
1 cup dried black beans, soaked overnight
6-8 cups water
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt

I sauteed the onions and garlic in the olive oil until clear and soft and then added 4 cups of water, the beans, the vinegar, some of the salt and chili powder, and 1tsp of the ginger. I cooked it for 30 minutes or so and then added more salt, chili powder, and ginger. I scooped out some of the beans and blended the rest of the mixture until smooth. I added back in the beans and some additional water, which turned out to be too much.

As the beans cooked I made 1cup of whole grain rice and the mango relish, which I decided to change a little.

1 mango, diced
3 roma tomatoes
juice of one lime
3 scallions
5 or 6 leaves of purpil basil
.5tsp ginger
pinch of salt

I scooped the rice into my mug (all of my bowls were in the dishwasher, which necessitated the mug, which refused to produce a good photo for me), added the soup, and topped with the relish. The soup on its own was not amazing. But the relish made it stellar.

Baked Apples and Peaches

2008-01-27T17:41:00.000-05:00

Fruit is amazing when it's cooked. Baked bananas with some unprocessed cocoa are my favorites. But other fruits cook well, too.

I sliced one gala apple and one little peach and put them in a pyrex dish with about .5 cup of milk and some ground cinnamon. They baked on 375 for 15 minutes and I turned and added 2TB flax seed because I was reading something the other day about how great it is and I remembered that I still have quite a bit of it in my fridge that I haven't used in ages. My original plan involved peanut butter. They baked for another 15 minutes or so.

The picture isn't the greatest, but it tasted nice. I should have put the cinnamon on closer to the end and it possibly could have cooked 10 or 15 minutes longer.

Purple Basil Tomato Soup

2008-01-27T16:52:00.000-05:00

This isn't really different from my last attempt at tomato soup. I sauteed 1 medium red onion in a little olive oil and added water, 1TB tomato paste, 2 large tomatoes, and 6 roma tomatoes. I brought to the boil and added a few leaves of purple basil since I think the regular basil in my aerogarden killed it. (The purple basil had fallen over last night when I got home. I suspect the regular basil was blocking light or otherwise bullying it.)

Once it boiled for about 15 I added 8 or 10 white mushrooms that I'd chopped up. I let these cook for just a few minutes and then scooped out half of the chunky parts so I could use my immersion blender on the rest. I also added in about .5 cup of soy milk just to make it a little creamier and a few more basil leaves for flavor.

The real best part of everything was the lentil couscous salad I made to go in the soup. First I cut up 3 cloves of garlic, added some salt, a few chopped basil leaves, and 1TB olive oil. I let it sit as long as I could so the garlic and basil would infuse into the oil. Meanwhile, I cooked 3/4 cup lentils until just done so they weren't yet mushy, and I made 3/4 of couscous. Once all the cooking was done, I mixed the oil mixture, lentils, and couscous together and put about 3/4 cup into each of the 4 servings I made. Then I garnished with a gigantic purple basil leaf.

It was great- the raw garlic added extra zing to the soup. I promise I'll get more creative with tomato soup in the spring.

Sorta Chunky Tomato Soup

2008-01-20T15:53:00.000-05:00

Since it's 6 degrees outside I thought I'd make some nice warm soup for lunch. And since I've been watching TV all day because it's 6 degrees outside and because I hurt my back running on Friday and have consequently been spending a lot of time with the heating pad, I decided on tomato soup because Sandra Lee (semi-home) made it and it seemed like the right thing to do.

My initial idea was the roast the tomatoes, but since I don't write these things down until after I've made them, I forgot. So, I started with 1/2 a red onion, sauteeing it in a little olive oil until translucent. Then I added 6 tiny cloves of garlic for a few more minutes and deglazed the pan with some red wine vinegar. I've wanted to use rwv in my tomato soup, but I didn't know how it would react to soy milk. But today I'm daring. Bold, even.

After deglazing, I added some water, 6 small plum tomatoes, 1 TB tomato paste, and 8 white mushrooms. I let it cook a few minutes then added 1cup of unsweetened soy milk. After stirring it all up, I scooped out half of the mixture and used my immersion blender to smooth out the rest. Once I added the pulp back in I tore up a few leaves of basil from my aerogarden. It's growing ridiculously high so I had to cut it back a little. What a shame to have fresh basil that I was forced to eat...

Now I don't ever remember having a single bowl of tomato soup in my life until the past year. So I never experienced what I understand is true tradition- grilled cheese and tomato soup. However, Sandra Lee reminded me of this true American meal and I thought I'd follow suit with my own version. I toasted a few pieces of whole wheat toast and spread with a thin layer of french onion Better than Cream Cheese. My favorite part was removing the crust and letting it sit in the soup to get a little soggy. While not exactly what everyone else grew up with, it hit the spot. And made just enough for another meal.

Roasted Potato Soup

2008-01-16T20:03:00.001-05:00

More potatoes. Hooray!

I've been salivating over the idea of roasted potato soup for days. More than a week, in fact. I've decided to throw together my favorite things- taters (as Little Mommy calls them), onions, and garlic. I wedged up 2 medium taters and tossed them with .5TB olive oil. I also sliced up a red onion (both because the produce was lacking and because of my possibly false belief that it has more nutrients because it's red) and tossed with .5TB olive oil. Really, between the two I used .75TB in case you are a stickler. Then I got 6-8 cloves of garlic with paper on them. I put them on baking sheets on 375-400 and stirred every 10 minutes or so until they started to brown. The garlic went on the sheet with the onion- paper on but no oil.

Before we go any further, you may be concerned about all the garlic. Don't. I'm a huge garlic lover, and I could easily add more. When it's roasted, it becomes much milder and really soft. It's good to spread on bread. But I digress.

I then added one cube of veggie bullion to some boiling water (3ish cups) and half of the roasted veggies, blended with my immersion blender, and added in the rest of the veggies. Pretty simple. You can use any type of broth- it's really to add a little flavor and thin it out some. You may also want to add salt, but it depends on how salty the broth is you use. The whole thing makes 2 sort of small servings at about 250 calories a piece by my estimate. So I added in some couscous (I used .5 serving- 110 calories) and topped with Better Than Sour Cream.

It was exactly what I wanted. Only there's not enough.

Roasted Potatoes and Onions with Cheeze Dipping Sauce

2008-01-12T19:49:00.000-05:00

I bought some regular potatoes at the grocery store on a whim. Mostly because I wasn't ready for more sweet potatoes. I'd been dreaming of ways to cook them since they seem like a special treat because I consider them a forbidden food.

The first up in my potato madness is to continue with my roasting obsession. I cut up 2 medium potatoes into wedges, added .5 TB olive oil and some salt, and roasted on 375-400, turning every so often. I also roasted an onion (sliced then sprayed with cooking spray) because I can't stop thinking about them. And I also dreamt about a dipping sauce- Better than Sour Cream and nutritional yeast. It tastes like French onion dip to me. Amazing. Greatest dinner ever.

Roasted Garlic Butternut Squash Soup

2008-01-06T20:46:00.000-05:00

Butternut squashes are delicious but laborious. And sometimes I OD on them a little. But I got my first one this season and saved it for just the right moment.

It was really pretty easy and is the best tasting thing I've ever put in my mouth. I can't describe how amazing it is- beautiful, creamy, and flavorful. Wow.

I roasted a whole butternut squash (which was a little on the small side) in the oven on 350 until the inside was soft (45 minutes?). I also had 6-8 cloves of garlic (whole cloves with some paper still on them) and 2 cut sliced red onions roasting at the same time. I added just a touch of cooking spray and stirred them 3 or 4 times as they got delicious.

I made a special trip to the organic store today because I needed some nutritional yeast and wanted to get some Better than Cream Cheese because, well, it's like crack. While I was there I saw some vegan bullion (flavored with sea salt and herbs) and spontaneously threw it into my little basket. So, I dissolved 2 cubes in a couple cups of water (2ish cups, maybe 3cups) and added 3 TB of Better Than Cream Cheese. Pureed with the immersion blender and voila, amazingness. So what about the onions? I added them to couscous to add to the middle of the soup, which makes me feel a little fancy.

