Roasted Veggie Delight

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.

Holiday Delight

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.

Herbed Onion Beer Bread

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...

Shepherd's Pie...sort of

I needed to use up a few things in the fridge, one item being cauliflower. Since I'm now obsessed with "mashed cauliflower," I thought I'd have to incorporate that into a meal somehow. Well, when I think of mashed potatoes, I think of Shepherd's Pie, even though I've only had it once. In undergrad, the ex made one with a meatloaf type of bottom, corn, and mashed potatoes on top. So that's what I think of when I think of Shepherd's Pie. However, I wasn't 100% sure that my definition of SP was acccurate, so I wikipedia'd it and apparently the version I had is the American version, the real version being some sort of meat and veggies in gravy with mashed potatoes on top. This is where I began.

This meal was a real multi-tasker, especially since I had 2 loads of laundry going downstairs, too. I started with about .8 cups of lentils (400 calories) since the bag was empty. Once those were boiling, I got out the frying pan, sprayed it with olive oil cooking spray, and added one giant onion. On yet another burner, I steamed 1/2 med-large head of cauliflower (100 cal.). Meanwhile I got 2/3cup whole grain couscous going on the side.

When the onion started to brown, I added garlic. Then I thought it might burn so I deglazed (my new favorite thing) the pan with some white wine...twice. Fine.

I put about half the onions/garlic in the blender with the cauliflower, salt and pepper, a splash of soy milk, and some dried rosemary (which I love).

To the rest of the onions/garlic I added some red wine vinegar. Then I quasi drained the lentils to get most of the water out and added them to the pan and added the couscous. I used couscous because, first and foremost, I needed more grains for the day and that was an easy way to sneak them in. I also used them to give it a little more volume.

So, once all that was mixed with a little salt, I mushed it down into a round Pyrex pie dish, topped with steamed Brussels sprouts, and covered in a nice, creamy layer of mashed cauliflower. Popped that baby in a 350 degree oven while I took the dog out (15 minutes?) and then cranked up the broiler to get the top a little brown.

It came out beautifully! Each layer on its own tasted amazing, and together it tasted even better! I have 3 giant servings (400 calories each), which means lunch tomorrow and maybe one slice for the freezer. The laundry, however, wasn't as much fun since the dryer door somehow opened so my clothes probably sat there for 30 minutes not actually drying.

Next time I'll use less couscous, add a lot mushrooms, use some type of broth, and make an entire head of cauliflower.

More Soup for Me

Since I woke up with a scratchy throat that morphed into a nice little cough by the evening, I decided I need to make some soup for dinner. Yesterday I received a fantastic present of Brussels sprouts and thought I could make a soup with them. One time I steamed them, threw them in the blender with some veggie broth, and added some pan-fried sprouts for a nice, hearty soup. This time, however, I decided to do something slightly different.

I started off by cooking 3 small onions and 4 cloves of garlic in a little olive oil. Then I added some water and .5 cup of barley. After it cooked about 15 minutes, I added 1 cube of vegan vegetable buillion and some whole Brussels sprouts. I let it cook until the sprouts were done. And it really hit the spot.

I also needed to use up the rest of the firm tofu that was in my fridge. I cut it into 2 inch by 1 inch pieces and then dipped it in some concotion I came up with. I added about .75 cup of pinto beans, a giant squirt of mustard, some leftover canned tomatoes from my pizza, Mexican-style chili powder, and a little olive oil together and blended until smooth. I rolled (dreged?) the tofu in the dip (which would make an excellent dip on it's own) and then rolled it in finely crushed Cheerios. I started crushing the little o's by hand, but that was way too much work, so then I put them in a random paper lunch bag I had, but they broke it, so I resorted to using the bottom of the mustard container to finely crush them. I then baked for 30 minutes or so on 400 and when the tops weren't brown like I wanted, I turned on the broiler until they were nice and crispy.

As always, I forgot any salt or pepper. And I think it would have been better if I'd thought about it in advance and soaked the tofu in my bean mixture for awhile. But, they were neat and I plan to try to make them again, next time with extra firm tofu and a nice long soak. Finally, a new use for Cheerios.

My Favorite Meal

I recently came up with a recipe that is my absolute favorite thing ever. Chop up a large onion and sautee it in olive oil until the onion gets very clear and looks like you are about to burn it. Add some chopped garlic and brussels sprouts (greatest veggie ever) or green beans. When green beans are almost done, deglaze the pan with some red wine vinegar. Why did I have red wine vinegar? A friend willed it to me when she moved. I'd never used it before the first time I made this, and it was also my first time to deglaze a pan.

I made it last week and took it to work for lunch where no less than 3 people asked me what I'd made that smelled so good. My response, "Brussels sprouts!" Then I got a few weird looks. Just because your parents overcooked gross frozen sprouts so they tasted like crap doesn't mean they aren't absolutely delicious. You can roast them with olive oil, steam them and mash them with a little vegan butter, pan fry with onions/garlic, shred them, blend them into a soup...oh my god I have to stop.

Lately I've been trying to mix food groups instead of eating, oh, a giant plate of roasted brussels sprouts. So I made some whole wheat couscous that I had planned to add to the pan, but it was too full so I just threw it on the plate with the veggies on top. And ever since lunch a few weeks ago at Java Green, I've been obsessed with tempeh. I bought some awhile ago but let it sit in my fridge as I debated how to use it. Cubed it and tossed that right in a few minutes before the green beans.

It makes about 4 good-sized servings that are less than 400 calories a piece. (2 large onions, 9 cloves garlic, 1TB olive oil, 4 cups green beans, 8oz tempeh, 1 cup couscous)