Lazy Susie's Food Fun

Vegan fast food

2009-03-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

It doesn't look like much:
but it is so, so good. I've made about seven batches of Curried Chickpea Spread so far, and I'm sure that I'll be making seven more soon. It is my vegan fast food. It takes just minutes to make and is good for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

One day not too long ago, I made a recipe from the Happy Herbivore for a chickpea spread. It was good; I enjoyed it (as I do all her recipes). Then it got me thinking... I used to eat a curried chicken salad sandwich (on a grilled rye) at my local dining establishment. I LOVED it. But I don't eat chicken anymore. I thought that maybe I could replicate it with chickpeas. And I did, and I love it, and it is even better than the chicken.

Curried Chickpea Spread

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed

1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t garlic powder
curry powder

mayo

Puree the chickpeas well. Mix in a bowl with the onion and garlic powders. Mix in enough mayo to make it creamy. Then start adding the curry and tasting until it is just right. Mine takes a lot of curry, more than I'd use in a hot dish.

I eat mine on well-toasted rice tortillas. Absolutely delicious.

Lent

2009-03-03T08:13:00.000-08:00

I'll be back after lent when I'll share, among other things, what I think of the sweet potato frosting recipe.

Maybe I'll make a Friday vegan dinner for Catholic friends...

Book review: You Won't Believe It's Vegan!

2009-02-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

I'm happy that I bought You Won't Believe It's Vegan! by Sher and Doherty. The recipes are quite a bit of work, but the results are usually worth it. If you don't have much time to spend in the kitchen, then it's not a cookbook for you.

I made the Spinich Salad with Beets...and then the Stuffed Collard Rolls.

I made the Tofu Hot Wings twice. They are tasty, but a little too fried-foodish for me. I felt the same way about the Tofu Nuggets, which I guess are supposed to replace chicken nuggets. They were tasty, but I can live without them. I'll keep the sauce for the Hot Wings though, now that I know how to make it properly.

The socca became an instant favorite...easy, tasty, versatile. The last recipe that I made from the book, after coming home from my trip away last weekend was the Leaf Wraps. These are in the Live Foods section. I started out with a Sun-Dried Tomato Pate:
It was the bottom layer. On top of the pate was layered avocado and spinich. I skipped the sprinkle "cheese". There were no good tomatoes in town, so I had to skip those too. These are very tasty treats.

The recipe makes a lot of pate, so some of it got shoved into black olives. Those sat on the counter all day being nibbled and getting tastier as the day went on.

I still want to try the Mushroom Tapenade and the Zucchini-Pecan Mini Pancakes, although I'll be substituting walnuts because pecans and I aren't getting along these days.

The cookbook is slim, but it does contain 200 recipes. The format is nice too: The ingredients are on the left in a grey box and the cooking instructions are numbered. The numbers helped me stay on track, esp because the recipes had many steps.

Mardi Gras plans

2009-02-20T10:28:00.000-08:00

Mardi Gras is next week. We are having a guest chef, but I'll still make something because she's heartless and takes no pity on the poor, the weak, the vegan and the gluten-free. A good possiblity would be the Crispy Cajun Chickpea Cakes seen above with some Creamy Cajun Rice on the side. Both are from Vegan Dad, who is probably a dreamboat...what with all that cooking he does. There is also some Creamy Creole Sauce waiting for something to top and a recipe for Smothered Cajun Squash, along with a locally grown squash...all waiting patiently.

And then there's my dreamboat...

Mardi Gras makes one think of New Orleans (if one is American). Long ago and far away, Sebastien and I ran off to New Orleans and got hitched. I was a vegetarian at the time, and I clearly remember restaurant after restaurant with nothing for me to eat. Surely times have changed. But there are no travel plans to find out. I'm pretty happy here at home.

I ate a burger

2009-02-15T15:02:00.000-08:00

How do you people with children and jobs find time to cook? It appears that I can manage two of those things, but not all three. The bulk of my work is done, so now I have time to get a haircut and blog.

At the beginning of my busy week, I made these burgers. They contain sweet potato and quinoa and blk beans and carrots and onions and garlic, and they are really good. One recipe made 17 burgers, and I was so happy that I had them to eat all week. I didn't have time to do a whole lot more. Lots of folks have been making them, because I'm seeing them pop up on many blogs. I baked mine, but most were frying.
I was delighted to find some gluten-free buns at the store, but was then a little disappointed in them. They were too much. The bread overpowered the burger. I'm not used to eating bread or flour products anymore. When I do eat them (like my birthday cake which finally got baked today), I feel like I'm eating filler.

The burger recipe led me to the omelette recipe. This was a surprise! I filled it with portobellos, onions, and spinich.

This made a huge amt. What you're seeing is about 1/2. I think that it's a recipe built for two. I could get it all down if I ate slowly, but it didn't leave any room for something fresh and alive. That doesn't feel right to me.

I really, really like the omelette. It is better than eggs. It cooks up just right, creamy but not like pudding or custard. I want another just thinking about it. I had to cook mine longer than the recipe states. You can also leave it sitting in the pan, covered, on low for a long time. It doesn't get overdone like eggs would.

On Friday I went to the big town for an overnight trip with a new teenager. We had a lovely time. I highly recommend mother-daughter get-aways. I ate at this restaurant the whole time. For dinner the first night, we got take-out from different restaurants. I paid extra for a take-out container:

It is rather adorable. There is a large bottom compartment (holding my brown rice, beans, scallions, salsa and avocado), a "plate", then the top compartment (holding my spinich-beet salad), with a lid and a handle holding it all together. This dinner was delicious. I had rice and beans left over which I warmed up for breakfast to go with some fruit and juice from the hotel comp breakfast.

And to make it through that busy week, I made Pam's Sweet Potato Pancakes and plenty of fake sushi. And now I have a big, delicious birthday cake to eat.

Veggie Crisps

2009-02-09T10:47:00.000-08:00

The chips below are Veggie Crisps (eatsmart line) made by Snyder's of Hanover (known for pretzels). There aren't many chips in the stores that do not contain corn or gluten, so I am delighted to have these.

Whole Foods sells a similar chip that is puffier...it's better for eating alone, very tasty. These Veggie Crisps have less taste, but they are really good for scooping up guac and salsa and dips. And they are available locally, although expensive.

Gluten-free veggie socca

2009-01-30T06:49:00.000-08:00

I experimented with the socca and came up with this:
I added one grated, medium-small zucchini and one grated carrot and about 1/2 of a small white onion (diced) to the basic socca recipe. I baked it at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. It was very good. It needs spices though; it would be a little bland without. It goes with anything and can be cut up into small squares for finger food. It can also be topped with anything.

I love it because it is gluten-free and satisfies my bread cravings. It also has chickpeas in it, so it's a good way to add some protein in my day in a light, tasty way.

Here is the basic recipe (note that I changed cooking temp when I added veggies to it):

Socca

2 cups chickpea flour
1/2 t salt
herbs of your choice (I used basil, sage, oregano, thyme)
3 cups warm water
1/2 cup olive oil

Combine flour, salt, herbs. Add water and whisk. Whisk in oil. Cover and let sit for one hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Whisk batter again (it is very, very wet) and pour into greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Cook for about 25 minutes. It should get crisp at the edges.

If you add in veggies, put them in right before the final whisking. And I hear that you can make your own chickpea flour by grinding up dry chickpeas in a food processor or blender.

Green breakfast

2009-01-27T07:01:00.000-08:00

I took the leftover bean puree (white beans, parsley, roasted garlic, olive oil) from the socca dish and made patties with it. We have bean patties all the time, made out of many different beans. These were our first green ones though.
To make the patties, I just mix mashed beans with spices and breadcrumbs. All I did to the puree was add basil and breadcrumbs. Then I had tasty little morsels that I ate for breakfast (with my green veggie/fruit juice which is like caffeine for me):

and also for lunch and dinner. The roasted garlic made this really good.

I also visited my friend who is a gourmet cook and borrowed a potato ricer and a couple of pizzelle makers. She has everything (oh, and I do mean everything), so the handsome man around here suggested that I try things out before I buy them.

The pizzelle maker was a big hit. The pizzelles were different than what I remember as a girl with an Italian mother. If I can find an electric, easy-to-clean one that makes the pizzelles that I remember, I'll get it. Actually, I'll ask my mom today is she still has one. And then I'll try adding shredded veggies to socca and see how it turns out...and then I'll pick a paint color for the bathroom...and then I'll do my volunteer work...and then I'll do my real job...

This one's a keeper

2009-01-22T19:01:00.000-08:00

I find myself cooking from a new recipe almost every day. Yesterday I made the Maple-Mustard Potatoes from Vegan with a Vengeance (and they were really good) and today I made Chickpea Socca from You Won't Believe It's Vegan.

I would believe it's vegan simply because there isn't anything in there that makes me think meat or cheese or eggs. It's really good. This is the socca:

I'd never heard of socca before. The book says that this is Italian street food made healthy and fancy. I'm the daughter of an Italian. Never heard of it. It is simply chickpea flour and water and oil and salt and herbs. It is fabulously delicious on it's own, esp to someone who doesn't eat bread anymore. Calvin says that it tastes like chicken. Oh-kay. He's a little odd. I plan on taking the socca recipe and seeing if I can add stuff to it--like grated veggies--to mimic some old Midwestern dishes that I miss.

