Delicious Lunch

Yum! Arugula!
If only I could eat like this every day ... BB made green goddess green beans from epicurious.com, which we ate with fresh unadorned arugula FROM MY GARDEN and a delicious, ripe tomato. What else is needed?

No pictures but good recipe!

Banana Chocolate Bread Pudding

old bread (I used 6 good sized rolls)
3 c. milk
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 large bananas (could use 1 large or 2 small)
3 eggs
3/4 c. chocolate chips (I used the mini ones)
3 Tbs. butter

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut bread into cubes. Mash 1/2 banana in a bowl. Slice remaining bananas. Add eggs and whisk. Add brown sugar and milk, mix well. Stir in bread cubes, sliced banana, and chocolate chips. Mix well. Use ~ 1/2 Tbs. butter to grease a 9x9 square pan (I used an oval baking dish that is the same volume). Pour in the bread mixture. Melt the rest of the butter and drizzle over top of pudding (at this point, I would have sprinkled raw sugar over the top, but I didn't have any). Bake for 50 minutes.

BB said this was the best bread pudding EVER. It was pretty good ...

Sesame-Almond Salad

Another tasty yet healthful meal! The best part were the five spice almonds. I made this a bit ago, so I can't remember amounts.

Asian Tofu Salad

Romaine Lettuce
Carrots
Broccoli (sauteed and steam in small amount of sesame oil)
Water Chestnuts
Celery
Cucumber
1 Tbs. Soy Sauce
3-4 Tbs. Rice Vinegar
1 Tbs. Honey
1 Tbs. Sesame Oil
Ginger (1/2 - 1 inch piece)
1 clove Garlic
Terriyaki Tofu
Five Spice Almonds (see below)

Layer lettuce, sliced celery, slice cucumbers, shredded carrots, water chestnuts, and broccoli in a large bowl. Whisk soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, grated ginger, and grated garlic in a bowl. Pour over salad and toss. I made the baked terriyaki tofu from The Higher Road to Health. Serve on a plate, topped with terriyaki tofu and five spice almonds.

Five Spice Almonds

1 c. slivered almonds
1 Tbs. neutral oil
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. five spice powder
1-2 Tbs. honey
salt to taste

Heat oil over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add almonds and stir occasionally to keep from burning. When they start to smell (but before they start to brown), add the ginger and five spice powder. Stir well, and cook until almonds just start to brown and the mixture is very aromatic. Add honey, and stir for a few minutes to glaze evenly. Let cool on a plate.

Breakfast Burritos

Breakfast burritos. Yes. It was actually lunchtime, but that is just fine with me! To make them, I started with spanish rice. Then I scrambled some eggs (3 for BB and me, beaten with 2 Tbs water, and cooked half omelet and half scrambled style). I layered the following on a whole wheat tortilla heated over the gas flame: spanish rice, scrambled eggs, shredded monterey jack cheese, diced bell pepper, sliced scallions, cilantro, sliced avocado, sour cream and salsa (I like salsa autentica from Trader Joes).








Of course, I always make burritos too big for the tortilla:

I have included the my recipe for spanish rice, which is pretty awesome if I do say so myself! Even BB, who normally things rice is bland and boring, thought it was amazing!

Spanish Rice

1 small to medium onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 carrot, diced
3 Tbs oil (I use a mix of canola and olive)
1 c. brown basmati rice
1 c. vegetable stock (I use homemade)
1 can diced tomatoes (this time, I used fire roasted)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, and saute for a few minutes. Don't stir too much, let them start to color a bit. Add the bell pepper and carrots and saute a few minutes more, stirring occasionally. Add the rice, and stir to evenly coat with the oil. Let the rice brown. Stir often so that the rice doesn't burn - the rice should be light brown all over. This may take up to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, blend most of the diced tomatoes and the broth together. Save approximately 1/4 cup of diced tomatoes. When the rice is sufficiently brown, add salt and pepper to taste, the blended tomato/broth mixture, and the reserved diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until done, approximately 40 minutes.

