In the Fridge Soup/Stew

I’m going to start by saying we had a fabulous weekend in New York and the fact that it fell over my birthday weekend was the best. The flights we so so, but the city was as amazing as ever. We went to a conference, toured the 911 memorial, had some amazing dinners, went to 2 museums, reconnected with friends and family, and saw Beautiful; The Carole King Musical - it was magical - I’d forgotten what an amazing songwriter she was!

We’re back home and as expected, the weather is turning to fall, which by the way is my favorite season (I know I say that every year - but it is true). I love the smells, the colors and the feel of flannel and my favorite sweaters and sweatshirts. Bonfires, birthdays, pumpkin, apples, chai and soup - warming, delicious soup. 

Which brings me to dinner. It started out as a soup and then kind of evolved into soup/chili as a way to use up what was in the fridge and pantry before I make that next trek to the garden. I can see there are more tomatoes and peppers anxiously awaiting my arrival and I know that the beets, kale, squash and collards need attention too.

Ingredients:

1 large onion - diced

2 stalks celery - diced

2 carrots - peeled and thinly sliced

1 yellow pepper - diced

1 banana pepper - seeded and chopped

1 spicy red pepper - seeded and chopped

1 1/2 cups cabbage - shredded

1 cup kale - stemmed and shredded

1 can black beans - drained and rinsed

1 can garbanzo beans - drained and rinsed

1 can white kidney beans - drained and rinsed

2 large tomatoes - roughly chopped

2 quart bags of tomatoes - one regular and one spicy

I didn’t measure the spices, I dumped, tasted, added more, tasted and said “yep that works.” I added:

cumin

chili powder

garlic powder

cayenne

red pepper flakes

salt

pepper 

Instructions

Add 2 T olive oil to pan and saute onions, celery and carrots until onions are translucent. Add peppers, cabbage, kale and saute an additional 5 - 7 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and spices and simmer approximately 20 minutes until flavors combine. 

Serve with free bread and a nice glass of wine - it’s good to be home. 

Dinner for Four

Have you been outside today, September 15th and the temperature is 91 degrees - yes I did say 91 degrees - crazy! Normally, at this time of year I’m thinking about chili and cornbread, or portabella stew or a nice spicy curry not so much these days. I’m looking for something cool and fresh tasting.

We continue to harvest tomatoes and last week I thought they were coming to an end but my harvest on Thursday night said otherwise. We’re harvesting peppers, beets, cabbage, kale, collard greens and soon - squash (my favorite). So what to do with ALL THOSE TOMATOES? Good question. We’ve had sandwiches, marinated tomatoes with feta and basil, I’ve even been known to grab a handful and have them for a snack. 

Last night was movie night but before I get to that I want to show you a picture of my Thursday harvest so that you can see what I was up against and how I came to the dinner we served. See 2 heads of cabbage, peppers, tomatoes, beets, and the last of the green beans. 

Movie night -  we’ve been getting together with our friends Gerd and Maria once a month for a few years now. They bring the wine and movie and we make dinner - and we appreciate that they are willing to eat whatever we make. Most of the time, dinner is driven by what we’re harvested from the garden so some meals are more creative than others. 

With all those tomatoes, I decided we hadn’t had bruschetta in a while but I wanted to try something a little bit different than the traditional tomato, garlic and olive oil rendition. We had a nectarine and some ground cherries so I took a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes, cut up a nectarine and threw in some ground cherries. I added a splash of balsamic vinegar and put it under the broiler for about 10 minutes; until some of the tomatoes burst. I toasted some french bread and we inhaled it. The reviews were excellent. 

Photo credit for the appetizer goes to Maria. 

For dinner I decided on a tofu, veggie, cabbage and cashew stir fry. And since it was Dan’s birthday on Wednesday, I made him an apple pie (thanks to our neighbors Teri and Dennis for the apples from their tree). 

As we were going through our pictures this morning it seems neither of us remembered to take a photo of the stir fry - sigh. We do have a picture of the pie.