The next step was a white bean, roasted garlic, parsley, olive oil puree:

Pretty basic; not too exciting. What was exciting was the roasted garlic: my first successful attempt. My local gourmet cooking expert called me yesterday to see if I did indeed die (because I didn't visit her to celebrate MLK day on Monday). While I had her on the phone I pestered her with my cooking questions and was then able to perfectly roast garlic. (Take the head; chop of the tips; pour in some olive oil; wrap in foil; roast in 350 degrees for 1.5 hours; let cool until you can handle it; squeeze it all out.)

The final dish with a side salad of peas and grated daikon (because I just can't get enough peas right now):

There was square of the socca, a layer of bean puree, marinara sauce, and then sauteed onions and spinich. I had to substitute onions for leeks...and the recipe calls for something hearty like kale or collard, not spinich. This was perfect though, so I'll stick with my spinich.

I am terribly happy to have found this thing called socca. I can't have bread...I can't have cornbread...I can't have polenta. This makes a good substitute for all those. At least to me. And it's cheap and easy.

I have a lot of this left over, so if you are local and don't mind a house full of cooties, come on over.

At least I try

2009-01-21T08:09:00.000-08:00

I decided to save $ by shopping on week one and making do with pantry foods on week two. On week one we have new recipes, lettuce salads, and veggies like green beans and broccoli. On week two we have whatever I can make out of what is in the pantry and the freezer, and root veggies.

That is why last week we had banana-nut pancakes and smoothies (from frozen fruit) for dinner one night. The only problem is that it was way too cold for smoothies.
Spinich Noodle Kugel was another week two dish, using frozen spinich. Frozen peas and a few grated radishes made up the salad (and onion)...and we split the last veggie burger from the freezer.

Falafel is a good pantry dish. Those are the totally inedible collard greens and some mushroom risotto from the freezer.

It's all very good eating...and it makes me feel creative...but I can't see that I'm saving any $ at all. I just spent $250 (which is way more than my paycheck) on food at the grocery store. And that is after buying veggies at the good stores late last week.

I guess that it is impossible for us to save $ on our food budget. At least I can be sure that nothing is going to waste.

On another note: Sebastien bought me a chef for a night. Any suggestions on what we should have him make?

Cake!

2009-01-20T05:58:00.000-08:00

And God smiled down on her from heaven above and said, "My sometimes good and faithful servant! Let her eat cake!"

After four months without cake, I was finally able to partake. My whole married life--17 yrs--I've wanted a bundt cake pan. I never bought one because it was just too extravagent. Why do you need a bundt pan when you have regular cake pans? And muffin pans? Two weeks ago I found this pretty green one at my favorite resale shop; it appeared to be brand new. It was $1.

Because of the gluten-free sentence imposed upon me, I had only used it to defrost fruit for smoothies. Then the Happy Herbivore posted this recipe and assured me by email that using my gluten-free all-purpose flour would work. It did!

And I ate cake. Of course I got horribly ill (not stomach related) soon after and couldn't enjoy my cake fully. Of course. But everyone else in the house likes it (except for the boy who doesn't like choc cake); it's not going to waste.

It is a really good coffee cake. We eat it without a powdered sugar (because it contains cornstarch) dusting or a light glaze or frosting. Don't want anyone to get too spoiled. It contains two bananas, two cups of shredded zucchini and a cup of applesauce. The flavor changes subtly each day, and each day it is really good.

I find myself making more and more of the Happy Herbivore's recipes. I don't know how she comes up with this stuff!

Vegan dinner party

2009-01-17T12:47:00.000-08:00

We've had many dinner guests, but these are the first ones to be treated to a vegan feast. My friend Elizabeth, her husband Kevin, and their daughter Heidi were supposed to join us for dinner. But they live an hour away, it was very cold, and Elizabeth was tired and getting sick from a busy work load (attending 8 homebirths in 3 weeks; she's a doc). I had already made the two main dishes, so I called up our pinch hitters, Bryan and Sabra.

I knew that Sabra would be fine with vegan food. She cooks vegetarian dinner five times a week for her family of five (with another on the way). I wasn't sure about Bryan though. Would he eat the tofu? Then I recalled that he lived in South America for two years. People who have lived abroad are more adventurous diners.

That's Jesus in the window above my head. He blesses our meals. There is a painted gourd over Seb's head; it blesses nothing.

I didn't realize that Seb and I were dressed so brightly until I saw these photos.

While the children ate at the table (soup, sandwiches, salad and veggies), the adults reclined in the living room with homemade Orangina. I had served it to my students earlier that day (studying France), so the seltzer was a little flat. Next time I'll open up a fresh bottle for company. I make it by mixing seltzer with orange juice. The version that we can buy in this country has corn syrup in it, so we have bit it adieu.

Then we sat down to the table and dined on...

Carrot Bisque from Vegan with a Vengeance

Cauliflower-Mushroom Potpie with Black Olive Biscuit Crust from Veganomicon

Tofu Hot Wings from You Won't Believe It's Not Vegan

Pea/Green Onion/Grated Radish Salad of my own invention

Dessert was Angela's Hot Cocoa and Sabra's Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies.

In this photo, Sebastien is explaining "how it all works". What it is, I have no idea.

This is hospitality #2 for 2009. I have resolved to have 24 of these this year. So far, so good.

My harshest critic (pictured below), said, "That dinner was actually good. I expected it to be lacking, but it wasn't. Maybe it was because I drank so much." He only had 1/2 glass of white wine.

Our guests seemed to like the dinner, even saying so in text. Of course they are much, much too polite to say anything negative. I think.

Fancy food

2009-01-13T10:40:00.000-08:00

I've made three recipes from You Won't Believe It's Vegan! by Sher and Doherty. First off was the Spinich + Roasted Beet + Spiced Pecan Salad. It was a lot of work. Although we like all those items, the salad itself wasn't anything special. I had a similar, but much better, salad in Vegas on the 2nd worst vacation of my life.

The 2nd recipe I made was Collard Rolls Stuffed with Quinoa, Sweet Potato and Carmelized Onions. This one was a lot of work too. I was afraid that I would be disappointed (I was with the lentil sause that it was served on), but the Stuffed Collard was good. Not great, just good. It was difficult to stuff, so I'll leave it all separate next time. The collard leaves were very tasty; it was my first time. The stuffing itself is a good main or side dish anytime.

Then I made the Tofu Hot Wings. They are fabulous! Angela, I think that you'll like these. I made mine kind of mild and put out the hot sauce for Sebastien to spice his up. You'll probably want yours spicy.

What else we've had recently at lunch...watercress salad on Donna's plate which will probably be confiscated very soon because something really bad happened despite our Jedi powers:

And my first try at gluten-free baking...pumpkin-walnut pancakes:

They turned out great, but the maple-walnut cookies didn't. At least I have my pancakes.

Book review: Becoming Vegan

2009-01-10T17:14:00.000-08:00

When you leave out the animal products, you replace them with good stuff like fruits and veggies. Here is a list of the fruits and veggies that I ate today:
sweet potato
onion
beet
carrot
shiitake mushroom
daikon
collard green
avocado
banana
orange
black olive
cucumber
watercress
tomato
potato
pickle
celery
green juice (made from fruits and veggies)

I only ate a bit of this and a bit of that, but they are all healthy and it all adds up.

Becoming Vegan: The complete guide to adopting a healthy plant-based diet is not what I expected. I expected a book talking about stocking my pantry...making my meals...eating out...satisfying cravings...etc. What I got was a book full of information about why vegan eating is healthy. It is pretty deep...citing study after study...showing graphs and tables...covering all kinds of vitamins and minerals. It is pretty convincing to read the studies. According to the research my risk of heart disease has gone down 26% and my risk of stroke 30%. My risk of diabetes is down 55%, and my risk of all cancers has gone way down.

This is a good book, just different than expected. I took a long time to read it, working through each chapter learning about how the body uses different nutrients and where to find them.

If you aren't sure about veganism or if you aren't sure that you are getting enough protein, calcium, etc., than this book would be a good read. If anyone wants to borrow mine, it's up for grabs.

What Seb ate

2009-01-09T06:09:00.000-08:00

Long ago and far away, I was a nanny to two little girls around five yrs old. At Christmastime we made tons of Christmas ornaments with salt dough and painted them with acrylic paint. It was fun; they turned out really well (the ornaments; I hope that the girls did too).

I sent a bushelful (well, maybe a dozen) to Sebastien in Canada. He was my dreamy beau at the time; now he's my dreamy husband. I visited him after Christmas and learned that the ornaments had been on the tree until his father ate them, paint and all. He said they were good.
So, what did Seb eat with his cafe au lait? Freddy's foam gingerbread man ornament. Children watched and squealed and told him not to as the gingerbread man disappeared limb by limb.

The dish fairy stopped by

2009-01-05T06:29:00.000-08:00

This blog now has a Prop Mistress and look what she brought:
There will now be a festive air to the blog...sort of a gala or Fiesta feeling to it. How does the Creamy Tomato Soup look?:

And how does it look with the new plate? Mighty fine, I think.

We've used every one of the plates and bowls so far. And have broken nothing. Isn't Donna fab? She declined my offer to stay and help me scrub out the frig. Party pooper. She was on her way to the store to buy a skateboard. That must be how she stays limber and youthful, attracting attention like flies to honey while I hang out with horses who don't brush.

Some plans for those plates: a roasted beet and spinich salad...stuffed collard greens...hot wings...a kugel...falafel...and another dinner party.