Dining Al Fresco

Today, BB and I ate dinner outside! It was so nice. We ate garlicky greens and beans (mustard and collard greens from the garden cooked in olive oil and lots of garlic):
Home made foccacia (a recipe from The Greens cookbook). I used part whole wheat. The 0lives are for BB - I only put it on part, because I don't like green olives. This is the most successful foccacia I have ever made! I made a dipping oil to go with it (lemon pepper, oregano, dried basil, garlic powder, chile flakes topped with good olive oil):
All of this was eaten with pickled vegetables that BB made a week or so ago (carrots, cauliflower, celery, and broccoli) in the backyard, which looked beautiful after all the yard work that I did today!And, of course, I did not forget the dessert - chocolate banana cream pie! Well, we had some milk that was going bad, and what better way to use a lot of milk than to make pudding? I made a graham cracker crumb crust, sliced two bananas, and topped with chocolate pudding (flavored with a splash of rum):

Bread Pudding

We had some baguette that was as hard as a brick. Perfect because then I could make bread pudding. Bread pudding, much to my surprise, is one of BB's favorites. And he is not really a dessert person. I just made up the recipe. Next time, I might add a bit more sugar and a bit less milk. Also, fruit would be a good addition. This is a very adaptable recipe.

Bread Pudding

4 cups cubed old bread
3 c. milk (I used whole milk - use a bit less if bread is not super hard)
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1-2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. raisins soaked in 1/3 c. rum
2 Tbs. sugar in the raw

Preheat oven to 350. Spray or butter a cassarole (or 9x9 square baking dish). Whisk together milk, brown sugar, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla. put cubed bread in a large bowl, and pour milk mixture over. Stir and let soak for ~20 min. Mix is raisins and rum. Put in cassarole and sprinkle with sugar in the raw. Bake for 1 hour. The custard should be set and the top should be browned. Let sit 10 min, then ready to eat!

Thanksgiving Feast

We had a vegetarian thanksgiving this year. Everything turned out well. Some of the recipes were new, some were not. Below are my reviews of the recipes. Note the side sideboard for all the food. BB's parents came out for Thanksgiving. It was fun, and they were nice enough to bring out some of BB's furniture. Now our house finally looks less bare!

Thanksgiving Menu

White Beans with Sage
Mashed Potatoes with Shitake Mushroom Gravy
Cornbread Stuffing
Sweet Potato Casserole with Orange and Brown Sugar
Green Beans with Bread Crumbs
Marinated Cauliflower Salad
Spinach Salad with Warm Walnut Dressing
Curried Creamed Onions
Cranberry Sauce
Whole Wheat Crescent Rolls
Apple-Blackberry Pie

White Beans with Sage
The Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas

We made these last year. It is very simple, just cook white beans with sage, garlic, and olive oil. We used navy beans and cooked in the cast iron skillet. They should be cooked just enough to be done, but should still hold their shape. I think that the flavor is very nice, and complements all of the other thanksgiving food. Definitely a good substitute for the turkey, without trying to be something it is not.

Mashed Potatoes with Shitake Mushroom Gravy
The Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon

The mashed potatoes had no recipe, just yukon gold mashed with butter and potato cooking water. The mushroom shitake gravy was a hit! BB made it. It is actually a recipe for seitan with a gravy like sauce, but we just did it without the seitan. It started with a stock using garlic, onions, and shitake mushrooms. Then, seasoned with red wine (we used a cotes du rhone) and miso and thickened with a roux. I think this is worth making again, maybe with a bit less miso and the vegetables chopped smaller.

Cornbread Stuffing

We just used the cornbread stuffing from Trader Joe's. I have never made sutffing from scratch before, but next year I want to! This was fine, except that I added too much water so it was a bit mushy. I got my stuffing fix though.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Orange and Brown Sugar The Passioante Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon

I thought this was excellent. I simply roasted the sweet potatoes whole (no peeling) two days before Thanksgiving. The day before I assembled the casserole with butter, brown sugar, orange juice, and Grand Marnier. Then, before baking, added a bit more butter, brown sugar, and Grand Marnier over the top. The Grand Marnier addition as excellent. I would make this again, perhaps with less sugar as sweet potatoes are already somewhat sweet.

Green Beans with Bread Crumbs Martha Stweat Living, November 2009

BB made this also. I thought it was good. He was bit disappointed that the bread crumbs weren't as crispy as they should have been, if he did it again, he would do it is two batches to cook properly. It is simply greens beans sauteed with shallots and bread crumbs. A nice simple side dish, and the different textures make it interesting.

Marinated Cauliflower Salad
Martha Stewart Living, November 2009

This was great because you can make it a day or two before, and then it gets served at room temperature. Cauliflower is blanched and marinated with red onions, capers, and red wine vinaigrette. These kinds of side dishes are a nice break from the richness of the other dishes.