Roasted Veggie Delight

2008-01-05T14:36:00.000-05:00

I had a (not unusual) craving for onions this afternoon but I didn't feel like standing over the stove to cook them. So I found a great alternative- I roasted them. While those were going, I cooked some lentils and seasoned them with salt, pepper, and basil. And I made cooked whole wheat rotini. Strangely I had some leftover Brussels sproutsd (which is a sin), so I tossed those in a bowl with everything else.

Crap, I just realized I meant to put capers in it but forgot. Oh well, it was tasty.

Red Beans and Bulgur with a Side of Roasted Green Beans

2008-01-02T20:52:00.000-05:00

Culinary mental block is no joking matter. Especially when you rely on yourself to prepare all of your meals.

I thought long and hard all day about what to make for dinner to no avail by the time I got home. A quick trip to the corner grocery netted peanut butter and oatmeal- no good for dinner. Somehow, luckily, while I was walking the dog in the bitter cold I thought of red beans and rice, probably because I associate chili with the cold weather. I have something against rice, even brown rice, though. So I went with bulgur, the grain love of my life (as are barley and quinoa).

It was pretty simple- I sauteed some red onion until translucent, added 3TB tomato paste, .5c bulgur, and 1 can dark red kidney beans. Seasoned with Tony Sacheries and voila, dinner.

I also made one of my favorite things of all time: roasted green beans. Really, you can pretty much roast any vegetable and it will be my favorite. I just rinsed from fresh green beans, snipped off the ends, and tossed lightly with some olive oil and salt. I roasted them on 400ish for 20ish minutes, stirring every so often. These barely made it to the table before I devoured them.

Ugly Soup

2008-01-01T19:24:00.000-05:00

My recent lack of culinary innovation is scaring me. I guess I used it all up at Christmas.

Lately I've been a little obsessed with nutritional yeast. A "stand by" of mine is yellow split peas and barley with nutritional yeast, so I went with what I know. I jazzed it up with some red onion, plum tomatoes, and portobellas. I knew that the shrooms would make it a little gross, but it was pretty ugly. Tasted alright, though not as nutritional yeasty as I'd wanted.

Indian Night In

2007-12-29T19:52:00.000-05:00

Around 5pm I decided that all I wanted for dinner was beer bread and hummus. I had ingredients to wing a hummus but not enough flour to make the bread. I could a. walk across the street to the corner grocery and get some flour or b. fork over a little more cash for the real stuff at Lebanese Taverna conveniently next door to the grocery. It took me 15 minutes to come to the conclusion that I didn't want to leave the apartment at all, my kitchen was actually fully stocked, and I probably need to have a little more caloric discression after a week of binge eating. After a conversation with someone this afternoon about being fiscally responsible, I decided to use what I had in the kitchen.

I opened the fridge and was completely uninspired. Kale. Tomatoes. Butternut Squash. Mushrooms. Yuck. I couldn't come up with anything remotely interesting and could only see each ingredient in a silo when, out of nowhere, I had a flash of inspiration. I opted to make a kale/chickpea concotion and did a little Googling for some assistance. Apparently I wanted to make something similar to Balti. Evidently my strange concotion has probably been made many a time by many a generation. Does that make me brilliant for discovering something on my own that had already been discovered? Yes.

My yearning for whole wheat bread something was consuming me, so I rememered that I could make Roti. Jennilicous and I were just talking about roti as we shared her first Indian feast in which we both tried to see how much we could shove into our bodies before our stomachs would explode. And then we added a little more.

So it nicely came together for me. I mixed a cup of whole wheat flour with some water (maybe 2/3 cup? I started with .25 cup and added more until it was firm/stiff). Once I made it into a dough ball, I added in some chopped garlic and let it rest for 10 or 15 minutes with a moist cloth atop. It must be amazing if it has to freaking rest.

Meanwhile I sauteed a large red onion in some olive oil (1TBish) until transparent, then I added some garlic for a minute or two. I cut up 7 plum tomatoes, which are my favorites, and added them in along with some of the liquid from a can of chickpeas. I threw in some salt, curry powder, the chickpeas (sans liquid), and a gigantic 16oz bag of fresh kale and cooked until the kale was done. My brother inspired me to buy the kale since he mentioned it several times while I visited him last week. Good job, bro!

While that was going I made 3 little balls out of the dough and flattened them out into little circles that were not thick but not really thin. I am a chump and can't succecssfully use a rolling pin, so I used the palm of my hands. And it worked like a charm. I put the last remaining drops of garlic olive oil into a frying pan and put it on medium. Then I realized that this was pretty stupid because olive oil has a low smoke point and I really needed the temp on high. Oh well. I turned the heat up a little more but not all the way and cooked both sides of the roti until they were brown. It's much more fun to make them when you have a gas stove because the next step is to put the roti on the open flame for a few seconds per side. But, considering my history with heat sources, it's probably better that my kitchen is lame.

The kale mixture made 3 large servings- more than I expected, which was a nice surprise. I can't wait to try it reheated when the curry has had time to mingle more with the other ingredients. And the roti were the perfect accompaniment. The garlic chunks inside it were super amazing. I'm now delightfully full and overpoweringly odorous.

Christmas Recap

2007-12-29T19:37:00.000-05:00

Since my grandmother is still recovering from her April cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment, I spent Christmas in Georgia with her and my parents. To ease my mom's constant burden of being her caregiver, I thought I'd cook dinner. Little did I realize, however, that I'd have no access to internet or cell phone because I was back in 1955 rural Georgia. Let's just say my improvisational skills were really tested.

I settled on:
Stuffed acorn squash- I cooked barley and lentils in some veggie broth and added some cranberries, cilantro, and hot Mexican-style chili powder, then stuffed it into the squash. The colors were delightful and very Christmas-like
Pecan stuffing- I made stuffing with a little extra margarine for flavor and some pecans since my grandmother has a pecan orchard and they were fresh off the trees
Sweet potatoes- I added roasted garlic, chives, and margarine to some boiled (w/skins) sweet ptoatoes
Sauteed spinach with caramalized onions
Beer bread

I also wanted to make some gingerbread cookies, but alas, no blog access for the recipe, and I didn't want to buy molasses because I knew no one else would ever use it and it would just get tossed. So I searched my computer and found this recipe for Chocolate Chip Walnut Pumpkin Cookies that I luckily had saved. I omitted the eggs, forgot the baking soda, subbed unsweetened apple sauce for the oil, used pecans instead of walnuts, and added a cup of cranberries. I think it had too much chocolate (blasphemy!) and I'd probably leave it out altogether if I was going to make it again.

I ate these damn things left and right as if I was going to die if my stomach wasn't completely full with cookies. Every 10 minutes I'd scarf down 2 more to the point where I wanted to vomit. Yet I kept eating...

Ginger Lime Sweet Potato Soup

2007-12-17T21:29:00.000-05:00

In the past I have professed my love for the sweet potato. Sometimes I struggle with moderation, and I overdosed on the poor tasty tuber a few too many times. I was running out of new ways to enjoy it and reverting to my regular fallback recipes.

In trying to figure out what I was going to finish up in my fridge before the holidays, I stumbled upon some sweet potatoes. So I Googled "sweet potato soup" and found this recipe for Ginger Lime Sweet Potato Soup, which is kismet because I had all 3 of the titled ingredients. I didn't have celery or, gasp, onions, so I just sauteed some diced baby carrots until tender. I, of course, had no cumin, so I added some chipotle flakes and chilli powder along with grated lime and ginger leftover from my delicious homemade ginger ale. I added 4 med-large sweet potatoes (cubed) and boiled until done. Then I got out my favorite tool of all time, the immersion blender, and blended half of it (ladeled out the other soup into a bowl because I like chunks). I added the 1/2 cup of soy milk and swired it around so it looked pretty until it mixed in. Meanwhile, I boiled 3/4c lentils and 3/4cup quinoa. When it was done, I added some salt and lime juice.

It made 4 very large but low-cal servings. It really would have been fine doing .5c each lentils and quinoa, but I needed some extra protein for dinner, so tonight's bowl was a little fuller than the others.

I never would have imagined using these flavors together, but it was amazing. I could definitely taste the lime and the ginger but not in an overpowering way. It was just so unique. I think the lime turned my lentils and quinoa into crack, too, because they were amazing on their own. Next time, it gets some Better Than Cream Cheese instead of the soy milk.