Carrot Soup

2009-01-03T12:58:00.000-08:00

What has my lovely pot been up to? Carrot Bisque from Vegan with a Vengeance.
This recipe was perfect for Using What I Have Week. It contains carrots, onions, broth, spices and cococut milk. I always have carrots and onions, and I bought a can of coconut milk a couple of weeks ago. It is really, really good. There was dash of maple syrup in it. I left it out for the first serving (Seb doesn't like sweet things...except for me), but put it in when I reheated it. It was better. Very tasty. I'll surely make this again. It's rich and think and interesting.

Lunch one day: Carrot Bisque, the last lentil/rice pattie, and some toasted seaweed waiting for a cold mixture of quinoa/onion/cilantro mayo.

Hey, Calvin!

2008-12-31T10:26:00.000-08:00

Since you have nothing better to do than read little kids' books, why don't you help me make some cookies?
He did, and they are so good! They are still warm and we are enjoying them while listening to Rick Springfield sing about Jesse's Girl. I guess that song qualifies as an Oldie now. My bored sis sent me a text one day (which means she was sitting outside a preschool waiting for a little boy) asking me if I wanted to go see Rick Springfield at a roller rink or some such institution near her home. But back to the cookies...

These cookies are just perfect. They seem underdone, too soft, when they come out of the oven, but they firm up just enough on the pan. They are chewy and delicious. And vegan. All the young'uns love them. The adults too. If the other employees at my husband's meeting this afternoon don't like them, then they just don't know what's good!

Maple Walnut Cookies

from Vegan with a Vengeance (and, yes, I do have permission to post recipes)

1/2 cup oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 T molasses

1 t vanilla extract

2 t maple extract

3/4 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup)

1/4 cup rice or soy milk (I used vanilla rice and omitted the vanilla extract.)

2 T tapioca starch or arrowroot or cornstarch (I used arrowroot.)

1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 cup all-purpose and 1/2 cup wheat.)

3/4 t salt (I used less.)

1 t baking soda

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

3 dozen walnut halves to press into the cookies before baking (I left these out.)

Preheat to 35o degrees.

Combine oil, syrup, molasses, extracts, and sugar; stir until well combined.

Add milk and starch; stir until starch is dissolved.

Add flour, salt, baking soda; mix until well combined; fold in chopped walnuts.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet, 12 per sheet (lined with parchment or greased).

Bake 8-10 minutes; remove from oven and let cookies sit on baking sheets for two minutes before removing to cooling rack.

What I got

2008-12-27T14:16:00.000-08:00

I ended up cleaning out the basement (well, most of it) in my unsuccessful search for the Christmas tree ornaments.
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I found lots of good stuff for the kitchen: Much needed glasses that were put down there for safe-keeping; some tiny doll-sized tea sets, the cups of which now hold vitamins; and several small appliances. Some are sitting in the laundry room waiting to be cleaned up and used. This one, however, was scrubbed and put into use immediately:
It has been used every day. Today it pureed salsa. On Christmas Eve, it helped make my curried carrot dip from Veganomicon. It chops all our nuts now and makes our breadcrumbs too. It works much better for small amounts than the food processor. My parents bought it for me when I was making baby food, years and years ago. I didn't use it much then (a fork worked well enough for me), so I am making up for lost time.
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And this lovely pot from Williams-Sonoma was under the tree:
A French pot from a French man. Seb wouldn't let me use it until after present-opening time. Yesterday I used it to make Cholent from Veganomicon (which was good, of course). I loved cooking in it! I have no idea why, but the onions browned better, the garlic too. The dish had to simmer for a long time, and I only had to use the tiniest bit of heat to keep it simmering. I think that my dreamy husband has spoiled me. Donna has her Fiesta; I have my Le Creuset.

Surf & Turf (and more)

2008-12-23T17:21:00.000-08:00

It was the winter solice, the shortest day of the year, so I slaved over a hot stove cooking up a grand meal (and making the weekly tortillas)...
I was too busy working on dinner to notice that I had no leftovers for my lunch. So, I whipped up this artichoke dip with my handy hand blender--that I found while shopping in my basement last week--and ate it while reading Brain Child magazine...

And then dinner time arrived. It was time for the surf and turf special. The surf was a mixture of butternut squash and bean threads (or whatever they are called...they are translucent, which makes them look like worms that live in the deep water) and cilantro and cucumbers wrapped in nori. We won't be having it again.

The turf was a wild rice and mushroom soup from my favorite cookbook. It was not good. Bland. The broth was like tasteless dirty dishwater. What went wrong? How could something with onions and garlic and mushrooms and wild rice be bland? And homemade veggie broth? It's still a mystery to me. I won't fault the recipe; I couldn't follow it because I couldn't find the fancy mushrooms.

It was just one big disappointing evening.

So the next night I sauteed more garlic and onions and loaded 'em with thyme. Then I threw in some of the leftover soup (and I had a giant pot of it) and let it cook for a long while.

What we ended up with is a cross between a risotto (which the man doesn't like) and fried rice. It was really good. The day was saved with no food wasted. Butternut squash, cucumber salad, mushrooms & wild rice.

And what's that? A new plate? Isn't it pretty? Not quite Fiesta, but on sale and not from China. Isabelle stated tonight that she doesn't like the new plates; they ruin the atmosphere. Yep, they ruin the ATMOSPHERE. She refused to eat our Italian feast because of it.

Went Christmas shopping...

2008-12-22T15:28:00.000-08:00

and I bought new dinner plates!!!!!!!!!!!! Calvin scrubbed them; I put them away; they will make their appearance soon. Unfortunately, they are HUGE. I'm afraid that my little portions are going to get lost or lonely or cold.

A kugel, a helper, a Caesar

2008-12-20T19:31:00.000-08:00

The kugel is the Cauliflower-Leek Kugel from Vegan with a Vengeance. I found it a little bland. I'm finding all the recipes in that book a little on the bland side. It seems like they need a few more veggies and more spices. I'm still making the recipes though; I haven't made enough to review it yet. Here it is before heading to the oven, when my kitchen was still full of natural light to make photographing a snap (hahaha).
The helper is the boy who had a snow-day on Friday. He got to hang with me and make three batches of cookies for Isabelle's party. And do a lot of other assorted jobs. I learned that day that I LOVE having a helper in the kitchen. The young'uns will help me with a task if I ask, but this was a real cooking partner. I LOVED it! Seb and I have cooked together maybe twice in the last 20 years. Maybe he will read this and become my cooking partner. But probably not.

A day after I quizzed a class of 5th graders on who the caesar was when Jesus was born (and what a caesar was), I made a caesar salad dressing. I've made it before; I'll make it again, next time with a little less garlic (my cloves were the husky kind).

Caesar Salad Dressing from Veganomicon (still my favorite cookbook)

1/3 cup slivered or sliced blanched almonds

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed

12 oz silken tofu

1/2 cup olive oil

3 T fresh lemon juice

1 heaping T capers (I love capers!)

4 t caper brine

1 t sugar

1/2 t mustard powder

salt

Pulse almonds in food processor until crumbly; transfer to bowl.

Blend garlic, tofu, and oil (in processor or blender) until creamy.

Add lemon juice, capers, caper brine, sugar, and mustard powder; pulse until blended.

Adjust lemon juice and salt to taste.

Pour into bowl with almonds; whisk to combine.

Refrigerate at least 30 min, optimally 1 to 1.5 hours.

Sushi surprise

2008-12-18T08:39:00.000-08:00

Well, I don't know if it is sushi, but that's what I'm calling it.
Yesterday morning I went running. I am trying to work my way up to running a mile. I've done it before, so I think that I can do it again. I have exercise-induced asthma, and it's really bad right now because of forced inactivity over the last two yrs. I cannot run because of it, but I want to.

So, anyway, I ran. Then I was so hungry that I ate everything in my house except the Christmas tree. When dinner rolled around, I wanted something really light and made this sushi. It was surprisingly good. I was loosely following a recipe in Vegan with a Vengeance, but I had to make many substitutions to use up leftovers and get around the whole rotten mango issue. And also the issue of the local stores not carrying a lot of Asian stuff.

What I ended up with was quinoa, cilantro, & cucumber mixed with a little mayo and eaten rolled up in toasted seaweed (from my Sushi Party package...Donna, want to come over to party with me?). It was really, really good. Surprise, surprise.

And before we move on to the next item...I am looking to hire a food photographer who will work for food. It is a two minute job each day at 6 PM.

Fried rice, Black-eyed Pea and Quinoa Croquettes from Vegan with a Vengeance, and avocado salad.

The rice and the salad were a perfect combination, taste-wise. And the croquettes added a nice little something to the side. The croquettes were good, but I found them a little lacking in spiciness. I'll be increasing the spices next time.

The salad is just a vinagrette made with mashed avocado in place of some of the oil...and some chopped cilantro. It's delicious.

Weekend cooking

2008-12-17T08:12:00.000-08:00

I made a ton of food on the weekend...I just can't remember all of it. On Saturday for lunch we had an endive/frisee salad and Spicoli Burgers from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan:
They were good, but not outstanding in any way. I must say that all these burgers (the ones that I make intentionally and the ones that I make out of dishes that I'm not crazy about) are much better than store bought veggie burgers.

The real star of the weekend? Pumpkin Walnut Pancakes. Delicious! The last can of real maple syrup was hiding on a low shelf, so we had these with very little syrup and they were still good. Throughout the day we ate them cold or popped them in the toaster. If you are living in the Great White North and want to send me a Christmas present, make it maple syrup. We used to get it from relatives and customers, but the supply has run down to that one lonely can.

