Welcome to the Roaring 20's

Happy New Year and welcome to the Roaring Twenties, I’m hoping they are as amazing as the last ones. This new decade has the promise of change; retirement, travel, volunteering and enjoying life.  

Last year I cut my hours back to 25 a week and I am loving my afternoons off, it allows me to volunteer at the school, exercise at the local health club and spend time with friends and family when I’m not so tired.

I have goals for 2020 - blog more often (which means cooking blog-worthy food more often), read 52 books (1 a week), volunteer at the Arboretum’s new Red Barn and workout 5 days a week. It might be an ambitious list but I think I can do it. 

I got the recipe for the BBQ tofu bowls from Dan’s cousin Elwood McCreary. We were at a birthday party for his lovely wife Marie and he made this - one taste and I was hooked. The original recipe is from The Kitchen - it is delicious, and honestly, I wanted to lick the bowl clean it is that good. 

The recipe calls for a yogurt-based sauce but since I don’t do dairy I eliminated it - next time maybe an avocado sauce would be good. This will definitely be in the regular rotation. 

Ingredients:

14 to 16 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained and patted dry

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for the baking sheet

2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds total), cut into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons

3 cups broccoli florets (about 1 medium head)

1/4 cup barbecue sauce

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro - optional

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425°F and lightly coat 2 rimmed baking sheets with olive oil.

Wrap the block of tofu in a few layers of paper towels, then set on a dinner plate or cutting board. Weigh it down with a heavy object and drain. Tear the tofu into bite-sized pieces.

Place the sweet paprika, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper, and smoked paprika in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Pour in 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil and stir to combine. Add the tofu and gently stir to evenly coat. 

Place the tofu in a single layer on one of the prepared baking sheets. Place the sweet potato and broccoli on the other baking sheet. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, sprinkle with salt and toss to coat. Spread into an even layer.

Roast the tofu and vegetables for 15 minutes. Flip the tofu and sweet potatoes, and toss the broccoli. Rotate the baking sheets between racks and from front to back. Roast until the tofu and vegetables are lightly browned, about 15 minutes more.

Drizzle the tofu with the barbecue sauce and toss to combine. Divide the rice and black beans between 4 serving bowls. Top with the tofu, sweet potato, and broccoli. Drizzle with the dressing and garnish with the cilantro. Serve warm.

Movie Night and Vegetarian Enchiladas

Happy Holidays! Snow is on the ground, the tree is up and decorated, cookies are baked and the Amazon Prime people stop by daily to drop off the things I have purchased - the last holidays of the decade is in full swing. 

I’ve been absent from blogging for almost a month! No excuses except we’ve been busy. I’ve tried a few new recipes and some old stand by’s too. We spent Thanksgiving with my my side of the family this year in Indiana. Aside from 2 very turbulent plane rides and an 8 hour plane delay we had a fabulous time. The last time we spent Thanksgiving with them was 7 years ago - we vowed we will not wait another 7 years.

We’re skipping our Mexico trip this year and heading for new horizons - Arizona. It is one of the few states I’ve never visited and we have relatives and friends to visit.

We continue our monthly movie night tradition with friends Gerd and Maria. There is always great conversation, wine and food - oh and a movie too of course. I’ve been hungry lately for enchiladas lately - not the kind smothered in cheese that we get at our local hangout but healthy ones. My sister in law made vegetarian enchiladas at the lake and they were delicious. I used a mild enchilada sauce and spiked it up a bit with cumin and chili powder. Some of the enchiladas had cheese (for the cheese lovers) and some did not (for me - who likes cheese but it just doesn’t like me). 

You can add whatever vegetable mix you like. The potatoes can be all white or sweet potatoes, you can even skip the turnips - I had some in the fridge so I tossed them in. 

Ingredients

1 white potato, cut into 1-inch dice and rinsed 

1 medium sweet potato1 inch dice

5 small salad turnips

1 medium onion, sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup red/yellow/orange bell peppers, sliced

8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced

1 1/2 cups broccoli florets

1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed

6-8 large while grain tortillas

2 cups red enchilada sauce, plus more for serving

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp mild chili powder

1/2 Tbsp dried thyme

2 Tbsp nutritional yeast 

salt, pepper to taste

Instructions

If you have a steamer pot, steam potatoes and turnips until soft, set aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. If you don't have a steamer, boil potatoes and turnips until fork-tender, drain and set aside. 

