It Doesn't Have to be Fancy

As we were sitting at dinner tonight it occurred to me that I am yet again behind on my blog posting; so much to do and so little time. In spite of that observation I realized (not for the first time in my life) that I’ve been waiting until we have super awesome meals and then use those as a springboard for my blog post - “sigh”. 

I spend a fair amount of time reading other food blogs, their photos are awesome (all 20 of them that show every tiny step), they write long and involved prose to go with all those pictures (but of course) and then their loyal following post questions and congratulations - it’s amazing right?

That is not my style; first I have a full time writing/marketing job, I workout every day (walking, 2 days of strength training and 1 day of yoga) and I like to spend time reading and interacting on social media so I’m kind of booked. Some days dinner needs to come from what’s in the fridge and quickly; no fancy photos and no long drawn out descriptions because I have other things to do. That doesn’t mean that when I retire or dedicate myself to full time blogging that I won’t be just like everyone else but for today it is what it is.

Generally, when I get up in the morning I like to “plan my day” and by that I mean I make a list - starting with work things I need to accomplish, workouts, dinner plans and any other cleaning, organizing, shopping and errands - yes I am a planning freak - it comes from all those years as a Project Manager. 

Last night Camille (the cute cat in residence) woke me up 3 times to be fed and I’m sure if I had not shut her out of the bedroom there would have been at least one more wake up call. I try to be kind; she is old (17), fragile (boney) and needs extra attention. She is hardwired for 3 things; food, water and going outside - she’s predictable if nothing else. Yet in the end we’ve decided to provide as much palliative care to her as she requires because we love her and she’s been a great companion. 

After my personal training session tonight, I opened the fridge and decided to do my stand-by; roasted veggies. In the fridge we had brussels sprouts, carrots, onions, broccoli and mushrooms so we chopped, tossed with oil, added spices (garlic, rosemary, oregano, and thyme - all from last years garden) and salt and pepper then roasted them in the oven at 425 for about 25 -30 minutes.

While they were roasting I cooked some soba noodles, poured a glass of wine and relaxed until dinner was ready. Sometimes simple is best. 

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and I’m planning to post recipes and stories of how everyone celebrates - so send me your favorite romantic dinner, restaurant, tradition and gifts.

Thanks for stopping by!

Midwest Curry Potluck

I know, I know the words midwest, curry and potluck seem to be pretty incongruous - but it works - well at our house anyway. My husband’s parents were medical missionaries in India. Dan and his siblings grew up in Kerala, which is on the south western coast. And adding the vegetarian bent - makes curry a natural. 

In light of recent political events we decided an evening of great company, food and conversation with a spicy twist was in order; enter a curry potluck party. We had about 25 people, 13 curries, fruit, appetizers, beverages and of course fun! A great surprise was our niece Katie; she headed off to Pune, India on Sunday but was able to join us before she embarked on her studies, we’re looking forward to reading her blog posts and wish her safe travels and great adventures. 

 I was looking for a vegan curry to prepare and I found a delicious mushroom curry; of course I needed to alter it a bit to suit my taste. I have to say though, that the appeal in this recipe is that the sauce is made from carrots and water, no broth, no coconut milk, or other traditional ingredients - carrots. carrots and more carrots. The basic recipe is here

The sweetness of the carrots and the curry were an excellent combination. The recipe called for baby portobellas, but I used a combination of portobellas and button mushrooms to temper the taste. Next time however it will be total portobellas - the smokiness adds so much to the dish. 

The recipe came together quickly, and the flavor was so delicious. We had so many delicious curries - it was hard to chose a favorite - so I won’t but here is a photo of a few of the offerings.

And of course the crowd is always lively. 

Looking forward to the start of pottery class this weekend and then Superbowl Sunday  - go “whomever” you love - I’m just here for the snacks!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Warming Vegan Soup

Happy New Year!

The holiday decorations are safely tucked back in the closet, the recyclers have taken the tree and winter has set in; that cold, below zero winter that only something steaming hot can take the chill off. 

I received the Pure Vegan cookbook by Joseph Shuldiner from Dan’s daughter Mary for Christmas this year and I’ve spent a fair amount of time pouring over recipes, which is one of my favorite things to do. 

There are so many great recipes in this cookbook I’m not sure where to start but since the temps have been low lately I decided to make a warming Celery root and fennel chowder. The combination of leeks, celery root, and fennel is perfect and hit the spot. Dan made a whole wheat bread with rosemary (from our garden last year), dukkah and other spices, it was the perfect match. 