Thanks, Puddin'!

2007-12-15T22:56:00.000-05:00

I used this pudding recipe (that I've blogged about before), but I had no cocoa because I used it to make pudding last weekend.

So, I heated up 1c soy milk, added 2 TB cornstarch, and then once it gelled I removed from heat and added 1-2tsp maple syrup and 1TB peanut butter. Well, actually I added them all in at the same time, which resulted in some lumps. But I'm pretending that didn't happen because it was otherwise the tastiest thing I have ever eaten in my life. I'm not sure if it was the maple or what, but it was amazing. And I scarfed it down, so that's why you get no photo.

Did I mention this was the greatest food item of all time?

I've Been Waiting All Day to Make This Pizza

2007-12-08T19:44:00.000-05:00

Because I haven't been feeling well (jetlag from my ridiculous LA overnighter), I decided to cheer myself up with food. I need to overdose on veggies since I am not feeling well, and I wanted to sneak in a little protein that is not peanut butter. What's better than pizza?

I used my onion-herbed beer bread recipe (3c flour, onion, herbs, 1 bottle beer) as the basis for crust. I flattened it out into 4 mini-crusts on a greased cookie sheet. I put it in a 375 degree oven for a few minutes while I assembled the sauce, which is strangely similar to my creamy tomato soup- 3 regular tomatos, 2TB tomato paste, 1 package of firm silken tofu, 4 cloves garlic, and salt/pepper- using my handy dandy immersion blender. I slapped the sauce on the pizza and put it back in while I made the other toppings- spinach (2pkg frozen), mushrooms (10 white), and thinly sliced red onion (.25c). I added those to the pizza and put it back in while I chopped up 2 roma tomatoes and 10 black olives. Last time out, I added the tomato slices, olives, and capers (the greatest ingredient ever). I let it cook a few more minutes then turned the broiler on for a few more so the tomatoes would roast a little.

I had to write the blog while it cooled, otherwise I'd have burned my mouth. It's pretty good- though the sauce could have been stronger (more salt/tomato paste maybe?. And I used frozen spinach, which made the crust a little soggy in the middle because I didn't strain it very well.

Still hit the spot.

Nuts!

2007-12-05T09:28:00.000-05:00

I'm on my way out the door to see Patrick Dempsy, but I made some spiced nuts for Tara's sitter. Through the brilliance of Google, I found this recipe for spiced walnuts.

I liked the maple syrup aspect, but in the end, they weren't as flavorful as I'd hoped. Of course, I didn't follow instructions on measurement, so I could have added more cinnamon. We'll see what Tara's friend thinks. But I had a catastrophe with this measureless snickerdoodle recipe and came out with intensely spiced cake-like cookies. Minus the over-spicing (I followed the recipe and added more than I thought necessary) they would have been great...

Gingerbread Cookies

2007-12-03T20:21:00.000-05:00

Although LBD sent me her gingerbread cookie recipe (thanks!), I'd already found one from the Post Punk Kitchen that I already actually had all of the ingredients for in my kitchen (except for cloves, which I won't buy because they seem ridiculously expensive).

I've never made gingerbread anything before so this seemed a little daunting. But it turned out easy and absolutely delicious. I also thought I'd ice some of them for no real reason. I did a little digging about found this easy Gingerbread Vegan Icing recipe from the Vegan Lunch Box. I made 2 batches of icing since I cooked half the dough the day I made it and then the other half a day later. For the first batch I used a good amount of vanilla and regular soy milk, and the second included less vanilla and soy nog. I liked the first better, but it was a little runnier.

No style points, but the taste makes up for my inabilitiy to prettify things.

Easy Meals for the Lazy Chef

2007-12-03T20:16:00.000-05:00

Coming back from a long Thanksgiving and then preparing for another one-night stand with a celebrity in LA (relax, it's just an overnight dash from the East coast over to the West coast to play with someone famous), I hoped to minimize my time in the kitchen. So lunch the next 2 days is a strange concoction that somehow tastes fabulous:

Creamy Tomato Green Bean Soup

Boil .5 cup brown rice in 1 can veggie broth for about 10 or 15 minutes. Add 3 cups fresh green beans (and more water/broth if necessary) and cook until green beans are done. Meanwhile, using your handy dandy immersion blender attachment (or a blender), blend .5 block of silken tofu (firm), 2 TB tomato paste, and some canned chipotle in adobo sauce. When the green beans are done or almost done, add the creamy mixture to the pot and add salt to season. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Enjoy the strangest but most delightful concotion you've had in awhile.

Chipotle Polenta with Lime Infused Spinach/Artichoke/Roasted Garlic

I'm fairly certain you can guess from the title what's in it. I boiled some polenta, salt, and chipotle powder (which I will use for chipotle brownies soon!) until creamy. At the same time I boiled one package of frozen spinach and one package of frozen artichokes, which I didn't know existed. I added some salt and roasted garlic and cooked until piping hot. I added the lime juice, stirred, then piled atop the chipotle polenta and added jennilicious' favorite plant- cilantro. Some of the bites were amazing...and some were just ok. I'm not sure how that can happen. Yes, that's my unsweetened homemade cranberry ginger ale.

Holiday Delight

2007-12-01T20:45:00.000-05:00

Armed with new batteries for my camera that seems to run out of batteries once a month even though I only use it for food blogging, I am back with a vengence!

Tonight I was feeling especially merry as evidenced both by the excessive Christmas decorations adorning my apartment and by the seasonal delights I made. I've been wanting to make some sort of cranberry soda since I had a giant bag of berries leftover from my acorn squash stuffing. I did some googling and came up with this recipe, a combination of homemade ginger ale and cranberry juice recipes:

1 cup peeled, finely chopped ginger

3/4 bag fresh cranberries

2 cups water

Boil cranberries until the pop, add ginger for 5 minutes, then set aside for 20 minutes. Strain into container of your choice- I opted for a glass jar. Now, I suppose you should combine it with club soda, but I'm a huge fan of seltzer water and used that instead. I just mixed until I found what I liked. To sweeten, make a simple syrup by mixing 1 cup of sugar with 1 cup of boiling water and stir until the sugar dissolves completely. Add what tastes good to you.

For dinner I went for some stuffing, and when I looked up the recipe I noticed that on the same page was a recipe for Brussels sprouts, my favorite. So, from page 228 of the November 2006 edition of Better Homes and Gardens, I used this Old-Fashioned Bread Stuffing recipe. My only change was that I used fresh sage and fresh tarragon (left over from the squash stuffing) and I used vegetable broth instead of chicken.

Also on that page I found this recipe for Creamy Brussels Sprouts. I followed it for the most part, again subbing veggie broth for chicken, but it calls for whipping cream and cheese so I had to get creative. I creamed together a half block of silken tofu and about 1/4 soy milk to replace the cream, and I made no attempt to sub for the cheese mostly because I overlooked it when I was making my shopping list.

The stuffing was a little bland despite my addition of fresh herbs. I'm wondering if they cooked too long and lost their flavor. Or maybe I just prefer poultry seasoning. And I suspect the veggie broth was less than stellar because it wasn't high quality.

The sprouts were interesting but I enjoyed them. Nutmeg is the secret ingredient in everything and even though I don't particularly care for it, it made the dish what it was. Next time I'll use Better Than Cream Cheese instead of tofu/soy mlik and I bet it will taste even better.

And of course, they were both delightful chased down with my delicious cranberry soda.

The Blog is Back!

2007-12-01T12:14:00.000-05:00

The past 3 months have been insane with travel taking up nearly 50% of my time. So now I've decided to go back to food blogging- but really only because I've been eating some good things and can't remember them. So, no, it's not about the 10 of you who actually read this. It's about my failing memory....

One of my greatest creations that saved me on 2 separate trips in November was lentils, green beans, and whole wheat pasta with some salt and garlic olive oil. I simply made it the night before (well, the 2nd time I made it the morning I left), let it sit and marinate, then enjoyed on the plane as everyone else was eating the crappy plane food. I even got desperate the second time and grabbed some canned green beans and it was still delicious.