Veggie and tofu stir fry

Ingredients:

3 stalks celery - diced

2 carrots cut into small matchsticks

8 ounces of mushrooms - quartered

2 small onions - medium dice

~ 2 lbs green cabbage - chopped

1 1/2 red peppers - julienne 

1 cup whole cashews

~ 1/2 cup white wine

1/3 cup soy sauce

3 dashes sesame oil

2 T cooking oil

garlic powder to taste

pepper to taste

Instructions:

In a wok or large deep skillet, heat cooking oil over medium-high heat. Stir-fry onion, celery, and carrot for about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, pepper, and cashews, and stir-fry another 3 minutes.

Add wine, soy sauce, and cabbage. Stir well, cover, and steam until cabbage wilts slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in sesame oil and garlic powder.

Continue stirring until cabbage is done to your liking. May season with black pepper if desired. 

Dan cooked up a package of tofu (he is the best tofu cook on the planet) and added it to the stir fry for some added protein. We served it with brown rice and fresh strawberries and cantaloupe on the side. Now what to do with the beets, kale, collards, peppers and other heads of cabbage just waiting for me to come back to the garden and get them?

A Night as a Sous Chef

Sometimes you’re the cook and sometimes you’re the helper. 

We’ve been making our way through this years garden bounty; cucumbers, beans, peas, tomatoes, tomatoes and did I say tomatoes? Now we’ve moved into peppers, eggplant, cabbage, beets, kale, collards and in the not to distant future - squash; acorn and butternut. 

We’ve made 3 batches of tomato sauce; regular, spicy and super spicy, I can’t wait to use them over the winter months. It will be like brining a bit of summer to those cold and stormy days. And making collard greens stuffed with a tofu and veggie mixture is just around the corner; another dinner to pull from the freezer on a night when cooking doesn’t sound fun - although I don’t that will happen for a while. 

We were at the farmers market last weekend - a little crazy I know - but we don’t have everything in the garden. We were searching for okra to make bhindi masala. Then we got home life got in the way (ok well all that other produce got in the way) and finally last night it was  okra night but we had so many other things to use like eggplant, peppers, onions all begging to be cooked up and eaten.

So we took pity on all those veggies and started chopping, sautéing and simmering up a batch of curried eggplant and okra, this time I was the chopper and Dan was the cook. 

Ingredients:

4 Japanese  eggplants, sliced on a bias

2 c. okra, stems sliced off

2 yellow onion, chopped 

1 1/2 bell peppers, cored and sliced - I used a mixture of red, yellow and green

1 tsp minced ginger

1 tsp minced garlic

1 - 2 tbsp red curry paste

1/2 c. coconut milk

1/4 c. water

Juice of 1/2 lime

Sea salt, and pepper to taste

2 tbsp coconut oil, separated

Instructions:

This is essentially a stir fry so having all ingredients chopped in advance makes the cooking time shorter and keeps the veggies from getting over done. 

Over medium high heat, melt a tablespoon of coconut oil. Add the okra and cook until just beginning to brown (be careful to not over cook the okra or it will get slimy). Remove the okra from the pan to a bowl and set aside. 

Fry the eggplant until golden brown, remove from the pan and set aside. If the eggplant has absorbed the oil add a little more to pan and add the garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add the onions and saute until softened. Add the curry paste (if you like things a bit spicy you can add additional curry paste) and cook until the onions are well coated. 

To the onion mixture add the bell peppers and stir fry until crisp tender 1 - 2 minutes. Slowly add the coconut milk, water and lime juice scraping up any browned bits. Reduce heat to low and add the okra and eggplant into the pan. Simmer for 3 - 4 minutes and serve over brown rice. 

It was delicious - thanks to Dan for being the saute to my chop. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Indian Whole Roasted Cauliflower

The new kitchen has been humming this week I’ve been working on preserving the harvest (to have summer in the dead of MN winter), searching for new recipes to try and making some favorites - I’m totally enjoying my new kitchen. 

I was at the farmers market last weekend and found a beautiful head of cauliflower. My initial reaction was to make buffalo cauliflower - because I have developed an intense like of buffalo cauliflower - but I decided I wanted to try baking/roasting in my new oven. 