I made a couple changes subbing 1 sweet potato and 1 baker for the 2 baking potatoes because I am not a huge fan of white potatoes. I also didn’t have fresh parsley or thyme so I used dried. I may also have added more garlic because well, you can never have too much garlic right?

Ingredients:

1 large fennel bulb - trimmed and thinly sliced (reserve fennel fronds for garnish)

2 to 3 leeks - white and light green parts only

1 large baking potato - peeled and diced

1 large sweet potato - peeled and diced

1 to 2 shallots - minced

3 garlic cloves - minced (I may have added a few extra of these too)

1 cup fresh minced parsley (I used less dried)

1 tsp fresh minced thyme

2 tsp fennel seed

2 tsp salt - or to taste

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large celery root, peeled and diced 

6 cups water

Instructions:

In a large soup pot combine all ingredients - except the celery root and water and sauce for 15 - 20 minutes covered over medium low heat stirring occasionally to keep the veggies from sticking to the bottom of the pan. 

Add the celery root and water, uncover and increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Continue to boil until celery root is tender - approximately 20 minutes. 

Transfer half of the mixture to a blender and puree. Return to pot and stir until incorporated. Top with fennel fronds and serve with salad and bread. 

Next project in the cookbook Pistachio olive oil cake - I might be a movie night dessert or a dessert for our curry pot luck in a couple of weeks. 

Keep warm and thanks for stopping by.  

Transitions

I’ve been thinking about this my last blog post of 2016; to say it has been an interesting year would be an understatement. 

I’ve spent another year focusing on healthy living and eating. While I continue to consume a mostly plant-based diet, I incorporate fish in situations where a healthy alternative is not available. This years garden will go down as one of the best, as a matter of fact I finished baking the last of the acorn squash and putting it in the freezer this afternoon. 

We did some traveling and then there was the trip that got away. We spent time on the North Shore, traveling along the Mississippi from Minnesota to Iowa where we stayed at the B & B Hillary Clinton spent time at during her campaign, In Chicago where we saw Kinky Boots (you must see it) and we spent time with family in Fargo and at a cabin in Cross Lake. 

I was lucky enough to reconnect with some high school friends for a long weekend of catching up and laughter - next time ladies let’s not wait another 40 years. I also continue to hang out with my book club and Saturday farmers market / walking friends. I truly enjoy our time together.

I celebrated a BIG birthday and have started thinking about retirement (generally about what I’ll do until Dan retires). While it’s still a few years away, I’m planning to start taking courses in the fall of 2017 to become a Master Gardener. I’m also looking forward to having more time to volunteer, read, garden, cook, travel and spend time with friends and family; who knows I might even dust off one of my NaNoWriMo novels and whip it into shape and publish it. 

Speaking of NaNoWriMo I was a finisher again this year; although I have to say it I was not excited about the end result - oh well 2017 is just around the corner time to start thinking about the next novel. 

Camille continues to allow us to live in her house and cater to her every whim. She spent a great deal of time in the garden last summer, sleeping under the pepper, cauliflower and tomato plants. She continues to age gracefully but we know our time with her is short. 

Amazingly Dan used the word “like” in a sentence that also contained the word "kale" (I know right). As a matter of fact the shot below is a rustic onion, kale, mushroom and goat cheese tart that I made last night. I believe I heard the word delicious - so there is hope for turning my sweetie into a vegetarian after all. 

As we transition from 2016 into 2017 we wish our friends and family good health, happiness and joy. 

See you next year!

Cauliflower Fried Rice Makes Everything Nice

I am officially done with my holiday shopping and now it’s time to start enjoying the holiday season. The tree is up, the mantel is decked out and we did our grocery shopping for Christmas dinner last night and yes there will be turkey - just not for me. 

If I’m going to indulge in turkey I’ll save that for Dan’s homemade turkey soup, which he makes the day after Christmas with the turkey carcass. He boils it for hours until he has a rich and golden broth. Then he puts it outside and waits for the fat to rise to the top. He removes the fat, skims the bone and skin out and then adds, leftover turkey, carrots, celery, onions and spices - it is a favorite around here even with the vegetarians in the house - everyone has their guilty pleasures and this one is mine. 