This week I also experimented with stuffed acron squash and lentil loaf. Yes, I said lentil loaf. I followed this reciple for the squash, but made it my own so that it ended up being:

2 gigantic acorn squash

.75 cup wild rice, .25 cup brown rice

2 veggie bouillon cubes 2 cans veggie broth

2 tablespoons olive oil

a large yellow onion

2-3 stalks of celery

1/4 cup (or so) chopped walnuts

2TB each fresh tarragon and sage

3 cloves garlic

1/3 cup fresh cranberries

salt

ground black pepper to taste

Then I followed the general cooking instructions, adding the cranberries at the same time as the walnuts and the herbs as close to the end as possible. I either undercooked the rice inititally or overcooked it when reheating in the oven because it was pretty crunchy, which was a little less than ideal. But it was still very tasty.

The lentil loaf was lentil, yes, but not loaf. I think some of my issues were that I didn't know if 2 cups of lentils meant 2 cups dry, cooked, or 2 cups of cooked lentils. Then I didn't have breadcrumbs so I substituted 2 pieces of stale bread. And I had no marinara sauce, so I added some tomato paste and chili powder. Looking back, I should have added more tomatoes and spices and let it sit in the loaf pan to cool. Instead, I wasted no time in turning it out onto a plate where it quickly became lentil mush. But I didn't touch it, mostly because my dinner guest had to postpone until the next night. So the next night I got it back in the loaf pan to heat it up (I'm scared of the microwave) and it was more loaflike, but less flavorfull than I hoped. I made a sauce for the top that consisted of 3 roma tomatoes, cilantro, chili powder, and 2 tb tomato paste blended together. It was alright the first night but inedible the second night. You know I still ate it though.

Tofu, I'm Not Scared of You!

2007-08-22T20:21:00.000-05:00

My camera has no batteries because it evidently takes a LOT of power to take 30 pictures.

Since I'm going to the beach this weekend and Iowa for the Livestrong Presidential Cancer Forum, I wanted to use up my produce. I purchased some portabellas on a whim this week, and I had some green beans. I needed some protein, though, so I decided to throw in some tofu, too.

I pan-fried the firm tofu I'd cubed in a light layer of olive oil spray. I actually didn't touch it, so it got nice and brown. But I didn't feel like browning all four sides so I browned 2 sides and threw in the green beans with some red wine vinegar. When those were almost done, I added strips of the shroom. Meanwhile, I cooked some couscous and topped it with the veggies. A pretty easy and tasty dish. I had no onions so next time I'll make it like I usually do my caramalizing some onions first. Yum.

Chickpeas and Barley

2007-08-20T19:47:00.000-05:00

In need of an easy meal, I cooked .5cup barley (my favorite grain) and mixed in .5cup chickpeas, 2 cloves of roasted garlic (threw them in the oven with the paper on for 15 minutes or so on 400ish degrees until soft), .5TB olive oil, and some dried basil. It was good.

Smoothie Greatness

2007-08-12T13:12:00.000-05:00

Smoothies are pretty easy to make, but I've come up with the tastiest combination ever.

Fruit- banana, berries, peach, etc. (I generally use 1 banana and a handful
of berries)
Soy milk or silken tofu (the latter works great, I'd use maybe .5 block or
1 cup of soymilk)
Unsweentened, non Dutch processed cocoa (1-2 TB will do)
Nut butter (1 TB is fine but you might need 2TB to get a really strong
flavor)
Coffee (mix up a couple teaspoons/tablesoons in small amount of
water)
Cinamon

Today I got smart and decided to put the soymilk and coffee in ice cube trays in the freezer for about an hour along with the banana (peeled) and raspberries. I love my smoothies thick and almost frozen, but adding ice cubes dilutes the flavor...

Save the Vegetables! Soup

2007-08-12T13:05:00.000-05:00

Evidently I overpurchased on veggies last week, which means that I didn't need to buy much this week, but I had to come up with a way to use them up because the thought of throwing out food makes me want to cry. So I did what I love to do- threw it all in a pot to make a soup.

On hand:

1 medium onion

6 cloves garlic (I had to buy a giant pack of garlic becuase I needed it one day and the only nearby place tht had it sold it in 6 bulb packages)

3 large yellow squashes

4 plum tomatoes

4 cups of green beans

1 medium head of cauliflower

1 cup frozen corn

1 can light kidney beans

.5 cup barley (my favorite grain)

.25 cup each quinoa and bulgur

Simply seasoned with seasalt and pepper. If it was topped with avocado, it would contain all essential food groups! It's a nice summery soup and should feed me the rest of the week- it made 5 gigantic servings.

All Chili-d Out

2007-07-20T20:33:00.000-05:00

Hello, my name is Jennilicious, and I'm a badbloggeroholic. I haven't posted in ages because, let's face it, I'm a lazy-good-for-nothing. I decided to go ahead and post this short and to-the-point blog to get myself back in the habit.

I got paid yesterday, so I made a beeline to the store after work. Despite the fact that I was starving, I managed to stay fairly focused and made good food choices. I walked through the produce section and saw all that veggie stuff and thought I'd try something new. I saw the Lightlife stuff and decided on the Smart Chili.
Once home, I debated how best to use my chili. I had some sour cream left after making spinach dip for a barbecue at work (at least it was light sour cream, right?), so I thought chili nachos would hit the spot.

I heated up the chili, which just meant opening the pouch it comes in and throwing it in the microwave, dumped it on some tortilla chips, and slapped some sour cream and jalapenos on top.

I was starving, so I managed to down the whole plate in no time. But, the chili was pretty disappointing. It tasted rather like ketchup, and I hate ketchup. It was way too sweet.

Looking at the Web site, it seems Lightlife is headquartered in Massachusetts, which could explain this flavor scheme (sorry Veganne!). Any chili I've had here in Texas has had at least a modicum of spicy heat. This had zilch. What gives?

Garlic Sesame Asparagus and Herbed Barley

2007-07-20T20:03:00.000-05:00

Somehow the asparagus I'd bought 2 weeks ago wasn't quite dead yet, so I felt it was time to finally eat it. I'd been putting it off because I didn't want my pee to smell, but I'm not sure why I was so worried about that. I was inspired by this recipe on vegweb, but I had no sesame seeds so I improvised- shocking I know.

I added 1 TB of sesame oil and 3 cloves of chopped garlic to 24 spears of asparagus. Then I stuck it in the oven on about 375 for maybe 10 minutes until it was done.

Meanwhile, I cooked some pearled barley and when it was almost done, I added a variety of Italian herbs and some vegan margarine (Earth Balance).

Delicious. I just wish I'd remembered to add the garlic to the oil ahead of time to let it infuse like I do with olive oil. But, still wonderful.

Steamed Cauliflower atop a Bed of Tomato-Cumin Cilantro with Spicy Cool Tofu Sauce

2007-07-18T19:49:00.000-05:00

A long title, a tasty dish. I'm a huge fan of all in one dishes (not necessarily casseroles...or is that the definition of the word?), and today I needed a little of each food group (except fruit).

So, I cooked some quinoa with tomatoes and cumin, steamed some cauliflower, and made a sauce with 1 package of silken tofu , a bunch of cilantro (that's PARSLEY to you, jennilicious!), chipotle pepper, and salt. When I first made the sauce, it was missing something, so I added more of everything. I retasted and it still wasn't perfect, and then I realized the key: garlic. So I added 3 cloves and it was amazing.

Not only is it tasty, but it looks pretty. The picture doesn't do it justice- cauliflower seems to be camera-shy lately. But if I actually cared when I "plated" it, it could have looked so much better. What's that atop you ask? Green onion. It was dirt cheap so I've been cooking with it all week.

As far as changes/improvements, it could really, really use some lime. I'd probably put it in the quinoa and possibly the sauce as well. And perhaps the quinoa could have used some chili powder.

"Creamed" Spinach

2007-07-09T20:11:00.000-05:00

I had been dreaming about this dish all afternoon because I thought it was simply brilliant. Of course I would, I thought it up.

I steamed a head of cauliflower (left over from last week and about to be unusable), then used my badass immersion blender to cream it along with a touch of unsweetened soy milk, 2 cloves of raw garlic, salt, pepper, mustard, and nutritional yeast. I also added some water to make it soupier. Then I added an entire bag of fresh spinach (that I'd torn) and cooked until the spinach was wilted.