Pumpkin Waffles (or pancakes) from Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Isa is working on her new book Vegan Brunch. I thank God for her. Truly.

2.5 cups all-purpose flour

2.5 t baking powder

.5 t baking soda

.5 t salt

2 t cinnamon

1 t ginger

.5 t nutmeg

.25 t clove

2 cups rice milk (or any other kind)

1 15oz can pureed pumpkin

1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 t vanilla extract

Sift together first bunch of ingredients; in separate bowl whisk together (vigorously) 2nd bunch of ingredients until well emulsified; pour wet into dry and mix; make your waffles or pancakes.

These are thicker than your average waffle. I threw the nuts in for extra taste and protein. We all really, really liked them except for Mr Picky Boy who wouldn't try them.

And lastly we have Calvin:

It wasn't the weekend (Freddy is wearing his school uniform), but it was food. The first time we had a pomegranate, I made Calvin and his buddy pull it apart. Now it is Calvin's job. He did this one for fun after dinner, and the seeds were gone in an hour. (Those are choco-zucchini muffins on the counter cooling.)

Two curries

2008-12-14T09:19:00.000-08:00

Last weekend the boys (and Benjamin, too) and Sebastien and I dined out at an Italian restaurant. I had eggplant parmesan minus the cheese. It was really good. Freddy drew a picture of space adventures.
And then we went to the Messiah Sing-Along where we sang along. We sat in the bass section, because we are all basses, you know.

Here are two curries that we had this week. To warm us up, I guess. Curry #1 is from Katie.
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The only changes I made were different veggies (broc, caul, peas, sweet pot) and a little arrowroot stirred in at the end to thicken it.

We ate it with quinoa. It was really good. Someone at the table even said, "May I have some more curry, Maman?" Rare but wonderful words. This is a good way to eat a lot of veggies.

And then I made Curried Cauliflower Soup. The recipe is from Vegetarian Times (which I won't be getting anymore). It looks like split pea soup, but tastes better. It was pretty spicey.

Curried Cauliflower Soup

2 T olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 med tart apple, peeled & cored & chopped

1 T curry powder

1 clove garlic, sliced

1 large head cauliflower, chopped into 1" pieces

4 cups veggie broth

1 t honey or agave nectar

1 t rice wine vinegar (I used apple cider)

Heat oil med-high heat; saute onion 5-7 min; stire in apple, curry, garlic & cook 2 min.

Add caul and broth; bring to simmer; cover & reduce heat to med-low; simmer 20 min.

Cool 20 min; blend; stir in honey and vinegar.

Vegan Alfredo

2008-12-12T06:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the very last of the CSA apples (which were getting wrinkled and old) were chopped up and baked into a big pie. Every apple pie is different around here ('cause I'm winging it), and this one is a good one. It's unbaked in the photo. I used coconut oil in the crust. I can't eat it (I'm saving my gluten days for eating out and Banana-Nut Pancakes), but it smells great. There is only a hint of coconut, and coconut oil is supposed to be good for health.

And what is special about this weekday dinner of pureed veggie (1 potato, 1 onion, 4 carrots, 2 zucchini) soup and quesadillas? Everyone ate everything. And they were cheerful. And Sebastien didn't take his shirt off (like he did last night).

And now the finale: Last night's dinner of pureed rutabaga, salad, and Vegan Alfredo. I know my servings are puny; that's how I do it. I can't eat a whole lot, so I take small servings. I had seconds on the salad and the Alfredo. I think that I had thirds on the Alfredo.

The rutabaga was cooked and then pureed with orange juice. I didn't like it. Too bitter. Seb really liked it. He grew up on all things bitter and still has a taste for them. I didn't grow up on anything bitter.
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The salad was wonderful! It is endive, fennel, frisee, and some mixed baby greens in a Dijon vinagrette, heavy on the Dijon. With toasted walnuts on top. The recipe is from Williams-Sonoma Vegetarian cookbook.
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The alfredo is here, close to the bottom of the page. I've been wanting to make it for weeks. It was surprisingly good. I think that it needs more spice though. I threw Calvin's discarded toasted garlic on one of my servings, and it was delicious.

Sebastien liked it too. If it were just the two of us, our house could go totally vegan. We have about half of the alfredo leftover, and it's just crying out for some broccoli to join it. And another salad.

A pasta salad

2008-12-04T06:32:00.000-08:00

Here's another salad. It's from...what's that cookbook...I can't remember...oh, yeah, Veganomicon. I was browsing through it the other day and came across this pasta salad which contains grated radish. I was intrigued. I've never had radish in a salad like this. We eat 'em raw, like a carrot stick. Sebastien likes them more than I do, so he eats most of them. I've also had slivers of them on top of lettuce salads. So, intrigued, I made the salad.
Brooklyn Deli Macaroni Salad

Dressing:
3/4 cup Veganaise
1/4 cup white vinegar (I used apple cider cause I read "vinegar" and not "white")
1 T sugar (I subbed honey)
3/4 salt
Several pinches of black pepper

Salad:
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 radishes, grated
2 carrots, grated
1 pound elbow macaroni (about 3 cups)

Combine dressing ingredients. Add radishes, carrots, peas. Cook pasta in salted water, drain & rinse, let it cool down a bit. Throw everything together and let it sit in the fridge awhile.

Radishes must have some health benefits. Anything bitter like that does. I made a 1/4 recipe and ate it all up without sharing. It was tasty. It makes a good lunch and is a good way to get a lot of radish in. I wouldn't eat two radishes plain--too strong for me (I like my men and my veggies weak)--but I could eat this salad every day.

I will add a little something to spice it up next time, maybe some celery seed? Not sure. I won't be adding oregano because I am pretty sure that I'm allergic to it. We had Italian last night, and I had the itches.

Cole Slaw

2008-12-02T07:06:00.000-08:00

Cole slaw on a cold day? Why not? Sebastien used that grill out there to grill some dinner for our company while I made the cole slaw. He grew up in Canada; they are used to grilling outdoors in the cold, the snow, the rain, the wind. Hearty folk, those northerners.
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Sabra mentioned my cole slaw here. She liked it. Cole slaw usually makes her gag, but not anymore. I'm so glad that I could help her with that. We had several days of cole slaw because some young person requested cabbage for her salads and then didn't eat much of it. So, the rest went into slaw.
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Lazy Susie's Cole Slaw

In large bowl mix together equal parts chopped cabbage and grated carrots. Don't use the bagged kind; not enough carrots. Throw in enough minced red onion to suit. Pour on enough dressing to coat; mix well.

Dressing

3/4 cup mayo
1/8 cup Dijon mustard
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 T lemon juice

That's it. Enjoy. The spaghetti squash & black bean dish that Sabra mentioned can be found below. It's tasty.

Lost in the Supermarket

2008-12-01T08:39:00.000-08:00

Here's a bad photo of a cookbook. Who would of thought that someone would send ME a cookbook to review? Will wonders never cease?
This is a compilation of recipes from members of indie rock bands, whatever that means. I must admit that I am old, about 40, and don't recognize any band name except for The Clash. The book title comes from one of their songs.

So, anyway, because it is a compilation, there is a HUGE variety of recipes, from standing over a sink eating a block of tofu (yuck, yuck, and more yuck) to some really interesting, involved recipes. I am still picturing that skinny guy eating the tofu over the sink in his skivvies. Yuck. Let's look at something handsome to get that picture out of our minds:

My Thanksgiving brunch date. Much better. He would never eat a block of tofu.

Back to the cookbook. This was a very interesting cookbook to actually read. I don't usually read the text in a cookbook, but this was an exception.

Some of the recipes are healthy; some are vegan. Here is one that I tried:

Guacamole (from Bliss Blood--a person--who performs Hawaiian swing and 1920s style jazz as part of The Moonlighters.)

1 large jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed

1 small onion

1 handful sun-dried tomatoes

juice of one lemon

salt and pepper

2 avocados

Combine all ingredients except avocados in food processor and blend. Add avocado and blend until almost smooth.

This was surprisingly good. I really liked the sun-dried tomatoes. However, I would not serve this with company. The tomatoes take a lot of chewing and leave no time for idle chatter. Not a good dinner party choice.

The cookbook is now off to it's new owner, a young woman in art school, the daughter of a friend. I am sure that she will enjoy it.

Oh--and if you prefer your cookbooks to be free of the occasional bad word and/or crude stuff, then choose another cookbook. You know those indie rock folk; they can get pretty wild.

Quesadillas

2008-11-30T08:30:00.000-08:00

This is Isabelle, one of the lead photographers around here. Her friend Lydia must have taken this photo. Isabelle and Lydia were writing a newspaper yesterday and were peppering us with questions for their stories. Isabelle was writing down quotes.
This is Isabelle's dinner on Friday: A refried pinto bean quesadilla made with homemade tortillas and a side of pickles. We had an apple tart for dessert.

Isabelle took this photo of my lunch on Saturday. Did anyone else make a lunch to match an outfit? Am I the only one who does that?

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tortillas

(from Veganomicon; another day, another Veganomicon recipe.)

1/2 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato

1/2 cup cooked, drained black beans

1/2 teaspoon cumin

Mix it all up and put it on a tortilla. Warm it however you wish. These are really, really good.

Sabra has a recipe for her black bean quesadillas here.

Muffins and cocoa

2008-11-28T07:27:00.000-08:00

It is my personal opinion that every house with children should have mini-muffin pans, the kind that make small muffins, not the kind that sit in the dollhouse kitchen waiting for Fred to bake something up. I just got my pans after visiting my mom and bringing home tiny banana muffins for my perfect little children.