Heat 1-2 Tbsp of water in a heavy-bottomed pan until bubbly. Add sliced onions. Saute for 5 min, add garlic, and cook 1-2 min more.

Add peppers, mushrooms and broccoli to the pan with onions. Stir and saute about 3 min, until the vegetables become softer. Add drained and rinsed beans, all seasonings except nutritional yeast and salt, stir the mixture well and let the beans get heated through. Take the pan off the stove.

Add steamed potatoes. Sprinkle in nutritional yeast. Mix well with a wooden spatula, slightly breaking up the potatoes. The mixture should look like chunky mashed potatoes with vegetables. Add salt to taste. 

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Warm up your enchilada sauce. Spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch casserole dish. Working with one tortilla at a time, spoon about 1/6 to 1/8 of potato-vegetable filling in the center of each tortilla, making a line with the filling. Roll the sides of the tortilla over the filling. The ends should stay open. Place rolled enchilada into the baking dish with the seam down. Repeat with all tortillas. 

Pack enchiladas tightly into the baking dish, do not overpack. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the rolled enchiladas. If desired add cheese to top of enchiladas. Bake at 375°F for 20 min uncovered. When done, let cool for 5-10 min before serving.

We served with a simple spinach salad with raspberries and blueberries and light vinaigrette dressing. 

An Ultimate Veggie Bake

Halloween is over, the decorations are back in their tubs and nestled in the Halloween closet - yes we do have a closet dedicated to Halloween decorations doesn’t everyone?  We’ve had our first snow, the lights and decorations are up on the front porch (we don't turn them on until after Thanksgiving) so it’s clear we are moving into the holiday season. I’m looking forward to getting together with friends and family to reconnect and share some good cheer! 

I’m going to start by saying this is not a weekday meal. While delicious, it takes about 2 hours of your time - some of it passive, but never the less 2 hours. It also contains 5 onions and if you know my husband you know this is more than a good thing - the rule of thumb is if it calls for 1 onion he adds 2. In this case he stuck to the 5 - I know right.

The original recipe called for white potatoes and since I’m not a fan I eliminated them and baked up a small acorn squash. I also changed up some of the other ingredients because I either didn’t like them or didn’t have them. When all was done we ended up with a delicious rustic vegetarian meal with lots of leftovers, which is always a good thing. 

Ingredients

Roast veg topping;,

1 small head of cauliflower chopped into florets

1 medium sweet potato peeled and chopped into small chunks.

3 carrots peeled and chopped into small chunks.

1 small acorn squash

1 tbsp olive oil

Sea salt

Black pepper

2 tbsp Coconut milk yogurt 

2 tbsp Nutritional yeast

1 tsp sea Salt

1 tsp Dion Mustard

Black pepper

Caramelized onions;

3 onions roughly chopped into slices

2 tbsp olive oil

Pinch sea salt

Filling ingredients;

2 large onion chopped roughly

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

6 cloves garlic sliced

300g dark green or Puy lentils rinsed

5 cups vegetable broth

8 ounces mushrooms chopped

Juice 1/2 lemon

2 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp balsamic glaze

1 tbsp vegan Worcester sauce

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp tamari or soy sauce 

Twist black pepper

Top with:

Handful walnuts - roughly chopped

Drizzle olive oil

Instructions

To make the veg topping;

Heat your oven to 350

Add the vegetables to one large or two baking trays. Toss with olive oil and season well. Bake 40 - 50 minutes until cooked. Allow to cool a little then add to a large bowl. Mash the veggies roughly with a fork or masher then add the other ingredients. Set aside.

To caramelize the onions;

Add the onion to a large pan with the olive oil and sauté for 20 minutes on a low heat until soft and caramelized. Set aside.

To make the filling;

Add the oil to a large pan and heat to a low to medium heat. Add the onion and saute for approximately 8-10 minutes until soft and browning. Add in the garlic and stir for another few minutes, then add in the lentils and vegetable broth. Bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes, then turn down the heat to low, add the mushrooms and simmer for 30 minutes. Add a little more water if needed. Stir in all the remaining ingredients.

To compile the bake;

Put the lentils in a large casserole tray, spread over the base. Then spread the caramelized onions over the Lentils.Top with the mashed vegetables, spreading out to cover everything.

Sprinkle with the walnuts and a drizzle olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes @ 350 Remove from the oven to cool a little.

Thanks for stopping by!

Home Again Home Again Jiggity Jig!