Spinach Salad with Warm Walnut Dressing

We adapted this from a recipe in Martha Stwerat Living, November 2009. Basically, heat walnuts (3/4 cup) in a mixture of 1/2 cup olive and walnut oil. Heat until walnuts are toasted, and stir occasionally (I made the mistake of not paying attention, and they burned. We had to do it again, but it wasn't a disaster). Dress the spinach with red wine vinegar (2 Tbsp.), salt, and pepper. Pour the warm walnuts and oil over the salad, and toss. The spinach gets slightly wilted, but not cooked. I think this might be my new favorite way to eat spinach. Next time, I want to try using hazelnuts.

Curried Cream Onions
Saveur, November 2009

Pearl onions in a curried cream sauce. The sauce is comprised of curry powder, flour, mustard, half and half, and onion cooking water. It turned out too thick. Next time, I would significantly cut down or even omit the flour. BB bought a mix of red, yellow, and white onions. It made for a nice presentation.

Cranberry Sauce
Saveur, November 2009

Cranberry sauce made with brown sugar, orange juice, grand marnier, and spices (cinnamon stick, whole cloves, peppercorns, and allspice berries). This was delicious. BB thought it was very sweet. I will definitely make this again, perhaps using less sugar.

Whole Wheat Crescent Rolls
Betty Crocker Cookbook

This is the crescent roll recipe I started making at Thanksgiving when I was about 11! It is a great recipe, and always turns out. This year, I altered by using half whole wheat. The rolls are really good with whole wheat, but I still like the original best. Maybe because that is what I always had ...

Apple-Blackberry Pie
Martha Stewart Living, November 2009

This is what I am most proud of. I thought it turned out fantastic, it is a great recipe. I followed it exactly. The crust was easy, but there were a lot of steps. I love using the food processor to make crust. It turned out flaky and buttery. I forgot to get leaf shaped cookie cutters, so I cut them free form. Cutting leaves that don't look silly is harder than it sounds! I also like the blackberries with the apples, a nice bit of tartness and color. I will use this crust recipe again, for any pie!

Lots of Cooking!

I have been trying to cook dinner more since Big Button is big writing. So ... the crock pot has been my friend. Today (actually, made last night to cook today) I made a Marrakesh Tagine, adapted from World Food Cafe for the crock pot. There were a lot of vegetables, including eggplant, potatos, sweet potatos, peppers (red and green), green beans, tomatoes. It was seasoned with black pepper, cinnamon, saffron, and cumin. We ate it with fresh baguette with butter (bought the baguette today from Toscana just down the street), lots of parsely and cilantro, and a nice salad. This is a meal I am definitely going to make again!

Yesterday, I made a steaming bowl of Pho (vegetarian, of course) from Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table. It was made with black mushrooms, rice noodles, tofu, and we had lots of garnishes like cilantro, vietnamese coriander, basil, scallions, peppers, bean sprouts. BB really liked it. I thought it was good, but I felt like it was missing something. I have determined that something to be fat, a richness that is missing with no meat. I am trying to think of what would be good; maybe roasted peanut oil? BB suggested coconut oil (just a bit, so as not to detract from the flavors). I have a hard time with meals that have almost no fat. Funny, I don't seem to have a problem with meals that are lacking other beneficial qualities, but that is just the way things go.

On Monday, I made whole grain mustard and cornmeal crusted seitan, roasted sweet potatoes, and citrus collards with raisin redux. I made the seitan from scratch since I can't seem to find a store around here that sells it. It was not difficult, but a bit labor intensive. It turned out pretty good, and was kind of fun. I would make it again. The mustard-cornmeal crusted seitan was pretty delicious, if I do say so myself. Very nice crust, crunchy but not excessively so. Also, very simple to have such nice results. The recipe is from Vegan Soul Kitchen, by Bryant Terry. The citrus collards with raisins were also from that book, and this is the second time I made them. I used a mixture of greens this time (collards, mustard, kale) sauteed with garlic, raisins, and orange juice. The sweet potatoes were cut in half, brushed with olive oil, and sprinkled with Old Bay (a recent discovery of mine, although probably not a recent discovery for the rest of the world) and roasted at 450 while I made the rest of the food. The whole meal was so easy but so tasty! A good week night meal for sure.

Vitenamese Food

This past weekend I made Lemongrass Tofu and Herb Salad with Chili-Lime dipping sauce from Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table by Mai Pham. It was very tasty.

I want to try other recipes from this book, including the Pho. It helps that I have so many herbs growing in the garden: Basil, Lemon Verbena, Mint, Vietnamese Coriander, and Nasturtium. Gotta love food straight from the garden!