And just when I was feeling ready to cozy up in my living room with some hot cocoa...Angela posted a recipe here on her Thanksgiving post. I'll be trying it today or tomorrow...or the next day, whenever I'm feeling cold.

Those are pumpkin muffins above. We make pumpkin, zucchini, choco-zucchini, banana, and choco-chip-banana muffins and bread here. All are popular. You would think that I'd be a little more popular around here with all the baking that I do, but I'm not. I'm only hot with the 40 and over crowd. A crowd of one.

Lentil burgers

2008-11-26T08:38:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, after a trip to the high school theatre to see the play for which Calvin made the sets, I made the Lentils and Rice with Caramelized Onions from Veganomicon...and didn't like it. It was a big shocker. I like rice; I like lentils; I like onions. But I just didn't like it. It wasn't bad, but I found it bland and didn't really want to finish the whole pot of it.

So I took a cue from Angela and made it into patties and fried them up. Really good! I added some more cumin also. Then Sebastien and I had them for lunch while looking through his new book:
They really look like burgers to me. I mixed up a horseradish mayo to go with mine. I gave Sebastien straight horseradish. One night, while we were dining at our local restaurant (yes, there's just the one), Seb was served horseradish that was so good he asked the chef where to buy it. The chef sent us home with about two cups of it. We have been slowly eating it and clearing out our sinuses with it.

Making tortillas

2008-11-25T06:42:00.000-08:00

It was Sunday, and we were out of corn-free, dairy-free, soy-free tortillas for Isabelle. One day, weeks ago,when I was visiting with a friend who bakes A LOT, I asked her for a tortilla recipe. She had one, of course. I put it in my Something to Try pile. On Sunday Isabelle and I whipped it out and got down to business.

3 T lard or shortening (we used oil)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 t salt
1/2 cup warm water

Combine flour and salt. Mix in oil with fingers. Add water until you get a good consistency. I have no idea how much I put in. I just kept adding until the dough held together.

Make into 6 balls. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.

Roll out and fry. Cool on rack.

These looked and smelled delicious. Isabelle really enjoyed them, said that they are better than any store-bought tortillas. She really enjoyed making them also. The dough was very easy for a girl to roll out and handle. She did most of the frying and flipping also.

Grilled Yuca Tortillas

2008-11-24T08:25:00.000-08:00

Ever have a yuca? I hadn't. I bought it at Whole Foods. Following a Veganomicon recipe, I peeled, chopped, and mashed it. Then I looked at it and wondered what I was doing. It looks like a potato, but starchier. I kept on going anyway. I sauteed garlic + yellow bell pepper + jalepeno in olive oil. I added it to the mashed yuca. I poured in lots of fresh lime juice and some pepper. Then I tossed in chopped black olives, one of the suggested options. And...

It was really, really good! My small yuca made enough for four quesadillas. Another winner from Veganomicon, even though it was rather odd. And I do feel a bit crazy for eating yuca in the middle of Missouri. And even odder for going out of my way to make it when I used to hate to cook. Never say never.

*Painting by Sebastien.

Pancakes

2008-11-21T07:46:00.000-08:00

On Saturday the doc said that I could try gluten and, if it doesn't bother me, I can eat it every four days. I nearly hugged her. Waffles, waffles, waffles. That is all I thought. Waffles are the one thing that I have been missing terribly in the last two gluten-free months.

So, yesterday, for my first glutenful day I made Veganomicon's Banana-Nut Waffles. This doesn't look like a waffle, does it?
I can't make these work in my waffle maker, even though I'm an experienced waffler. I switched over to pancakes after one failed try. They are fabulous! Thick and delicious. You hardly need maple syrup. These were our after school snack yesterday. The big boy ran a couple of miles and then feasted.

Banana-Nut Waffles or Pancakes

1.75 cups soy milk

.25 cups water

2 t apple cider vinegar

(Put those together in a bowl to curdle.)

2 bananas

3 T oil

3 T maple syrup or agave syrup

1 t vanilla

2.25 cups all-purpose flour

1 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

.5 t salt

.25 t ground nutmeg

1 cup walnuts, chopped finely (don't leave out!)

Preheat waffle iron or pan. Get milk/water/vinegar curdling (mine didn't curdle).

Mash bananas well, add soy milk mixture + oil + syrup + vanilla. Stir.

Add dry ingredients, stir but don't overmix.

Fold in walnuts.

Spray iron or pan and cook away! My pancakes were a little different from regular ones. They were cooked on the botton and needed to be flipped before I suspected (and, yes, these pancakes even taste good burned a bit).

I highly recommend these. I know some families who make piles of these on the weekend intending to freeze them, but not a waffle actually makes it to the freezer. They are sooooo good!
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(Blogger won't let me put spaces in, so I have to put = in to make a space. It also puts my photos in out of order, but I've learned to adjust.)

Baking drawer

2008-11-19T14:36:00.000-08:00

This is the only tip that I've ever taken from a magazine and actually used and loved. It's a baking drawer.
It holds all of my baking stuff. I stand between it and the drawer that contains mixing spoons and measuring cups. If there is a helper, he or she stands on the other side of the island.

On the right side of the counter sits my painting stuff. I am now Super Homemaker, so I do stuff like bake every day (well, we have baked goods every day) and paint the walls.

The baking drawer makes it all very easy. The girls can reach everything and find it easily too. It does get messy (esp when little girls bake), but it is easy to clean out.

Our current baked good is Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, basically zucchini bread with cocoa powder. I can't eat any of this stuff, but the children all liked them.

Weekend lunch

2008-11-18T07:11:00.000-08:00

My lunch date, living at warp speed:
It was the weekend, so he wasn't really living at warp speed. He lounged. He went for a long bike ride. I painted and ate this for lunch:

The salad is a combo of watercress and a baby greens mix from Whole Foods with a homemade Dijon vinaigrette for the man born in Dijon. I've never had watercress before. Sebastien really likes it. When he was in Brazil, he sent me photos, and the many photos of his lunches always included watercress salad. Straight watercress. This salad is wonderful.

I made these bean patties for lunch. Isabelle and I really like them. We eat them with salsa (she likes it hot). I prefer the black bean version while she prefers the pinto bean version. They make a good substitute for dinner when everyone else is eating meatloaf. There is lime zest in the pattie which gives it great flavor.

This is tasty, healthy, cheap food. What more could you ask for?

Broccoli and Eggplant...

2008-11-15T18:20:00.000-08:00

but not together.

The broccoli was stir-fried with garlic and oregano and rosemary and thyme and tossed with roasted pine nuts. It was delicious. Freddy has requested that I always make broccoli this way. That's right: Freddy. The boy who invented the Broc-o-Sack because broccoli makes him feel like upchucking.

And Saturday night's dinner was eggplant sauteed with garlic and onions then covered with marinara sauce and left in the saute pan for awhile. Then it was mixed with pasta, and it was sooooo good. I just wanted to use up my extra eggplant before it got bad, but got a wonderful delicious meal out of it.

The salad was mixed baby greens and watercress and was absolutely delicious also. A good, good night for dining--even though it was Seb's night to cook. I made my own dinner. He had salad, sausage, cheese and bread.

Tomato-Rice Soup

2008-11-12T07:31:00.000-08:00

It's cold here and this soup from Veganomicom has been helping to warm us up. It is great. The spicing is perfect. Once again, I can't see any way to improve this recipe. I hesitate to use any other cookbook these days because Veganomicon never lets me down.
Tomato-Rice Soup with Roasted Garlic and Navy Beans

(That's what I call a good, descriptive title.)

2 bulbs roasted garlic
1 T olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
1 cup long grain rice

2 bay leaves
2 t thyme
1 t marjoram
2 t salt (I didn't use it.)
Several pinches black pepper

2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomato (I pureed some diced.)
1 (15 oz) can navy beans, drained & rinsed

Saute onions in oil 5-7 minutes.
Add rice, bay, thyme, marjoram, salt, pepper; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes & 56 oz of water.
Bring to boil. Lower heat to medium-low, cover, simmer 45 minutes.

Squeeze roasted garlic out of skins, mash, add to soup when rice is nearly tender.

When rice is tender, add beans and heat through.

(Navy beans are small and most children who do not like beans will eat them.)

I still can't roast garlic properly. Mine wasn't cooked enough (last time it was dry and crispy), so I just put it through the food processor and added only half to the soup. I had plenty left over for Italian night on Monday.

I only made a half recipe of the soup and it made...hmmm...7 or 8 servings. I saved half of the beans to throw in with Isabelle's lunch soup.

I went through the soup recipes one day while I was hanging out with my mom and her hospital room was freezing. I have a nice list to make, one each week. And I plan to try the Carrot-Orange Soup because I hear that it is fabulous.

In October, It's Time for Pumpkin Bread

2008-10-25T14:46:00.000-07:00

Guest posted by SleeplessSabra

Susan has been politely requesting this recipe for, oh... I guess a year because October is the only time I make pumpkin bread! I make it all month long to share with friends and family (including our own little family) and it seems to be a big hit every year so here's the recipe:

Pumpkin Bread

1 Cup all-purpose flour

1 Cup packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

Lots of cinnamon - I use probably 2 or even 3 Tbsp

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1 Cup canned pumpkin

1/2 Cup milk

2 eggs

1/3 Cup canola oil

1 Cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1/2 cup raisins (more if you like them lots!)

1. Grease bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 9X5X3-inch loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In large mixing bowl combine all of the dry ingredients (leaving out the last cup of flour, nuts and raisins). Mix thoroughly and set aside.