We’re home - again. After spending 2 weeks in Europe we came home, did a laundry stop, repacked and headed to Chicago for a conference. Dan was the keynote speaker and one of my coworkers was speaking too. It was a fun long weekend but I’m glad to be home and we’ll be home until Thanksgiving and after that until we go to Mexico. Perhaps I will get some of that cleaning/sorting I’ve been putting off done. Don’t hold your breath. Did I mention I love to travel but hate to fly - it’s true. 

Last night I posted a picture on Facebook of our grain bowls with peanut sauce - no recipe, just a picture and I immediately got a request for the recipe. For me grain bowls are all about what you have in the pantry/refrigerator. They are so flexible and the options are limitless my conundrum is always what dressing to use. My favorite is a vegan avocado cream but I have also made vegan tatziki with tofu as a base, a southwest/taco with vegan sour cream … as I said options are limitless. 

Since my avocados were still rock hard I decided on a Siracha peanut butter sauce and it did not disappoint. First you get the sweet and salty peanut-soy flavor, and then a spicy kick from Sriracha slowly sneaks up on you. This is my favorite kind of spicy sauce — where the heat isn’t immediate. You can use this sauce to boost everything from chicken and steak, to tofu, lentils, beans, and veggies. 

After a fair amount of chopping, roasting and sautéing dinner was served - the best part, there were leftovers, which Dan had for dinner tonight! I’m still full from lunch with the girls today. 

Ingredients:

10 small beets - a one bite beet 

1 small sweet potato 

1 medium onion diced

1 carrot 

8 - 10 brussels sprouts - cleaned and cut in half

5 ounces mushrooms (I had a combo of baby portabella and white)

1/2 cucumber - sliced and quartered

2 radishes - sliced thin and cut into matchsticks

1/4 red pepper - thinly sliced

1/4 orange pepper - thinly sliced

4 green onions - cleaned and chopped 

2 handfuls spinach

8 kale leaves shredded

parsley and cilantro - chopped 

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp sesame oil

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

3 T soy sauce

2 T water

1 - 2 T Siracha

1 - 2 T olive oil

1 cup quinoa or brown rice or a mixture of grains 

salt 

pepper 

Instructions:

Chop all vegetables. In a medium bowl combine beets, sweet potato, onion, carrot, mushrooms, and brussels sprout with the olive oil - toss to combine. Put on a baking dish and roast at 400 for  approximately 30 - 40 minutes - turn half way through. 

While the veggies are roasting, combine 1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky), 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons water, and 1 to 2 tablespoons Sriracha, in a blender and mix until combined.

Cook grains according to package directions, combine the spinach and kale in a bowl. 

To assemble:

Put greens on the bottom followed by a couple tablespoons of grains. Add roasted vegetables, top with peppers, cucumbers, green onions, radishes and add sriracha and peanut sauce. 

Enjoy!

Another Delicious Soup

We’re back from Europe and our river boat cruise vacation - it was a wonderful adventure. We are now packing our bags and heading to Chicago for a few days to participate in a conference and see the city - should be fun. 

After we unloaded our bags, boxes and packs from the cruise, we took a walk to the garden to see what, if anything had survived in our absence. We had squash, cabbage, kohlrabi, beets and a few tomatoes. Of course the tomatoes are now done (due to the snow on Friday) but the other crops are pretty cold weather hardy and we’ll be working through them in the coming weeks. 

Over the weekend I picked, chopped and prepped the squash and it is now waiting in the freezer for us. I made german cabbage and peeled and sliced apples that will end up as crisp or pies in the coming months. It was fun “bottling the harvest.” I’ve been visiting the neighbors and friends with bags of kale; they still like me and let me in their house :-) 

After 2 weeks of endless food (and I do mean endless), I was looking for something warm and comforting - soup. I love soup it’s my go to comfort food; especially now that Fall has arrived. I found recipe for kohlrabi, potato and corn chowder and I thought - why not! So I chopped, sautéed, simmered and ended up with a nice bowl of deliciousness. 

Thanks to Know your Produce for the inspiration. 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegan butter

3 garlic cloves minced

1 onion diced

2 stalks celery diced

1 carrot diced

1/4 cup flour

4 cups vegetable broth

1 cup unflavored almond milk

3-4 small kohlrabi peeled and diced (larger kohlrabi has a very strong taste)

2 potatoes diced

1 bay leaf

1 cup grilled corn

1 small handful of kale, shredded, sautéed in a bit of oil and added to the pot

sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Melt butter in a large stockpot over medium high heat. Add in the garlic, onions, celery, corn, and carrots. Cook until veggies are tender,.