While brilliant in my head and no too untasty, it wasn't what I hoped because the cauliflower was so thick- the idea was that the cauliflower would be a "cream" sauce. I like creaming cauliflower, though. Well, I just like cauliflower. I'd like to make it again with some onions and mushrooms. And maybe some Better Than Cream Cheese. But still good.

I'm repurposing it tomorrow- on top a bed of yummy quinoa.

Chipotle Polenta

2007-07-06T19:18:00.000-05:00

I've made polenta now the last 2 nights.

Thursday- I made polenta and added chipotle to the corneal. I then topped it with homemade salsa (chopped up one small on the vine tomato, half a red onion, 2 cloves of garlic, and some cilantro). And the best part- I added some chili powder/cumin to a few TB's of Better Than Cream Cheese. Now, in the past I feel I may have maligned this stuff. But, it's my crack cocaine (that and silken tofu). I love it. This dish was awesome, except I didn't cut the onion into small enough pieces so it was a little overpowering.

Friday- Same first sentence and last dollop. Instead of salsa, though, I cooked .25C of lentils with the other half of the red onion and another tomato. And a dash of salt. The lentils alone were amazing. On top of the polenta, though, was fantastic. Yum.

Lentil Soupish

2007-07-02T19:48:00.000-05:00

I threw together lentils, corn, red onion, garlic, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, and a little salt. It was good and easy (just like jennilicious).

Vegan Cupcake Weekend

2007-07-01T19:29:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I celebrated my 10 years as a cancer survivor and received an awesome book as a gift- Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. It might be the greatest book of all time. So I declared this weekend National Vegan Cupcake Weekend.

From the moment I got the book, the marble cupcakes called out to me. Probably because I had all of the ingredients already in my apartment. But, I had a request to make the maple cupcakes. So I did what anyone else would do- I made both.

The marble cupcakes actually looked cool and weren't that hard to make. I topped them with a coffee buttercream icing. The maple cupcakes were sort of a nightmare for some reason (more my fault than the recipe). I accidentally left out the brown sugar and screwed up the maple coated walnuts. They still came out delicious.

Both icing recipes made enough for 24 cupcakes, so I was forced to make 24 more cupcakes the next day. This time I tried vanilla and chocolate. One of my accidents from the maple cupcakes resulted in my vanilla extract all over my counter, wallet, and bananas. So I replaced it with pomegranate liqeur, but it was barely noticeable and still vanilla-y. The chocolate was delightful. So I alternated the icings and had 6 chocolate with coffee, 6 chocolate with maple, 6 vanilla-y with coffee, and 6 vanilla-y with maple. They were all amazing though not the most beautiful in presentation.

Cauliflower with Tomato Basil Tofu Sauce

2007-06-27T19:21:00.000-05:00

It's basically what it sounds like. I steamed some cauliflower and, again using my fantabulous attachment to my immersion blender, blended together a plum tomato, 1 clove of garlic, .25 block silken tofu, salt, basil, and randomly some nutritional yeast (though I'm fairly certain it didn't add anything to it).

Tofu sauces are amazing. Thank you jennilicious for introducing me to tofu, once my nemesis, ironically because of jennilicious' failed attempt back in undergrad. This is a quick, tasty dish. And I'd definitely lick the sauce up off the floor. I may have licked the plate clean, too.

I tried taking pictures for about 10 minutes, but I was ultimately unsuccessful for whatever reason.

Lentil Delight

2007-06-23T18:45:00.001-05:00

Lentils rock.

I wanted to try something a little different (for me) with lentils so I dreamt up this concotion. I cooked .25 cups lentils for about 10 minutes, added a cup of diced yellow squash, a cup of frozen diced zucchini, and .5cups frozen chopped spinach (trying to get rid of stuff in the freezer to make room for the aforementioned soup). While that was going, I used my badass immersion blender attachment to blend together .25 block silken soft tofu, some dried dill, a little (too much) salt, and a splash of soy milk. I put the "sauce" in the fridge to keep chilled and when the lentils/veggies were done, they went in the freezer to quickly cool. I mixed the two together for a lentil delight. And it makes a big bowl that's around than 200 calories.

I dried draining the lentils/veggies and throught I got most of the water out. Not as much as I'd hoped, so instead of a creamy mixture, it's a little more watery than I envisioned. But at least the oversalting of the "sauce" wasn't noticeable since I didn't flavor the lentils/veggies otherwise. To make it a more complete meal, it might be good with some bulgur or quinoa.

The "sauce" is actually really good and I might start making this often and using it as a dip for my baby carrots. I can imagine it with some sundried tomatoes and basil or maybe rosemary and garlic. Yum.

Still Around...Barely

2007-06-23T18:39:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in 3 weeks because I've either been too busy training to cook anything creative or out of town. As a result, I've now gotten sick. So today I decided to make soup- and lots of it. My freezer is now full for those long days when training takes up too much time...*Sigh*

I sauteed 2 medium onions and 4 cloves of garlic until transparent. I diced some tomatoes and threw them in the pot along with some water. I let them boil for 15 minutes or so and added 4 cups of yellow squash, one giant can of kidney beans (it held 9 servings), and an entire package of organic wheat spaghetti. I was feeling uncreative because my brain was shut off so I only seasoned it with salt and pepper, but in the end it was a good decision. It cooked until everything was done, and then I scooped it into 8 containers (about 375 calories a piece).

It hit the spot and was just what the doctor ordered. I'm glad I made heaps and heaps of it because it's something I won't mind eating over and over again. Good job, self. Maybe next time I'll use a nice veggie broth for more flavor.

(It is soupier than the picture leads you to believe.)

Memorial Day Dilemma

2007-05-28T14:08:00.000-05:00

I was invited to a Memorial Day potlock with 4 hours notice. Normally that would be plenty of time to go to the grocery store (which was on my list of things to do anyway) and come up with something yummy to make. However, I opted instead to go on a bike ride.

So before I took my bike out, I was waiting for my mom to call me and thought I'd see if I could get started on something (plan B was to buy something, gasp!). I went to vegweb, my favorite for recipes, and checked out the potlucks and picnics category. I stumbled up the recipe for Three Bean Pasta Salad and did a quick inventory of food in my apartment. I thought I could pull something together.

I immediately cut up 4 cloves of garlic and smashed them into a paste, adding a little salt and olive oil to assist. I then let it marinate together in the fridge while I drained and washed a can each of black, garbanzo, and dark red kidney beans. I then decided to use up my baby carrots and carefully cut them up into thin strips. Very time consuming. I also defrosted some frozen cut zucchini that I randomly got the other day (I didn't know they made frozen zucchini). But it seemed seasonal.

I threw in the beans, zucchini, and carrots, then I added the olive oil/garlic mixture I'd made, carefuly not to add a lot of the garlic since I was pretty sure it would be garlicky. I also thought some dill would make a nice addition so I threw some dried dill in as well. I mixed, set in the fridge, added more olive oil and dill to the olive oil/garlic mixture, and went off on my bike ride.

When I came back, I cooked 1 cup of barley and steamed 12 stalks of asparagus. With the asparagus I decided to be fancy- I steamed them for just a couple of minutes and tossed them in an ice water bath. I see it all the time on TV and I'm really sure what it does, but it seemed apporpriate. And it cooked it down so I could add it to the dish. When the barley was done, I put it on a plate and stuck it in the freezer for 10 minutes or so to cool it down. I then added the barley and asparagus to the salad along with the olive oil/garlic/dill mixture and some salt. I'm so scared of over salting so I tried to minimalize the amount I added. It also had a strong garlicky taste, which is fine by me. Then I put it in the freezer just to make sure it's all cold enough.

It was pretty tasty and it lasted forever, which was great during my first week of tri training!

Bean Pile

2007-05-24T19:36:00.000-05:00

I used to make something similar to this dish fairly often a few years ago. I rediscovered it tonight and am glad I did. A coworker named the dish way back then.

I got .75c whole wheat spiral pasta going in one pot and heated up 1TB sesame oil in my frying pan. I sauteed a medium onion in the oil and added some green beans (4cups?) when the onions were transparent. I seasoned with some sea salt and red pepper flakes.