Most of my adult life I’ve had an electric stove but with the remodel, Dan wanted to switch over to gas. I had my reservations, after all I had the steaming of veggies on my electric stove down to the minute to create the perfect result. It’s not tragic, I just need to devise a new “perfect system.” 

But back to the cauliflower. A few years ago I was riding back to the airport in Dallas with my then boss Anne Lapkin and she was telling me about this delicious recipe for a yogurt and spiced cauliflower. It sounded really good and I tucked the idea in the recesses of my mind to pull out for a rainy day. That day was last week. 

I was searching for a whole roasted cauliflower recipe on Pinterest and came across a number of them that looked delicious and then that memory returned so I refined my search a bit and found an amazing recipe on Pure Wow’s blog. I made some adjustments based on dietary and ingredients we had in the kitchen. The end result was delicious and we had the leftovers for dinner tonight. I even got a “You should make this again it was delicious” from Dan. 

If you want the Pure Wow recipe go here 

Here is my recipe with some changes.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 head cauliflower

1½ cups plain coconut milk yogurt

1 lime juiced (I had tiny key limes and used  1 1/2)

2 tablespoons chile powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon curry powder

2 teaspoons sea salt 

1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400° and lightly grease a small baking sheet with vegetable oil. 

2.  Trim the base of the cauliflower to remove any green leaves and the woody stem.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt with the lime juice, chile powder, cumin, garlic powder, curry powder, salt and pepper.

4. Place the cauliflower in at the prepared baking dish. Slowly pour the marinade evenly over its surface making sure to cover the entire head. 

5. Roast the cauliflower for 40 - 50 minutes until the surface is dry and lightly browned.  The marinade will make a crust on the surface of the cauliflower.

6. Let the cauliflower cool for 10 minutes before cutting it into wedges and serving.

We served ours with a salad of corn, cukes, tomatoes, and a field roast sausage. On leftover night we served it with a green salad and fresh fruit. 

I’m so happy to be back to blogging and cooking - thanks for stopping by!

A Vegetarian for One Year is Back

I’m back and it feels so good. Never in my dreams did I expect a kitchen remodel to take 15 weeks. It’s been hell but I must say I love the end result. On the flip side, I’ve missed blogging and connecting with all of you. It doesn’t mean I’ve not been cooking, I have but it hasn’t been glamorous  - mostly microwave, toaster oven and some grilling. It’s so nice to have a stove and a dishwasher whose name is Whirlpool (Dan’s been excited to give up that role) who does all the work.

This years garden is doing well. We’ve been eating tomatoes for a while now - in salads, with feta, basil and balsamic, in bruschetta and on sandwiches. My last trip to the garden landed 6 beets, 3 cucumbers and a shirt full of tomatoes - thank goodness to friends and neighbors who like veggies. 

We tried a new cherry tomato this year; Rapunzel. It is a small cherry with a deliciously sweet flavor and a light skin. Our neighbors planted them last year and I had a few tastes while taking care of their dog. I was hooked and made a note of the type so that I was sure to get a plant or two for this year. They take a little longer to mature but they are worth it. 

We’ve made it through bean and sugar snap pea season - there are a few beans lingering out there which I’ll bring in with today’s run and we had our first cabbage, which we turned into curried cabbage and onions. My experiment this year was beets and they are delicious, I can’t wait to turn a few of them into Beet Rubens with my home made marinated vegetables (in place of sauerkraut). 

Our first entertaining in the new kitchen will be on Tuesday and we’re having the newlyweds (Alona and Nate) over. So stay tuned for my first food blog. In the interim I’ll post a couple pictures of what we’ve been eating since I’ve been away. 

A Cook Without a Kitchen!

Hello Hello, it’s been too long since my last post. LIFE. IS. CRAZY. BUSY! We’ve been working our way through the kitchen remodel, Dan’s daughter’s upcoming wedding, planting the garden, work travel and just normal everyday stuff. 

The remodel is going pretty well, demolition is done, electrician is nearly done and we’re waiting to iron out a few things with the plumber. Next up inspections and sheetrock. Once the walls are back up cabinets and countertops should go pretty quickly so we’re excited and looking forward to cooking in the new kitchen. 