3. In another large mixing bowl blend your wet ingredients. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until well blended.

4. Slowly begin adding your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients. Beat on medium to high speed for 2 minutes. Add the second cup of flour and beat until blended. Fold in the nuts and raisins.

5. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake in 350 degree oven for 60 - 70 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

6. Now here's my twist that makes this bread super-moist and yummy. I bake my bread in a stone loaf pan but when it comes out I immediately take it out of the loaf pan and wrap it completely in aluminum foil. Then, I leave it for several hours until it's completely cool. What happens? The steam (moisture) released by the bread is reabsorbed as it cools making the loaf ultra-moist. When it is completely cooled, open the foil and you can slice it thick or thin - however you wish. It's a rich bread and makes quite a bit so it's wonderful to share with good friends.

I originally took this recipe from my red and white Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. Over the years I've adapted and changed the recipe a bit but still I want to give them credit for most of the recipe. Let me know if you try it and enjoy it!

Freebie!

2008-10-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

Sandy's giving away a great gift basket on her blog. Stop over and leave her a comment to enter. Calvin won a giant chocolate bar yesterday at cross country practice. His team came home with the Biggest Thing (one of those plastic children's vehicles that really go). Another team came home with the Best Thing (a potato gun).

This weekend

2008-10-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

Salad, spaghetti, breaded and baked eggplant. It was delicious. That little white eggcup holds the eleven supplements that I have to take with every meal.
Last weekend was such a good one food-wise, with Italian on Friday and the Middle-Eastern feast on Saturday. I still don't know what this weekend will hold. We have dinner guests coming from out of town on Saturday; hopefully we won't have to cancel because of sick children.

At least I'll still have my dreamy dinner partner (who really does have other shirts to wear).

My list of foods that I can't touch has been shortened, down to just gluten and corn. Unfortunately I'll have to say goodbye to waffles; I can't find any way to make them without gluten or corn. Alas...

Isabelle can't have dairy or soy or corn. We are getting very complicated. I need to quit my day job and concentrate on cooking. I'll give my notice today.

Farewell CSA

2008-10-11T09:18:00.000-07:00

You will be missed. It has been a lovely 21 weeks. I hope to see you again come spring.

I never missed a Wednesday, and you never let me down. I especially enjoyed your eggplants and your butternut squash. Sebastien especially enjoyed your tomatoes and lettuce.

Your fruit was delicious in all those pies, crisps, tarts, and cobblers. You've made a baker out of me, and the children are grateful.

Thank you for introducing me to new veggies. Thank you for cramming more fresh, organic fruits and veggies into our bodies than I thought possible.

Enjoy your rest.

Creamy Tomato Soup

2008-10-07T06:59:00.000-07:00

Another great recipe from Veganomicon. This is Creamy Tomato Soup, without cream of course. I love creamy soups. I could eat them every day, every cold day that is.

If you google this recipe (along with the cookbook name), you'll see plenty of rave reviews. I was hoping to find the recipe itself, but no. I'll be typing it out. I need to work on my typing skills anyway so that I can get a job and prove to my smirking husband that I am only a Woman of Leisure by choice.

2 T olive oil
1 med onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 t dried rosemary
1/2 t dried thyme
1/2 t dried oregano
1 t salt
lots of black pepper

1 lb waxy potatoes, peeled, cut into 1" chunks
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil)
6 cups water or broth (I used veggie broth)

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (fire-roasted are best; I used 'em)
juice of 1/2 lemon

Saute onions until translucent.
Add garlic, herbs, salt, pepper; saute 1 more minute.
Add potatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, broth; cover; bring to boil; lower heat to med; let simmer, covered, 20 min, until potatoes are tender and tomatoes are soft.
Add crushed tomatoes; heat through.
Blend.
Add lemon juice.

This makes a big pot of soup. Sebastien and I had cups of this for three meals. I also took some to an elderly couple in need, along with corn bread and a stir fry. I've never met them before; they are friends of Sabra. They are lovely folk, and they both hugged me.

I'm sure that they enjoyed the soup because it is so tasty and creamy and good. It is also a pantry soup, perfect for a winter weekend.

Dinner reruns

2008-10-06T11:10:00.000-07:00

One thing that I love about Angela's food blog is that she shows her entire meals. And she rarely has leftovers. And her dishes are pretty. I'm waiting for Donna to get sick of looking at my ugly dishes and gift me some lovely Fiesta.

Most of my meals get repeated. I've been eating jambalaya since Friday. Here it is on Saturday with salad, butternut squash, and one pretty okra from the neighbor.
And again on Sunday with more squash (my fave; I just bought another huge one today), homemade saurkraut from the farmers' market, boiled potatoes (to go with the German food that the man was eating), green beans, and salad.
The saurkraut was delicious! Much better than storebought. For better photos, more interesting food, and prettier dishes, visit Angela's blog.

Soup to stave off starvation

2008-10-04T12:26:00.000-07:00

A friend said that I would starve on my healthy-for-me diet. She's wrong. This was lunch:

The Squash Soup is a new favorite. It is simple and healthy and really tasty.

6 T of butter stuff
1 medium onion, sliced
2 lb summer squash, halved and sliced (take out seeds)
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 yellow-fleshed potato, peeled, halved, thinly sliced
4 cups veggie broth

Melt butter stuff, saute onions until softened, add everything else, bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer partially covered until veggies are very tender (c. 20 min). Puree. Simple as pie.

This is what we look like right now. I have no explanation for why I look like I am sucking my thumb.
As for the diet, I feel better than I have in ages. I played racquetball today until the asthma stopped me. I'm going to go climb a mountain now.

PawPaw bread

2008-10-03T07:43:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we discovered that the pawpaws were ripe. They grow along our creek, and this year we had a bumper crop. I think that means a lot. I mean a lot.

So we went down yonder to the pawpaw patch and picked up those pawpaws. Then we gave them a good cleaning:

Sebastien went first. He made himself a smoothie:

Then Isabelle and I got to work. She made ice cream with hers. I made bread with mine.

It's a lovely fruit. It is compared to bananas, but Sebastien and I find that it is more mango-y. It is a challenge to get out all of the seeds, leaving the pulp kind of a messy mush. You can just substitute the pulp for bananas in a sweet bread recipe. We find it sweeter than bananas.

The recipe that I used is from Wild Edibles of Missouri by Jan Phillips:

Cream together: 3 large mashed pawpaws, 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup sugar.

Mix in 2 eggs.

Stir together: 2 cup flour, 1 t baking soda, 1/2 cup nuts.

Add dry to wet and mix. Bake for 50-60 minutes at 375 degrees.

Pie

2008-10-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

I made this apple pie on Saturday. On Sunday I made PawPaw Bread. And on Tuesday I made a Pumpkin Pie. I'd say autumn is here, wouldn't you? Pears are next, first the ones on the counter and then the ones waiting to be shaken down from the tree.

CSA Week 20

dehydrated peppers--I'll save these for winter dishes because I still have green peppers in the fridge.
tomatoes--salads and sandwiches
apples--pies
onions--they are joining the tomatoes in the salads and sandwiches.
green beans--more green beans! Freddy is going to weep.
butternut squash--my fave. Steamed and mashed.
beets--raw sticks and salads
lettuce greens--salads

CSA Week 19

2008-09-24T11:57:00.000-07:00

We have a winner! No, Laura, you didn't win a cookbook...yet. I can't give anything away this month because I can't afford to buy anything. The winner is the tortilla made from rice flour. It is 100 times better than the bread.

In the photo it is holding avocado, pea sprouts, tomatoes and cucumber. Today it held refried black beans, salsa, avocado. Last night it held something while everyone else ate tacos. It is truly a winner.

CSA Week 19

bread--for the fam tonight at Breakfast for Dinner.
pears--hmm...pear crisp? I have some time to decide while they ripen.
tomatoes--salads, sandwiches
eggplant--it was breaded with paper bread crumbs and baked right when I got home from the farm. It will get layered with something and baked again.
peppers--I am sick of peppers. I'll use one for some Snobby Joes. Not sure about the rest.
green beans--steamed for dinner, as usual.
apples--an apple salad for tonight, then raw and pie.

Since I am sick of cooking, Laura has offered to be my guest chef. So, Laura, let's hear what you'd do with those fruits and veggies, and I'll post it here.

Bread

2008-09-20T06:11:00.000-07:00

This is what gluten-free, yeast-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, corn-free bread looks like:
What does it taste like? Hmm...paper? A bit of old mashed potatoes mixed with...paper? I'm not a big bread person, but I am really missing it right now. I hope this diet is worth it. Go have a nice piece of wheat bread for me.

CSA Week 18

2008-09-17T18:59:00.001-07:00

Seb, Calvin, me, Carina before dinner last weekend. That's where all the cooking action takes place.

CSA food for the week:

tomatoes--salads

raspberries--snacking and smoothies (but not for me, alas)

spinich--not sure. I feel like cooked spinich. Spinich pie...but I don't know how to do it gluten-free yet.

green beans--the usual

foot-long green beans--the usual (I guess green beans grow well in flooded conditions)

grapes--Seb has to eat them.

green peppers--stir fry; fajitas

apples--pie

The CSA is almost over and then I have to switch to the grocery or the health food store. I'll miss it.