For those of you who are not in Minnesota or the Midwest, you might have missed the plunging temps we’ve had around here. Last weekend the temps dipped to -16 - yep it was cold but we still managed to have dinner at a new restaurant with some good friends on Saturday evening and we went to Orchestra Hall on Sunday and then dinner at the Red Stag Supperclub on Sunday. 

I’ve been to the Red Stag a couple of times for breakfast with girlfriends, the restaurant is located next to the Herbivorous Butcher, which as you know is a favorite haunt of mine. I’ve wanted to take Dan there for breakfast for a while they have a roasted root vegetable hash that is simply delicious but we’ve not made it there yet. All of that changed on Sunday when I looked at the dinner menu - they had many vegetarian options - what a pleasant surprise. 

We started with a flatbread that was a combination of baba ganoush topped with green olives, feta and almonds. The smokey flavor of the ganoush, the briny olives and the cheese and almonds totally worked - I’m hungry just thinking about it. For an entree I had a roasted butternut squash that was topped with mushrooms, kale, parsnips and other root vegetables and served with a grape mostard sauce on the side - it too was delicious.

After all that eating out it was time to start eating the great veggies in our fridge. I found a recipe for cauliflower fried rice and we had some tofu in the fridge so I decided to give it a try. The cauliflower rice took a little more than 30 minutes to make from start to finish. I made a couple of adjustments; first I used edamame instead of regular peas because that is what I had in the freezer. Second it needed additional spicing so I included 1.5 times the garlic, some ginger and crushed red pepper - which of course made it perfect!

The recipe is here: http://bestrecipebox.com/recipes/cauliflower-fried-rice/

Dan cooked the tofu perfectly; crisp on the outside and delicious on the inside. We tossed it into the “rice” and then topped it with green onions. Lucky for us there were leftovers we had them for dinner again last night. Now off to wrapping those presents, some cleaning (you know before the person who does the cleaning comes because you don’t want her to think you are messy - I know not logical) and baking - it’s going to be another great holiday.

Wishing you and yours a safe, happy and healthy holiday season.

Carrots in Winterland

Welcome Minnesota winter I knew you would show up eventually in spite of global warming. Last weekend Dan and I headed down to Madison to visit his daughter Mary, step-daughter Sasha and niece Helen. The drive down on Friday afternoon was lovely. It was a cool crisp day, the roads were clear and the sun shining. 

On Friday, we had a great dinner at a lovely Italian/Mediterranean restaurant; the eggplant was delicious, the appetizer, a roasted red pepper spread, was to die for and the company was awesome. We spent Saturday touring the Mustard Museum - I know, I know it doesn’t sound glamorous but to be honest it was a lot of fun and we got a wine and chocolate mustard that was delicious. 

The museum boasts over 250 mustards, all which you can taste, some great history - did you know that 80% of mustard comes from Canada - I didn’t? The museum is a great mix of fun facts, history, artifacts and things you can purchase. 

After the museum we headed to a great bookstore called the Frugal Muse where I found some great holiday gifts. My favorite gifts to receive for the holidays are books and photos and I’m always looking for new authors to read. And then it began to snow - the forecast was like 10 inches and while we didn’t get 10 we got a lot - like a scary lot (for me that is). Never fear tho, Dan piled all of us in his SUV and we headed over to the University to pick up Sasha and Helen and we went to a great Afghani restaurant where I had a delicious veggie couscous - a spicy veggie couscous that is.  

Fast forward to Sunday morning - we braved the snow and headed back to Minneapolis slowly and steadily. The roads had good and bad spots; I think it depends on which county is plowing the highway; some have more funds than others and are more diligent. But for the most part is wasn’t awful and it only took us an extra hour to get home, which overall wasn’t bad based on the situation. 

And what does all of this have to do with this weeks blog? Well after all that stressful driving I wasn’t in the mood to go to the grocery store so I decided that dinner needed to come from whatever we had in the fridge. So I did a quick inventory and decided on a carrot and carmelized onion soup with rye bread; sounds good right? It was delicious if I do say so myself and who knew one could create a delicious, vegetarian meal out of so few ingredients. 