In the mean time we’ve put together a make-shift kitchen in the bar downstairs and we’ve been using the grill, hotplate and microwave for our meal prep. A couple pictures of some of our cooking adventures are below; grilled salmon with onions and zucchini, veggie stirfry with vegetarian Field Roast sausages and our favorite - the giant salad.

We have eaten out a few times, although not as often as I thought we would and I’m happy about that. I also spent 3 days in Dallas for work, it was a nice construction break and I got to see my coworkers - new and old - who I haven’t seen for a couple years. 

On the wedding front, I am sure it will be a beautiful day, regardless what Mother Nature decides to give us. Alona and Nate have planned a lovely ceremony, at a local park, with a large picnic shelter. Dresses are purchased, food is organized, flowers and cakes are ordered all that is left is the fun part. 

I’ve been asked what is the first think I will make in my new kitchen - aside from a mess I’m thinking I’ll roast some seasonal vegetables, make some vegan cheese and a loaf of focaccia - I can taste it already. I’ve also been eyeing some vegan sausage recipes on Pinterest and of course by the time the kitchen is ready the garden will be in full swing. 

We’re looking forward to getting back to normal and posting regularly on the blog again. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Making the Best of a Bad Situation

Remember last week when I said Mother Nature was in a bad mood and it was snowing - well this week she is PISSED.  Not sure why but we’ve got one hell of a storm heading our way with predictions of 12 inches of snow, ice, sleet - well you name it, it’s coming. 

So I guess the only thing to do is cook right? In anticipation of Snowmageddon I took a trip to the grocery store yesterday and got some groceries and this afternoon I cooked up a batch of vegetarian tortilla soup and vegan gluten free sweet potato flat bread - nom nom nom delicious. 

Before I get into recipes, what is it about bad weather that drives people to the grocery store - because honestly if you are like me you have enough food in your freezer/pantry to get you through weeks or the zombie apocalypse (which ever comes first). 

I was talking to my friend Irene (who lives in Texas) today and she said they were looking at tornados and bad storms, which she says always empties out the bread, milk and eggs out of the store - we both had a good laugh.  

So back to food and recipes :-) 

The tortilla soup was easy to prepare, chopping and dicing took about 15 minutes and the rest was crock pot magic. To be honest I broke my number one rule - saute onions in a pan before putting them into the crock pot - and at 5pm I was annoyed. I ended up pouring the soup into a stock pot, putting it on the stove and cooking it until it was done. Next time - do not skip the golden rule - saute onions first!

The sweet potato bread was an experiment - while we are not gluten free - the recipe looked interesting and it did not disappoint. While Dan likes his fluffy bread I love the dense texture and the flavor of the sweet potato and spices. I will definitely make this again.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

2 cans pinto beans (if you are a purist you can make them from scratch in your nifty  instant pot)

1 onion - diced

3 - 4 cloves of garlic - thinly sliced

3 cups tomatoes - diced

1 -2 jalepeno peppers - thinly sliced

4 - 5 cups veggie broth 

1 T chili powder

1 tsp cumin

tortilla chips (optional)

avocados (optional)

Instructions:

Saute onion in a pan with 1 T of olive oil until translucent. Add onion and all ingredients into a crock pot and cook on high for 3 - 4 hours. Serve with tortilla chips and avocado

Sweet Potato Flatbread

First, thanks to The Healthy Apple for the recipe, you can find the full version with totally awesome photos here

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato peeled and diced

1 Tbsp. ground flaxseeds

3 Tbsp. water

2 1/2 cups almond flour

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. fresh chopped rosemary

1/2 tsp. sea salt plus an extra pinch

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Steam the sweet potato in a steamer basket in a pot on the stove top until tender, about 10 minutes over medium high heat.

Combine the flaxseeds and water in a small bowl and set aside for 10 minutes or until the mixture becomes gel-like then mix well.

In a large bowl, mash the cooked sweet potatoes. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well to form a 'dough'. Transfer the 'dough' to a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet and flatten with your hands into a ½ inch thickness.

Bake for 35 minutes or until the flatbread is golden brown and the edges turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 20 minutes.

Cut into rectangle pieces and serve.