I eat green beans every week and it seems like they are the same every single time. So the sesame oil was a nice departure from the norm. Overall, the only thing I'd do differently is cut the green beans into smaller pieces so I can shove them in my mouth faster.

Squashtacular

2007-05-20T20:03:00.000-05:00

I bought a few too many yellow squashes last week, so I've been eating them too often. I was tired of stewed squash and wanted to do something new. So I did my favorite cooking trick- I roasted them. I cubed 2 large squash and cut 1 medium onion into strips. I tossed both in 1TB of olive oil and put in a 400degree oven until nice and brown. I only seasoned it with some salt because I couldn't figure out what herb would be best. Meanwhile, I cooked some barley, my favorite.

It was a perfect alternative to stewed squash. I just wish it didn't make my kitchen so hot. Sometimes I had the salt just perfect, but some pieces could use a little more. I blame the sea salt for my inability to flavor things correctly.

Spinach Chickpea Goodness

2007-05-19T15:45:00.000-05:00

The past few weeks have been hectic with board meetings, travel 2 weekends in a row, and my workload picking up significantly. So, I haven't had the time to cook, much less blog about what I'm eating. Sadly, 2 days last week I had to settle for (don't take it the wrong way, I love it, but it's no homemade treat) peanut butter sandwiches. But I did go to a "Tex Mex" place (as you'd suspect, DC "Tex Mex" doesn't even come close...) and was proud of myself for avoiding the chips and then only eating half of my veggie burrito. I brought the leftovers back with me, but decided they weren't worth my time.

This afternoon's meal was not quite what I expected- but pleasantly surprising. I sauteed some onions and garlic in about 1/3TB olive oil. I added 1 cup of chickpeas. There was a moment of panic when I looked in the cupboard and couldn't find them. But after moving every single can of beans out of the cabinet, I found the garbanzos hiding in the back. Whew.

I added an entire bag of fresh spinach, about 2TB of white wine, 1.5TB nutritional yeast, and lots of mustard. And salt (amazingly not too much) and pepper. This is clearly my favorite easy sauce for things.

Once the spinach wilted (5 min), it was ready to be devoured. The only thing I'll do differently next time (and I will be making this again) is to cut up the spinach before dumping it into the pan.

Monochrome Mealtime

2007-05-19T15:41:00.000-05:00

The past few days I've been making quick, easy meals. But they have all tended to be very monocrhomatic.

Thursday- Green
I made green split peas with frozen spinach. I then added some balsamic vinegar at the end for a little flavor. By the end of the bowl, I wanted to vomit. I don't like balsamic vinegar. Give me red wine vinegar any day.

Friday- Yellow
I boiled some yellow squash with onions and added yellow split peas. Seasoned with salt and pepper. Quick, easy, and tasty.

No pictures, though.

I Couldn't Have Said It Better

2007-05-09T12:27:00.000-05:00

An excellent article from the New York Times that speaks directly to my cooking philosophy:

The Minimalist: A No-Frills Kitchen Still Cooks

By: Mark Bittman

More Pizza

2007-04-28T18:51:00.000-05:00

When I left my apartment this morning, I intended to walk about 2 miles from the Metro to a bicycle store to purchase a bike for the triathlon I'm doing to celebrate 10 years of cancer survivorship and to raise money for the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults. I got to the bike shop and purchased a bike (woohoo), but they didn't have it in stock so my plan to ride it home was shot. Instead I hiked the 8 miles back home. That is deserving of pizza.

I started by caramelizing 2 small onions, though I'm fairly certain I didn't do it right. I sprayed the pan with a little olive oil spray, but didn't actually use oil like you're supposed to. Oh well. Then I deglazed with some red wine vinegar and let it cook about a minute. I took all but 1TB of the onions out and set aside for later. To the onions still in the pan I added 2 cloves of garlic. After about a minute I got impatient, added a TB of white wine, and added 2 cups of canned organic diced tomatoes. After preheating the oven to 425 , I let the sauce simmer while I took the dog out.

Upon returning, I made the same recipe for pizza dough (only I did equal parts flour and .5 cup cornmeal instead) that I've made before and stuck it in the oven for 5 minutes. Meanwhile I added a bunch of different Italian spices to the tomatoes in addition to 1 cup of frozen chopped spinach since I needed another serving of veggies for the day. I also put 3 servings of meatless buffalo chicken pieces in the microwave to thaw a little so I could cut them up into tiny pieces. After I took the dough out, I put the sauce on and 4 TB of Better than Cream Cheese. I popped it in the oven to melt the cheese then spread it around and topped it with the onions and the buffalo meatless chicken pieces. I put it back in the oven until it was all warm and the crust looked done and turned on the broiler to get the meatless chicken crunchy.

I'm generally hesitant to consume fake meat because I'm scared it will be horrendus. However, every time I've had it, I've been pleasantly surprised. The only problem with this fake meat was that it was too dry for what I wanted- by that I mean that I was hoping for something smothered in a spicy sauce. It was sort of spicy, just not what I was hoping for, but I'd kind of gathered that from the picture. Could you give it to a meat eater without them realizing it's meatless? Probably, but they'd probably think it was a little lacking or trying to be healthy. But I'd buy it again.

As you can guess, it was fantastic. The cream cheese cooled the little heat from the meatless chicken, though I sadly couldn't really taste the onions. It clocks in at about 2000 calories total (crust about 1000, tomatoes 120, onions/garlic 50, meat 390, and cream cheese 120). I ate half of it because I was starving from my long journey, but there is enough to have 4 decent servings.

Hot Hot Hot!

2007-04-26T18:03:00.000-05:00

Inexplicably, I decided I needed to, had to, use my cornmeal tonight in whatever I made. Perhaps it was my lengthy examination of Amy's products as I stood in the frozen food aisle at Whole Foods today trying to pick out something for lunch since I haven't gone to the grocery store in forever and don't have many ingredients to cook with. Amy's makes a tamale pie dish that has a cornmeal topping. Inspirational...

I wanted to use the ailing cauliflower in my fridge in a somewhat new way, even though "mashed" cauliflower is one of my favorite things. And I needed some nuts/beans/seeds so I went with my favorite standby- lentils. Back to the cornmeal. I was searching around the Fatfree Vegan Kitchen blog, one of my favorites, and stumbled upon a fun Tamale Bites recipe that looked intriguing despite knowing full well that I have no Twinkie pan or anything remotely MacGyverable. But I did have what I (mistakenly) remembered being a giant silicone muffin pan. My plan was to carve out the inside of a cornbread muffin and stuff with my strange concoction. It worked, I guess. But instead of the cornbread bowl I envisioned, it was like a thimble.

Simultaneously, I cooked 12 cornbread muffins with this recipe from Vegweb, except I used applesauce instead of the oil. I estimate the entire batch has 1200 calories. I also steamed a head of cauliflower and blended it with .25 cup water and about a TB of frozen chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. And, miraculous, I cooked .5 cup of lentils with 1 small onion until they were done but not mushy and added the last maybe TB of tomato paste I found cowering in my freezer, cumin, chili powder, and a little salt.

The cauliflower turned a nice shade of orange and was delicious on its own, but extrordinarily spicy (yum). I'm going to start eating lentils like this way more often- they were simply delicious. The cornbread didn't seem to burn and despite sticking my finger almost all the way through one of them to check for doneness (evidently premature on my part), the muffins came out fine. I'm not sure I'd ever serve just those because they were a little bland. I might add some corn and, yup, chipotle. But maybe powder instead of the actual pepper.

I somehow expertly carved out the insides of the muffins, scooped the tiniest scoop of cauliflower in it, and added a tad of the lentil mix atop. Originally I envisioned the cauliflower as more of a soup and the lentils as something that sits in the middle of the soup, both in a cornbread bowl.

The cornbread bowls came out cute, yet too small for me to eat soup out of. Now, I'd definitely hollow these out again and put something in them- maybe lentil dip or refried beans or something. Or maybe I'd get a bigger pan.

I'm really proud of this meal- it was really good and really fun.

