Recycling Food

Since I've been laid off, I've been more conscious of not wasting food...I know, I should have been doing that all along- hey, better late then never.

Here we have a photo of nothing being recycled- At the top of the plate we have fresh asparagus, from the garden, just sauteed in a little olive oil with red pepper-oh and of course garlic. The bottom left I made meatloaf - this recipe is from Vegan Vittles- Better Burger recipe on page 106. I kick it up a notch and add some finely chopped walnuts, chopped onion and peppers - form it into a loaf and bake- it's lovely every time. The potatoes are Vegan Yum Yum's Potato Salad with Herbed Dijon Vinaigrette and were they ever yum yum. I didn't have the fresh parsley so my garden grown, but dehydrated parsley had to do.

So now onto the recycling the food....
What I do with the leftover meatloaf....no pic, sorry, but I crumble it up and use it in spaghetti sauce. When we had it this time I used jarred sauce - Muir Glenn. I found a pack of three jars for like $5 at Costco, so I buy that all the time. This time I doctored it up with some roasted red pepper and sauteed onion and loads of garlic...you know to keep the vampires away.

I've been trying to use stuff up in our pantry that I've bought in the past on the fly, because they looked interesting- here is one of them...

OH- what can I do with that? I have you in suspense huh? Well I made this mess-What kind of mess is that you ask?? Well it's a recycled mess! The stuffing is Vegan Yum Yum's mustardy potatoes, fried up with leftover veggies from the fridge - broccoli, spinach, peppers, onions. Topped that with the Bengal Lentil's....here's a nutter photo minus the white goop that is on it in the above photo.....

What is the white goop you ask??? Well it is a previous batch of botched up Buffalo Mostarella Cheese from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook - my batch ultimately failed, it didn't solidify...it was more of a sauce- definitely yummy though....so we've been as a sauce as we desired- Freezes great- so no waste!

And they wrap you ask???? It's not what I tried to make before that failed....It's just simple garbanzo bean wrap recipe.....

1 cup of garbanzo bean flour

1 cup of water

your seasonings of choice- like I used
italian seasoning
garlic powder
garlic onion
ground pepper

Mix all together and let set for a half hour. To cook, lightly - and I mean lightly, spray a frying pan with oil (I found if you use too much the "pancake" will stick). Pour some batter into hot pan, flip with lightly brown...cook the other side (dahhhh). This is where it gets tricky - now flip the pan and make the "pancake" flip into the air and catch it on a plate...this is a crucial element in the recipe, the extra air gives it some extra fluffiness. I'm guessing people, that you figured out that I'm also giving you extra B.S. too, that last bit of instruction is totally optional- cool, but optional.

Now you ask....(you ask a lot of questions) "Do the wraps stay together when you pick it up to eat that mess????" Well technically, no, they fall apart after a couple of bites- but they look cool for the photo, and most importantly the whole concoction taste good together - SO USE YOUR FORKS PEOPLE!

All food was rated 5 out of 5 forks

Okay- enough questions from you'all today....I'm out.

Is it Rhu-berry or Blue-barb Crisp???

Rhubarb crisp, fresh from the garden....well it doesn't look like much but it is soooo tasty. The really really (I mean really) crunchy topping is a recipe from my Grandma M. - the topping belongs with her apple crisp recipe but I thought I would borrow it for this concoction- and am I glad I did.
I got my rhubarb from here....our garden.
As you can see, HENRY had to get into the picture. Henry got demoted to the garden when he failed to keep the gray heron monster bird, away from our fish in our pond....So now our yard looks like Mission Impossible - JUST TRY MY FEATHER FRIEND TO SNACK ON OUR FISH! (BTW all our fishies are safe & accounted for!)

...oh, back to the recipe at hand.

What you need for topping:

1 c. white sugar

1 c. unbleached flour

1 tsp. baking powder

dash salt

1 egg replacer - prepared (Ener-G)

mix all the above together with fork~the mixture will be somewhat crumbly, but not all of it.

The Filling:

3 c. chopped rhubarb

1 c. blueberries

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 c. dark brown sugar

1 Tbs. flour

Mix all the filling ingredients together and put into greased baking dish.

Looks something like this:

The disperse evenly, the topping, on top of the filling mixture. Try and cover all of it. In preheated 350 degree oven, bake covered with foil for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 30 mins.

TAAHHH-DAHHH- it will look like this.

and out of the bowl....on top ice cream to boot!

It was totally delicious with homemade vegan vanilla ice cream....but it is delicious without it too.

......more to come in the near future...but for now - toodles.

Flower of the Week - May 25th, 2009

I know, I'm a day late and a dollar short - heehee, because I'm laid off- oh, and really I'm 2 days late because, one Monday was a holiday then Tuesday, well, I was busy being laid off- okay, I had a couple of interviews...possibly more on that later (but I doubt it, real life isn't as fun as blogging!!), and later today- food porn post....but for now - flower porn....

We have tons of Columbine in our yard - reseeds like a maniac, but that is okay, they are so beautiful, and delicate like me......

Really I promise, a food post later on today which includes stuff I picked from our veggie garden!

Flower of the week, May 18th, 2009

Love love love this plant.....Variegated Solomon's Seal....lookie how purrtteee....

I have it in a pretty shaded area...and it has spread nicely through the years.

I haven't posted in a while....I got laid off last Tuesday and I SOLOMONY swear, I've been busier then when I went to work 8-5 everyday. Goods said that I'm enjoying this lay off way too much :-) That I am. So I'll be doing special "Vegan on a Budget" post through my period of unemployment.....but for now- I must go play work in the yard.