Beans & Squash

2008-09-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

This is what a meat-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, yeast-free, gluten-free, corn-free dinner looks like. Butternut squash (which I love) and beans.

I sauteed onions and green pepper (CSA) with garlic, threw in the beans for a minute, mixed in a marinara sauce and leftover rice, threw it in a baking dish, and warmed it up for dinner. Tasty. The butternut squash is from the CSA also. I bought more today because I like having it around to add to any meal.

And you absolutely do NOT want to see my dinner partner. He was still between the shedding-of-the-clothing-after-the-bike-ride-home stage and the dressing-for-dinner stage. Not pretty where/when food is being consumed.

Pot Pie

2008-09-16T08:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, ladies, you are right. The photo in the post below shows a real place where gas can be passed in privacy, without ridicule or offense, and--at the same time--it shows (symbolically) the path to a peaceful acceptance of flatulance.

Speaking of flatulance, we have cauliflower. This is the Cauliflower and Mushroom Potpie with Black Olive Biscuit Crust from Veganomicom. Delicious. I love this dish.

Some of the ingredients, photographed by Isabelle:

The finished dish (hot pad knitted by Isabelle), sitting on the dinner table waiting for that first taste:

And what it looked like after two adults ate it as a main dish and one teen ("It's really good!") tried it:

It goes great with a fresh salad. How I love my face-making dinner mate. He's a keeper.

The recipe is here. I'm quite delighted that I don't have to type it all out.

This is a great dish. My only note on the recipe (which is written in my Veganomicon) is to budget more time or hire a sous chef. I budgeted more time and served it at a dinner party on Saturday. Everyone ate it. I think. It was my main dish and a side dish for everyone else.

Now I've got to figure out what to cook that is void of sugar, yeast, gluten and corn.

What about gas?

2008-09-12T13:44:00.000-07:00

I know that you are all asking that question. So, from p. 87 of Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet, in the paragraph titled How do I deal with the gas?:

Gas production is a normal, healthy function of the intestines which appears to protect the colon against genetic damage leading to cancer. It dilutes carcinogens, stimulates beneficial bacterial growth, favorably alters the gut pH, and improves the function of the epithelial cells of the colon.

So, gas is good. Want to come to dinner?

Spaghetti Squash & Wine

2008-09-05T06:54:00.001-07:00

I'm warning you: I take awful food photos. Expect very little from me, please.

OK. Spaghetti squash two ways. First is this dish. I didn't have high hopes for it because it did not smell good while it was cooking. I think it was the white wine (yuck!).

It's from the Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein. I don't have permission to post recipes yet. I sauteed garlic in oil, threw in the chickpeas, poured in a cup of white wine and some thyme, bring to boil, threw in tomatoes & fresh spinich, removed from heat, and let it sit for a bit. (That's not a real recipe, is it?) It's supposed to be served over real pasta, but I put it on the cooked spaghetti squash.

The verdict: It was surprisingly good! What a surprise!

The other dish is from Veganomicon which you know is my favorite cookbook. Don't even try to borrow it.

Spaghetti Squash Mexicana with Tropical Avocado Salsa Fresca. A really bad photo of it:

You can find the recipe here. I used avocado, tomatoes, and mango for the salsa.

The verdict: Really good. This one is cooked in red wine, much better than than white stuff. Sebastien liked it, but I don't remember if Calvin tried it. I will make this again, next time we get a spaghetti squash from the farm.

Today it is back to butternut squash and, I must say, never in my life have I eaten so much squash! I guess they grow well in the kind of weather (wet, wet, more wet, flooding, is that Noah I see over there?) we are having this summer.

CSA Week 16

2008-09-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

CSA week 16 and the plans for it:

Butternut squash--so many choices...maybe gnocchi, maybe the white bean casserole.

Tomatoes--sandwiches, salads

Cantaloupe--we have to bring fruit to the cross country team family picnic; it'll be cantaloupe.

Green beans--steamed for dinner

Foot-long green beans--can't wait! (And there is no way that I am feeding these to Donna after the comment she made.)

Green peppers--fajitas for us and for another family who needs a little help right now.

Okra--plain, raw...yum!

Jonathon apples--I think that these are the eating apples, and the...

JonaMac apples are the pie making ones. I think.

Eggplant

2008-09-03T07:26:00.000-07:00

I've got Bob and Joe in my basement playing with jackhammers, so I thought that I'd take a trip back in time to a nice, quiet day...like a day last weekend when I made Eggplant and Artichoke alla Napoletana from Vegan with a Vengeance.
It is breaded (with thyme, oregano, pepper, salt) and fried eggplant layered with a mixture of artichoke hearts, tomatoes, onions, olives, garlic, and spices (basil, thyme). (The artichoke mix was sauteed.) And topped with pesto.

Here is my dinner partner, waiting patiently. He poured the wine then kept out of the way. I didn't like the wine. Yuck. I'll stick to red.

The finished product. Rather pretty, even with my horrible food photography (if you want pretty food photos, ask Sabra to guest blog again). The eggplant and basil came from our CSA.
The verdict: Really good. Not outstanding though. I think that it needs more spices. I'll increase them next time. I also omitted the capers because I was out and couldn't rationalize a trip to the store just to buy capers. I think that I'll bake the eggplant next time. It soaked up sooooooo much oil. My guts can't handle too much fat, so I'll bake next time. Sebastien liked it very much. Carina had some too. I think that she liked it, but I am not totally certain. Maybe she'll comment on it. She just asked for the recipe by phone, so I guess that she liked it.

That makes three thumbs up, but no dancing around the kitchen hugging the cookbook.

Foot-longs

2008-09-02T13:51:00.000-07:00

We finally got a bag of the foot-long green beans from the farm. I had never had them before. I think that I avoided them in the past because I knew that Freddy would cry when he saw them.

We had them steamed the first night and WOW! They are so full of flavor. They make the regular green beans seem anemic in comparison.
Look how long this baby is! And look at that man enjoying every bite. That is called savoring. And the ketchup is on the table because it was Sebastien's night to cook (although I added the green beans and a salad), and whenever it is his night there is either ketchup or pizza boxes on the table. He is very popular with the young crowd.
The green beans came back for lunch the next day in a cold salad. Again, WOW! They are sooooooo good. These are good enough to fight over at the CSA pick-up.

And next to the green bean salad is an eggplant/artichoke/tomato/pesto thingy that I'll chat about later.

Scrumptious Greek Salad Pitas

2008-09-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

Posted by Sleepless Sabra.

We made these fabulous Greek Salad Pitas for dinner last night. We've been making them for several years, actually. It's a recipe that is especially nice on warm summer days. It's light to eat but with the protein from the garbanzo beans and goat cheese you're not hungry an hour later. I also love the texture with the warmly toasted pita and then the cool, crunchy salad. The recipe is from Betty Crocker's Low-fat, Low-cholesterol Cooking Today. (I looked on Amazon.com to find a link for you - but couldn't so it may not be available anymore).

Here are the ingredients:

Chopped fresh lettuce, any type (we used romaine hearts and a butter lettuce mix)

Chopped fresh tomatoes (from the CSA)

Chopped fresh cucumbers (from the CSA)

Artichoke hearts

Black Olives

Crumbled feta cheese

Garbanzo beans (also called "chick peas." We used dry beans and cooked them in the pressure cooker in only 20 minutes but you can use canned. If you do use canned - drain and rinse them to remove a little of the sodium).

Kraft Fat-free Caesar Italian dressing

Pocket pitas. We used Kangaroo brand and they were great.

1. Take as much of the salad ingredients as you want to eat and place them in a bowl. Toss with some beans and cheese. Add a little dressing and toss well.

2. Toast your pitas - you can do this in a skillet but we just put ours by halves into our toaster. Worked fine.

3. Stuff your toasted pita with the salad. We stuffed ours to overflowing because the salad is so great.

4. Enjoy!

By the way - my 2, 4, and 6-year-old each cleaned their plates and they typically won't eat that much salad. So, success all around!

(Lentil) Snobby Joes

2008-08-31T10:50:00.000-07:00

This one is for Laura, because she said, "Ooooh," when I mentioned it on the phone.

Snobby Joes from Veganomicon (Best Cookbook Ever) starring lentils. Lentils are so cheap, and they have a lot more flavor than meat. And they are pretty easy to digest if you are concerned about wind.

Here they are, hiding under a pile of sprouts, next to a salad of carrot and kohlrabi, nestled with a few black olives:

I put 'em on a tortilla because I'm not a big bready kind of gal. Sebastien ate them the same way. He's not a big bready kind of gal either. He did mention this morning that the men in his family have shown that man can actually live on bread alone. But enough about that.

Snobby Joes

1 cup uncooked lentils
4 cup water

1 T olive oil
1 med size yellow onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 clove garlic

3 T chile powder
2 t oregano
1 t salt
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste

2-3 T maple syrup
1 T yellow mustard

Pour lentils and water into pan, cover, bring to boil, lower heat, simmer 20 minutes or so until lentils are soft (mine took longer), drain, set aside.

Saute onion and pepper in oil until softened (about 7 min), add garlic & saute 1 more minute.

Stir in lentils, chile powder, oregano, salt, tomato sauce, tomato paste. Cook 10 minutes.

Add maple syrup and mustard, heat through. Turn off heat and let sit for 10 minutes for flavors to meld. Serve on bun or whatever strikes your fancy.

Verdict: More Really Good Basic Food. Really liked it and didn't mind eating it for several meals. Sebastien really liked it also. The teen liked it just fine.