What about the leftover cornbread muffins? I crumbled up 2 of them in a bowl with cinnamon and 8th Continent Light Vanilla Soy Milk for breakfast the next day. Better than my Cheerios.

A Day in the Park

2007-04-22T12:50:00.000-05:00

My dog and I spend lots of time at the park, often sleeping, when the weather is nice. We always pack lots of snacks and water/drinks, but since we had a guest accompanying us, I thought we'd make something a little more fun.

The first thing that came to mind was some sort of fresh fruit spritzer. I'm not sure what that means, but I wanted something with freshly made juice and whatever people mix it with that isn't alcohol (I'm strangely anti drinking during the day). Strawberries sound delightful, possibly because I was eating them when I dreamt up this plan. But I was worried that our guest wouldn't like strawberries, so I went with mangoes instead, as if those are generally more people friendly than strawberries. I also had some Pink Lady apples, my favorites of all time, so I thought I'd use those as well.

In grad school I purchased the Jack LaLanne Power Juicer that I'd been eyeing for months. It was the best $100 I ever spent- back in grad school. I'd use it every day to make tons and tons of juice, but it's been sitting in my cupboard since I moved to the D.C. area. However, that all changed.

After some quick Googling, I found that I should mix 2 parts fruit juice and 1 part sparkling water or wine. I'm not exactly sure what that meant, so I ended up juicing 4 mangoes and putting the juice in a large water bottle, then filling up part way with soda water. The juice that came out was pretty thick but tasty nonetheless. I did the same with the juice of 4 apples. There was no measuring, but a simple taste test at the end indicated I might have gone a little heavy on the soda because the juice seemed diluted, especially in the mango spritzer. Lesson learned.

And, of course, you have to serve it in glass jars. If I wanted to get fancy, I would have frozen some fruit (grapes, strawberries, pineapple) and used them as ice. Or I would have frozen the puree or edible flowers in ice cubes. Or I would have put some chunked fruit on skewers or toothpicks. And garnished with mint. But, that's too much effort when I'm just going ot the park. (I only added the strawberry for the picture).

And since I was having something so sweet, I thought a nice unsweet treat was in order. I happened to finally tune into Get Fresh with Sarah Snow on Discovery Health this week to see her make some oat/peanut butter/cocoa patty goodness. I am choosing to ignore the fact that honey is not really vegan, and I left out the spirulina because I'm just not sure about it yet. And I left out the whole flax seeds and replaced it with more oats because I'm not sure I'll ever use whole flax again. Oh and my oats were really 5-grain hot breakfast cereal.

I halved the recipe and made one set of patties with peanut butter and the other with cashew butter. I went to great lengths not to let the flavors mix. Everything was fine until I decided I had to use both hands to form patties and put on cookie trays. There was chocoloate/nut butter goodness everywhere. No, I'm not complaining, just saying...I finally made the patties and put them in the freezer as long as I could so they'd harden some.

The "cookies" are essentially a very healthy version of the no-bake cookies you had as a kid. I'd like to try adding a little salt to them, but we'll save that for a time when it's just me devouring all of them.

It was perfect for the park, but necessitated some paper towels. Great times.

Mexican Sweet Potato Tofu Stoup

2007-04-20T19:11:00.000-05:00

Mexican Sweet Potato Stoup

2 small onions sauteed with
6 cloves of garlic then added
dry white wine to deglaze and
water with
1 package of extra firm tofu, cubed, with
4TB garlic chipotle salsa and
Chili powder, cumin, salt to simmer 15 minutes, then
2 medium/large sweet potatoes and
1/2 c bulgur until done

I originally envisioned this dish with black beans, but the tofu in my fridge had been in there for way too long. While I'm tempted to give up on tofu, I'm determined to learn out to cook with it (which I didn't do well in this dish). The tofu doesn't taste bad, it just wasn't what I was hoping for. And I oversalted in my zeal to make it taste Mexican since all the spices I used had salt in addition to the heaping amount of salt I threw in. Next time I'll use black beans, lime, and chipotle and pray that it comes out a little better.

"Ochazuke"

2007-04-19T12:14:00.000-05:00

Since I'm feeling a little sick today and I wasn't sure my leftovers from last night would be that great without a little help, I decided to make "Ochazuke." Traditional Ochazuke is leftover rice and green tea with seasonings on top. Things like seaweed, plum, salmon, etc. I use the quotes because, while my dish and the traditional dish both contain green tea and leftover rice, I'm pretty sure most Japanese people don't add chickpeas, kale, and Tony Chacheries. And they probably use white rice instead of brown.

I don't have a picture since I ate it at work, but all I did was mix last night's food together and add some green tea. Just what the doctor ordered, but could have used a little more of the spices.

Crunchy Spicy Garlicky Kale and Chickpeas

2007-04-18T19:36:00.000-05:00

I thought I found a recipe online once with kale and chickpeas, but I searched and couldn't find anything. So got .75c of brown jasmine rice going and then I tossed a can of chickpeas in a dish, sprayed with olive oil spray, and rolled them in some Tony Chachere's and roasted on 400 for about 15 minutes, or the amount of time it took me to take the dog out.

I added about 6 cups of cut kale that came from the largest bag of kale I've ever seen. To be honest, though, I'm not sure I've ever seen kale in a bag. I also put 4 cloves of garlic with the paper on them on a cookie sheet and let them cook separately until they got soft and yummy. I added them to the kale/chickpeas and turned on the broiler to get the kale nice and crispy. All together, it made 3 servings at about 350 calories a piece.

This dish was surprisingly good. The crispy kale and beans were a delight, and the garlic was amazing. I only wish I'd added more. Yum.

"Curry" Quinoa Lentil Stoup

2007-04-16T19:26:00.000-05:00

Let's get this out of the way from the getgo- I dislike Rachel Ray. I'm not exactly sure why, but something about her bothers me. Yet I still watch her shows. At any rate, I took the word "Stoup" from Rachel Ray for lack of a better term to describe my concoction.

I sauteed some onions and garlic in a tiny bit of olive oil (I think I may just start leaving this sentence out since it's a given). Then I added water and .5 cup lentils and let it boil for 15 minutes. I added 2 TB of Better Than Cream Cheese, which isn't but is still good, and reached into my spice cabinet for my trusty jar of curry powder only to find that it wasn't there. Apparently some jerk in my apartment, where I live alone, finished the curry and didn't buy more or tell anyone. Ugh. So I made my own "curry" with turmeric, cumin, chili powder, nutmeg, and a half a cinnamon stick. Oh, and I remembered salt this time. I also added .25 cups quinoa and let it cook for 10-15 more minutes until the quinoa was done.

I took out the cinnamon stick and let the stoup sit about 15-20 minutes to let the flavors come out, or at least that's what I envision happening, since I had to face the nor'easter and take the dog out. The apartment smelled lovely when I returned.

It was surprisingly tasty and hit the spot on such a gross, cold, rainy, crappy day. And I was too busy enjoying my dinner to crop out the shadow from the picture.

Seasoned Sweet Potato Fries with Chipotle Mustard Dipping Sauce

2007-04-08T19:31:00.000-05:00

I heart sweet potatoes. Duh.

I cut up 2 giant sweet potatoes and split them into 3 groups. I added a touch of olive oil to all 3 and then seasoned them differently. One group got just salt and pepper, one got "Mexican Style Chili Powder" (chili powder with cumin), and one got rosemary, greatest spice ever. I baked them for 30-40 minutes on 400, refusing to flip them since I was feeling defiant. And I went to great lengths to keep the flavors from mingling.

I scraped a few very small chunks out of the frozen chipotle peppers in my freezer (orginally canned chipotles in adobo), nuked them for 10 seconds, then added a tablespoon or two of regular mustard. Simple. I will not dip the rosemary fries in the mustard for no real reason.

They are amazing. Duh.

Not Your Mama Herman's Roni Rolls

2007-04-08T12:17:00.000-05:00

In college Nick Herman's mom, Mama Herman, would make amazing roni rolls. They were so simple and so delicious, especially after single-handedly consuming 3 gallons of cheap beer. I wanted some pizza-type of food today since it's another calorie-free weekend (thanks LBD!), so I dreamt up this concoction. Note: there is no pepperoni in my rolls, nor is there anything resembling pepperoni. So, basically, they aren't roni rolls at all. And as for the pizza theme, there isn't even any tomato anything near these.