I started with a very basic recipe;

Ingredients:

2 large onions thinly sliced

2 stalks of celery chopped

1 sweet potato cubed

2 1/2 lbs carrots sliced into rounds

32 ounces of veggie broth 

Then I added spices (sorry I am not a measurer) which I shook, shook and shook again so these measurements are very rough:

1 tsp Cumin

1 - 2 Tbsp curry powder

5 - 6 grinds of sea salt

5 - 6 grinds of black pepper

3 - 4 shakes of red pepper flakes 

1 - 2 shakes of ground ginger

I began by caramelizing the thinly sliced onions in olive oil on a medium heat; stirring infrequently. To the onions I added the spices and other veggies and cooked them for an additional 10 - 15 minutes. Then add the broth stir and simmer for 25 - 30 minutes until carrots are tender. Place in a blender (we used the Vitamix) and puree, return to the pot, taste and adjust the seasoning to taste. 

Keep in mind the spice measurements are rough. I start with the best of intentions (to record my spicing) but I get carried away in my desire to make things tasty but in the end, the soup was delicious. And as the soup aged (over the next 3 days) the flavors became more intense. Actually we finished up the last of the batch tonight and I have to say today was the best version. 

The rye bread came from the Breadsmith - rye bread is my favorite. One night we paired the soup with a spinach salad with peppers, scallions, cranberries, cucumber, avocado and a balsamic dressing and tonight we added some baby crab cakes (yes every once in a while I indulge). The soup was good in all it’s iterations. 

Next up; finishing up my holiday shopping, making some cookies, cleaning and getting ready for the BIG event - gatherings with both families - I can’t wait to see everyone.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cold Weather, Spiralizing and Spaghetti - Comfort Food for the Minnesota Soul

The holidays are just a few short weeks away; actually 18 days - if you are counting. If you’ve been outside the past few days you are most likely pondering hibernation and the upcoming Minnesota winter, if you live in the area that is. For me winter always signals robust, hearty dishes like chili, bean soups and spaghetti. Some of my favorite dishes. 

When I was young my mom made the best chill and chicken and dumplings. I’ve mastered the chili (vegan and meat eaters alike) but I never got the hang of the chicken and dumplings. I was successful with the chicken and the sauce but my dumplings, well let’s say that one could either use them for trap shooting or toss them in the trash - not sure what my issues are but I’ve given up making them; some things are not meant to be. 

On Sunday, I noticed that my spiralizer was gathering dust in the hall closet so I decided we needed a spiralizer intervention and of course Dan agreed - actually he agrees to most things as long as they are not painful or disgusting, which by the way is really hard to do with him. 

Anyway, I grabbed some tomato sauce from the freezer, made a “meat sauce” of ground sunflower seeds, lentils, quinoa, rosemary, thyme, sage, salt and pepper. Actually truth be told the “meat” was suppose to be meatballs, and they started out really well as meatballs but then I added the tomato sauce into the pan and they turned to meat sauce - next time cook the sauce separate from the meatballs and pour it over the “noodles and meatballs”. Ah live and learn right?

Recipe:

Meatballs/meat sauce

1 cup green lentils, rinsed & drained

¼ cup quinoa, rinsed and drained

1 Tbsp olive oil for cooking onions + 2-3 Tbsp for sautéing lentil balls

1 yellow onion, minced

1 tsp garlic powder

Italian seasoning - rosemary, thyme, sage to taste

¼ cup sunflower seeds, ground to a fine powder

¼ cup fresh basil, thinly sliced + extra for garnish

Sea Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking:

Rinse and drain the lentils, cook according to package. Drain the excess water, transfer to a large bowl and mash with the back of a fork until you don't see anymore whole beans.

Rinse and drain quinoa. Cook according to package directions, add to the bowl with the mashed lentils.

Mince onion and sauté in olive oil in a large pan, over medium heat until translucent. Add onions to the bowl with lentils and quinoa. Don't wash or drain the pan because you're going to cook the lentil balls in the reserved onion infused olive oil.

Use a food processor to blend the sunflower seeds into a fine powder, add the powder to the bowl.

Add basil, Italian seasonings, garlic powder, salt and pepper to lentil mixture. Using your hands, mix until everything is completely combined.

Create medium sized balls, and add them to the pan with a little extra olive oil. Cook for 8 - 10 minutes, gently turning to brown on all sides - this is where things went wrong!

After cooking the “meatballs” I added some of my homemade tomato sauce and the meatballs simply fell apart, while it was still tasty it was not the look I was going for. 

Skip the starchy pasta and spiralize 2 medium sweet potatoes, toss them with a bit of olive oil and roast them in a 400 degree oven for approx. 10 minutes until tender. Place sweet potato noodles in a bowl and top with lentil meat sauce, serve with a salad and garlic bread.

It was delicious and we finished the leftovers for dinner tonight. 

Thanks for stopping by!