Add in the kohlrabi, potatoes, bay leaf and parsley. Cook for 5 minutes and then add in the flour.

Mix until it's fully incorporated. Gradually stir in the vegetable broth while cooking. Bring chowder to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Mix in the milk and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes. Serve with a few shakes of paprika 

Summer Blueberry and Chickpea Salad

Everyone views summer as a great time for salads; the fresh ingredients paired with a light dressing really hits the spot when it’s hot. For me salads are all about fresh ingredients so I try to find recipes that incorporate whats in season - there is nothing worse than a tomato in January - they are pale in color and taste like cardboard no matter where you have purchased them. 

This year we planted red cabbage and honestly I’m not sure what I was thinking. I like red cabbage but I’m struggling to figure out what to do with 4 large heads of cabbage. Actually I’m still working on head #1 and I feel like the other 3, which are still in the garden, are taunting me every time I go outside. 

In addition to red cabbage I had some blueberries in the fridge, some hemp hearts and greens so I entered the ingredients into the Pinterest search bar and poof the recipe for Summer blueberry and chickpea salad recipe showed up - so I gave it a try. Dan loved it - actually we’ve had it 2 additional times this year and I find him pulling it out of the fridge to snack on later. 

Shout out to Running on Real Food for the recipe. 

INGREDIENTS:

TAHINI MAPLE DRESSING

4 tbsp tahini

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

3 tbsp water (use more as needed to adjust consistency)

2 tbsp pure maple syrup

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp sea salt

CHICKPEA SALAD (PER SERVING)

1 cup very finely sliced red cabbage (use a mandolin if you have one)

1/4 cup dried cranberries 

3 tbsp hemp seeds (or other nut or seed of choice 

1/2 cup chickpeas

2 handfuls of mixed salad greens, arugula or spinach

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

INSTRUCTIONS:

To make the tahini maple dressing, whisk all the ingredients together until smooth and creamy. You can add a bit of extra water to adjust the consistency as needed.

Add all the salad ingredients to a bowl then top with the tahini maple dressing.

Serve and enjoy!

NOTES

The tahini dressing makes enough for 4 salads, adjust the rest of the ingredients accordingly.

Dinner with Good Friends

We had a most wonderful evening last night with friends. It was a perfect evening to sit on the deck, grill some salmon, drink a little wine, and enjoy lively conversations.

I’ve always heard that you shouldn’t try new recipes when you are entertaining. Personally, I think that’s just plain silly. I look at entertaining as an opportunity to flex my creative cooking muscle and get good feedback from multiple sources. I will admit not all experiments have turned out but by the same token I’ve made a tried and true recipe with equal disaster.

Tossing caution to the wind, I spent a bit of time on Pinterest looking for a roasted cauliflower recipe that was not too spicy, contained fairly common ingredients and didn’t take hours to prepare, after all I want to spend time with my guests not my stove. 

Cauliflower has become one of my favorite foods, it’s so versatile; you can roast, steam, eat raw and grill it. It pairs nicely with other foods and it has some health benefits - like lowering inflammation, it’s high in fiber, and it helps to maintain heart health. 

We had 2 vegetarians among us so and added requirement was that the dish needed to provide some protein on that front. So without further adieu I give you:

Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Chickpeas, Tomatoes and a Yoghurt Herb Sauce 

Ingredients

2T smoked paprika

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 head cauliflower, cut into four 1-inch thick slabs

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 cup cooked chickpeas

1/2 cup plain coconut milk yogurt

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Whisk together the olive oil, smoked paprika, salt, turmeric, and cayenne in a small bowl. Arrange the cauliflower steaks on the prepared baking sheet so that they are not overlapping. Brush the olive oil mixture over the tops of the cauliflower steaks.

Toss the tomatoes and chickpeas with the remaining olive oil mixture to coat. Arrange them around the cauliflower. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, flip the cauliflower steaks, and continue baking until cauliflower stems are fork tender, about 10 more minutes.

While the cauliflower roasts, mix the yogurt, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, and salt together in a small bowl. Plate the cauliflower steaks on a serving platter, cover and surround with chickpea and tomato mixture and drizzle with the yogurt sauce. Serve!

We served this with honey roasted carrots and wild rice with onions, mushrooms and cranberries.