Mama Herman would start with store bought pizza dough. But since I'm lazy and not feeling well, I thought I'd whip up my own dough that I seem to be perfecting lately. I followed my usual recipe (search the archives under pizza) but added Italian herbs (surprised?) and chopped onion. If I hadn't finished off the beer last night, I would have made my herbed onion beer bread instead. I rolled the dough in to 8 large balls and then realized they were too large. So I took half of each ball, flattened it out by hand (probably would have been easier with the rolling pin, but I can't figure out how to use it), and added a chunk each of mozarella vegan cheese and cheddar vegan cheese. I rolled up, placed on cookie sheet, and baked on 375 until it looked done on the outside.

While it was cooking, I added some sea salt to 2 small cloves of minced garlic and used the back of my knife to make it into a quasi garlic paste. I put it in my lovely ramekin and added a tablespoon or two of olive oil. This is the perfect dipping sauce for anything. And the longer it sits out, the better it gets. Not that I've left it out all day and eaten it later...

Just before they were done, I used a spoon to spread some garlic olive oil atop the rolls. Who needs a brush...Anyway, I let them cook a few more minutes and took them out. The chese was oozing out and it was all I could do not to lick the pan. Then when I took off the two breadsticks I made with the last bit of dough, I remembered that I forgot (of course) to add salt to the dough. So I quickly salted the tops of my rolls and put them in the oven for a minute .

It's sort of a good thing that I bit into one and the cheese oozed all over me. Because I had to go back to the kitchen to get a bib and remembered I'd left the other tray of them in the oven. Oops. At least I turned the oven off. Don't worry, they didn't burn and even if they did, I'd scarf them down anyway.

I have learned today what food porn is. Not only is there cheesy goo oozing all over me (it's even in my hair) as I eat a completely delicious treat, but I'm also watching my secret boyfriend, Michael Chiarello on the Food Network. It's pure filthy goodness and I now need to go shower.

Oh, and I just noticed cheese on the wall.

Green Bean Pocket

2007-04-05T15:54:00.000-05:00

I made this last week but haven't had time to post anything since I ramped up my exercise routine. Maybe I'll post about that later...

I randomly had some whole wheat pita bread and, surprise, surprise, wanted to use it up. So I cooked some green beans in red wine vinegar, my favorite. I then added some soy milk, mustard, and nutritional yeast to make a "cheese" sauce. I let it simmer until the green beans were done and then scooped them into the pita. I put it in the oven for a little bit to get a tad crunchy. It was pretty good, fast, and easy. Should I randomly have pita again, I'll probably to something very similar.

My Tastiest Creation Yet

2007-03-18T12:52:00.000-05:00

I love sweet potatoes. They are a great lunch- I often just pop one in the microwave at work for 9 minutes and eat it plain for lunch. When I went to California, I cooked some sweet poatatoes and cut them up to take with me on the plane. Sweet potato fries are also a delight.

So for brunch today I decided to use up my last sweet potato. I put it in a 400 degree oven and let that baby bake for what seemed like forever. While it was baking, I cooked 2 very tiny onions and 3 cloves of garlic in some leftover sauvignon blanc from Friday night that sadly did not get consumed. I cooked them until they were pretty brown, deglzing the pan with the wine a few times. While I was waiting for the potato to be done, I also made .25cup of whole wheat couscous with a generous amount of dried Italian herbs.

When the sweet potato was done, I (amazingly) scooped out all the potato and mixed with the wined onions/garlic and mashed it up. I also added 1TB Earth Balance Soy Butter to the couscous and let it melt a little bit from the general kitchen heat. I topped the potato with the couscous, applying with a spoon and using my hand to smush it down. I then put it back in the oven to broil and get the top nice and toasty.

It was heavenly! And it looked pretty! The sweet onions/garlic went so well with the caramalized sugars from the sweet potato, and the herbed topping was so good. The best part was getting a little of the couscous, some sweet potato, and the crispy skin. It might have been a smidge better with some salt, but that's not really an option until I go to the grocery later. Simply amazing.

Balsamic Creation

2007-03-15T18:49:00.000-05:00

I've been intrigued lately by balsamic vinegar and decided to bite the bullet and purchase some during my last shopping spree. As usual, I had some items to get rid of in my fridge- asparagus, snow peas, and spinach. While I originally thought I'd use the wok to stir fry all the veggies with some balsamic vinegar, I also wanted to make some polenta. I didn't feel like making it and waiting for it to congeal, so thought I'd bake the veggies with polenta on top.

I made three servings of dinner (about 400 calories)- 3 cups snowpeas, 27 stalks of asparagus, and 5 cups of fresh spinach mixed with balsamic vinegar and pepper (the grocery didn't have sea salt, so now I get to go to the organic grocery and probably snag some more Better than Cream Cheese and other goodies). Meanwhile, I sauteed 6 large gloves of garlic in olive oil spray and added 5.25 cups of water when the garlic browned. On the side I mixed 1.5 cups cornmeal (my weird baking mix) with 1.5 cups cold water. Once it boiled, I added the cornmeal and stirred for 10 minutes or so until creamy. I then poured it on top of the veggies and popped it into the 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

So how was it? I'd say average...It needed something else...probably salt. I'd love to add some mushrooms and maybe veggie broth to it.

Chocolate Pudding

2007-03-10T21:13:00.000-05:00

I saw this recipe awhile ago and vowed to make chocolate pudding. But it wasn't until this week when it somehow popped into my head. The recipe as written is less than 200 calories for a lot of pudding, but I have some Godiva liqueur bottles my mom gave me for Christmas that I have been trying to get rid of. Now, I'm fairly certain they are not vegan, but I can't just throw them out...

So I made the pudding according to the recipe and added one mini bottle of the liqueur after removing from heat. At first, eating it warm appealed to me. But then I thought about it a little more and I don't think it's ok to eat warm pudding. It needs to be cold. So I scooped half of it into my beautiful ramekin from my brother and his fiance and set it in the freezer to cool just in time for me to go to bed. And I definitely left the other half in the pot and brought the pot into the living room with me where I proceeded to get every last drop of it off the pot and into my watering mouth.

Without the alcohol, the recipe is very bland and definitely needs something (as mentioned in the recipe) to pep it up. And I have an aversion to cornstarch after an unfortunate episode with Turkish Delight (but I think all TD is disappointing...), so I got a little grossed out by the cornstarch. The chocolate and alcohol helped me get over that really quickly though :)

Herbed Onion Beer Bread

2007-03-10T19:46:00.000-05:00

I realized that I spend entirely too much time inside cooking. But that's ok.

For dinner I made one of my favorites- roasted Brussels sprouts (add some olive oil and put in a 375-400 degree oven until brown and toasty and sprinkled with the last remaining morsels of salt I could find in my kitchen). I also decided to use up that one bottle of Anchor Porter that's been in my fridge for...about 5 months now. What a better way than making beer bread?

I added 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 cup white flour, lots of Italian dried spices (basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, and rosemary), 1/3 large onion chopped/minced, a touch of sugar, and a touch of baking powder. I put it in the bread pan and baked on 375 for about 50 or 55 minutes. When I first took it out of the oven after 45 minutes, I got scared it wasn't done in the middle since I made that mistake once, so I let it go a little bit longer.

After waiting an agonizing 10 mintues for it to cool on the rack, I cut it into thirds. One third is about 450 calories, and since I did a lot of hiking today with the dog, I felt it was worth it. I topped 2 slices with some Earth Balance Soy Butter and dipped the other two in olive oil, only because I was watching something on food on TV today and they mentioned that you eat less if you eat bread with olive oil than with butter. And olive oil is amazing.

The last time I made this bread, I forgot the herbs, salt, sugar, and onion. Oops. But I ate it anyway. This time, I forgot to add some salt, partly because I have none. This time it came out much better. I wish I'd added more onions, but it's probably sufficient for more people. I also could use more herbs, but again, it's probably about right for most. There is a fantastic crust on the top and bottom of the bread. It's really easy to make and quite tasty.

Now I just need to put it away before I eat the entire loaf...