One great thing about vegan food is that you can whip something tasty up with just the goods in the pantry. Love that.

Now I'm done and my lunch of green bean salad and eggplant/artichoke/pesto bake is ready for me!

What's a CSA????

2008-08-29T16:00:00.000-07:00

Community Supported Agriculture, AKA Subscription Gardening.

The families who are members pay the farmer in advance and then receive food each week of the season.

All CSAs are different. Some require labor, like weed pulling (ours doesn't). Some give free produce to those who do extra labor.

We love ours. Each week is a surprise, and I like it that way. It forces us to try new things (rhubarb, purple beans, kohlrabi), and we eat more fruits and vegies this way.

Our farmer also raises chickens for eggs and bakes, so if the harvest is low (as this season is due to a late spring and wet, wet weather), we get eggs and baked goods to round it out.

Sabra also keeps track of her CSA food and sometimes posts great recipes on her blog.

Curried Veg Couscous

2008-08-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

I just spent a few minutes on my sunny, hot deck waving madly at my dreamy husband while he buzzed over three times in his blue airplane. I could see him waving.

After all that excitement, how about a food post?

Curried Veg Couscous. This is adapted from an old cookbook called Quick & Light from Time Life Books that I found in a junk store.

Saute vegies (onion, carrots, and whatever else sautes up well--chop it small) in oil. For last minute, add 2 clove garlic, 2 t curry, 2 t cumin.

Add 1 can vegie broth, 1 can drained & rinsed chickpeas, 1 T vinegar, some ginger, a tiny bit of salt. Bring to boil.

Remove from heat, stir in 3/4 cup couscous, cover, let stand until couscous is done (about 5 min).

Before serving throw in a whole pile of chopped mango. I use two.

Verdict: I love it, really love it. Sebastien likes it, but not the mango. He doesn't like any fruit mixed in with his real food though. Fruit should be eaten plain, in a dessert, or in a fruit salad with nuts. (Those are the rules. I've got them memorized.)

All of the children ate it when I first made it. Only the teen eats it now. He likes it, but I think that he'd rather do without the mango also. (What's with them?)

It is really quick. When I made it for a dinner party, it had to sit in the oven and wait for us for, oh, an hour or so. The oven was just warm and it was covered, but it still dried out too much and needed more broth. And lots o' mango.

Veganomicon

2008-08-29T07:20:00.000-07:00

I have no idea how to say that. I need a tutorial.

I've made 6 or 7 recipes from this cookbook, so I'm going to go ahead and review it.

It's the best cookbook ever. That's all I need to say. Check it out.

(All right, I'll say more: It is just right...the ingredients, the spices...I feel like they designed these recipes for me because I can't figure out how they could be any better. The food is better than anything I've ever had, and I'VE EATEN IN PARIS!! I am not kidding. Meat is bland; dairy is frequently bland too. Take those out and you have so much flavor.

I've read the book cover to cover. There is tons of helpful advice in there. Amazingly, most of the recipes use pretty basic ingredients. And the recipes are written really well, very clear and very easy to follow. I've read so many cookbooks and I noticed that right away. So, I highly recommend this book. If you only have one Vegan cookbook, this should be it.)

Caramelized Onion-Butternut Roast with Chestnuts

2008-08-28T12:54:00.000-07:00

This is the first recipe that I made from Veganomicon. I think that it made me hug the cookbook and dance around the kitchen. All day. I've received permission to post recipes from the book (thanks, Isa!), but I won't be posting ALL of the text. I'd get finger cramps if I did. Get the cookbook and you'll get lots of extra notes and tips and talk.

The squash came from our CSA bundle. It really is a simple recipe, now that I look back on it. One thing though: I had a small can of chestnut puree (came in a box of Christmas goodies) that I substituted for the chestnuts. I would do that again. The puree very likely came from Trader Joe's.

Here we go: Caramelized Onion-Butternut Roast with Chestnuts

Casserole:

Preheat 375 degrees.

1 lb onions, peeled and sliced thinly
1/3 cup olive oil

1 lb chestnuts frozen/jarred & prepeeled (they have directions for fresh, shelled, but I don't have the typing time)
2 lbs butternut squash (1 med size), peeled & cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 (15 oz) can white beans (I used cannellini)

2 t thyme
1.5 t ground coriander (I didn't have it)
.5 t freshly grated nutmeg (I used dry)
1.5 t salt (I used less)
pepper
1/2 cup veg broth

Crumb topping:

1/2 cup dry white bread crumbs (I used a homemade wheat)
2 T olive oil
.5 t dried rubbed sage
pinch of ground cayenne
.5 t salt (the Frenchman doesn't like salt, so I add only tiny amts)
pepper

Place onions and oil in 9 x 13 pan, toss to coat onions with oil. Bake 30 min (stir 3-4 times) until onions are browned and sizzling. Remove and set aside.

Drain chestnuts, coarsely chop, add to onions. (I just mixed in my puree.)

Add diced butternut squash and everything else underneath it in the list of ingredients. Stir it up. Cover and bake for 35 to 45 minutes.

Toss together crumb topping ingredients. Put on casserole. Cook for another 15 minutes uncovered. Let cool a bit before eating.

This was soooooooooo incredibly good. I served it with couscous (and salad and/or vegies--don't remember). It doesn't NEED the couscous; it's great on it's own. I bought a couple more squashes from the farm, so that I can make it again. Maybe I'll try it without the chestnuts and see if it is still good. This falls into the Outstanding/Amazing category for sure.

Week 15 CSA

2008-08-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

And what I'm planning to do with it:

Gala apples--pie
canteloupe--eat it; share with friend
cucumber--salad or with hummus
spinich--salads
green peppers--enchiladas
tomatoes--salads, sandwiches
butternut squash--either gnocchi or the white bean/chestnut/carmelized onion dish
green beans (skinny, foot-longs)--steamed for dinner
eggplant--I went early to get this, the one and only big eggplant--I'll be making an eggplant/artichoke dish and I can't wait!

Avocado & Pinto Bean Enchildas

2008-08-28T12:37:00.001-07:00

Well, this blog needs a little attention, doesn't it? More like a lot of attention.

Last night, after all that cleaning and cooking for other people and driving children around, I finally got started on my dinner: Avocado and Pinto Bean Enchiladas from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan.

It's the first recipe that I've tried from that book. Well, I can't tell you how the enchiladas are. After all that other stuff, I ran out of time. I ended up using the enchilada mixture (starring mushrooms, pinto beans and cashews) as filling for my burrito with the avocado on top. It was good. It falls into the Good Basic Food category (instead of the Amazing Good Food category or the Loser category). The man and the teen concur. The little ones wouldn't go near it; only one went near the regular enchiladas.

And below is my dining partner, sporting helmet-hair from his bike ride home from work. He head-butted me with that helmet on, which is one good reason for me to follow the drink command in Eat, Drink and Be Vegan.

Week 14 CSA

2008-08-20T12:04:00.001-07:00

The food and the plans and no photos because a small person misplaced my camera:

beets--raw in salads

apples--an apple pie and I won't make that mistake again!

green peppers--the Creole Stuffed Peppers for dinner tonight.

cantaloupe--save it for Friday's dinner party.

raspberries--eat 'em all up today.

Asian pears--I have no idea. I'll have to research them.

plums--not sure. I think we'll just eat them.

peaches--smoothies this week.

tomatoes--more tomato sandwiches.

basil--pesto.

parsley--this was a freebie for me. I need it for my dinner party on Friday and a little for the stuffed peppers.

Week 13 CSA

2008-08-20T11:56:00.001-07:00

The week's food and what we did with it:

butternut squash--a dish from Veganomicon that was soooo good! I'll post it later.

spaghetti squash--this is still waiting to be cooked with black beans and red wine.

honey whole wheat bread--sandwiches starring the next item.

tomatoes--it was delicious!

peaches--peach crisp. A man gobbled up most of it.

green beans--steamed with dinner.

green peppers--waiting for a Creole Stuffed Peppers dish from Veganomicon.

apples--apple pie, but I mistook the salt for the sugar so the wild animals got it instead.

spinich--salads.

raspberries--sadly, most were wasted because we didn't eat them immediatly.

What is going on here?

2008-08-08T15:11:00.000-07:00

Food blog to be brief.

To be not-so-brief...ideas for cooking healthy food. I'll be focusing on vegan food. Why? Well, have any of you read the studies about vegan diets, healthy ones? It is hands-down the healthiest diet of all.

Why do I care? I'm sickly. If it will help, I'll do it. I had a year-long case of mono that left me with autoimmune problems. So, along with ditching homeschooling (a sad, sad thing) and ditching the weekly house cleaning (not sad at all), I'm focusing on health.

I'm cooking these meals for me...and for my husband if he wants to eat them. Sometimes the teen tries them. The little ones (12, 10, 8) never do. Oh, well. I'll be cooking two dinners, but have more leftovers. It all evens out.

I'll have a list of our CSA food for the week and ideas for using it. CSAs are great; more people need to participate. But not everyone knows what to do with squash and kohlrabi and whatnot. We love our CSA! We thank God that it is so close that we could probably throw something from our deck and hit our farmers.
(We haven't tried that yet. And we promise not to.)

I'll also include our entertaining which is casual and kid-friendly. Many people don't entertain because they think it's too much trouble. It isn't. Just pick a date and make some calls. People love to be invited over for a free meal!

And maybe, just maybe, we'll have a guest blogger if she isn't too busy.