Vegan Chicken Cacciatore

I know- shocking, no fancy or smart ass title for this entry. Just a plain & simple for a not so plain & but simply delicious meal.

I've never had Chicken Cacciatore, vegan or un-vegan before. Not sure how I even came up with the idea of veganizing this dish- but I did know that I had to use this package of seitan before too long. Oops, I took the photo AFTER I cut it open.

Never had this stuff before - but it was very yummy, not to mention convenient!

So the recipe I was guided by to create the vegan version was from the foodnetwork.com site. It is right HERE. Now you will find my recipe, conveniently right below:

Ingredients:
1 package of seitan
1 c. soy milk
2 Tbs. flax meal
3/4 c. unbleached flour
1 tsp. (heaping) garlic
1 tsp. (heaping) parsley
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. pepper.
veggie oil (which on is up to you)
15 ish oz. can diced tomatoes
4 roasted red peppers-chopped (I used jarred)
1/3 c. sliced onion
1/4 c. green pepper chopped

1 Tbs. dried basil

6-8 cloves of garlic- sliced

red pepper flakes
1 c. white wine
thinly sliced lemon (I used only 3 whole slices)

First, combine soymilk and flax meal in small bowl and let sit for 5ish minutes.
Then combine flour, garlic, parsley, onion powder, paprika and pepper. (I don't use much salt, so that is your call if you want to add it)
Slice the seitan to thin - semi-bite size pieces.
Picture time.....

In a cast iron skillet heat some veggie oil up. Once it's hot fix the seitan.
Dip the seitan in the milk, then dredge it in flour. Then fry it in the skillet until crispy, then let drain on paper towel until ready to use. Repeat process until you are done.

Saucy time next-
In a pan w/ a touch of oil, cook onions & green peppers until tender. Then add the diced tomatoes (I drained off some of the juiciness), garlic slices, roasted red peppers, basil, pepper flakes and lemon slices. Let simmer for 20 minutes or so

Lookin' like this at this point....

A closer shot....

After the simmering - add the wine. The original recipe calls for fresh basil to be added- I didn't have any. That's a lie, I have some, but my basil plants are 6 inches tall, still in the little containers just waiting to be planted- but next time I will use fresh basil.

After mixing the wine in, I scooped out 1 cup of the mixture, put it in my emulsion blender cup and puree it...JUST 1 CUP OF IT. Then I put the emulsified part back into the pan and mixed it in. I also picked the lemon rinds, that all that was left of the lemon.

Now, I did not mix the fried seitan into the sauce - I didn't want the leftovers to be all soggy and gooey, so we just assembled the concoction on our plates

Goods had his on regular noodles.....and mine served on a bed of my favorite gluten free soy noodles.... This was totally awesome- Now, again I can't compare it to another cacciatore but I loved the mix of peppers, tomato and a hint of lemon. I really think fresh basil would add to it....so a message to my basil plants "grow babies grow"...but as we were eating, I did like the fact the the sauce was soaking into the coating on the seitan, so I might change things up a bit with adding some of the seitan into the sauce ahead of time.

Can I give it 6 out of 5 forks????

Flower of the Week- May 11th

Our yard is smelly because we have tons of lilacs blooming now. Three different colors....only 2 featured here, the dark purple lilac, my favorite, isn't completely open yet....but here are 2 that are.

Our house is smelly to, I have a vase of them in the house, just waiting for Fluffy cat to chew on.

Talking about cats....here is a photo I took of the Catbird waiting patiently for the Oriole to be finished snacking....

The Catbird is one my my favorite birds. Last year we had a Catbird couple stay around all season, and it looks as long as I keep bribing them with grape jelly and oranges, they are going to stick around this year too.

Happy Mommy's Day

And for my Mommy I made this dragon fly in ceramic class. Can't tell from the photo my the wings are Mother-of-Pearly...I just realized the Mother-of-Pearl and Mother's Day--HA, how appropriate is that???

Then since she LOVES oatmeal cookies, and she doesn't bake them for herself- I sent her a batch of Vegan ones...which she could care less that they are vegan.

I know everyone has made oatmeal cookies before, but I'll still post the recipe just in case some alien just landed on earth, and has never made them.

Oatmeal Cookies

adapted from the Quaker Oatmeal lid

1/2 cup of soften Earth Balance "butter"

1/2 cup of Spectrum Veg. Shortening

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar( I use dark brown)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 Eggs Replacer Mixture

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups Oats old fashioned, uncooked

1 cup raisins- presoaked in water

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat "butter" and sugars until creamy. Add egg replacer mixture and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Half way thru I squish the cookie mound down, with a fork. Bake 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown. Half way thru I squish the cookie mound down with a fork, to flatten. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.ABOUT 4 DOZEN

Happy Mommy's Day Y'all!

I'm sure even if you are not a Mother, you have

guided and enriched lives of young ones.

Muster-Dee Tempeh

I've been in such a cooking rut. I'm getting to believe that Goods is a picky eater- as he puts it "I'll eat pretty much anything", which he will, but I also want him to enjoy what he is eating.

The other night I was in the mood for tempeh, thank goodness that isn't on his list of "texture foods" that "bother him"- So perusing some cookbooks I saw a recipe for "honey mustard crispy tempeh" (from the Bold Vegetarian, I think)- Since I don't do honey, I winged my own recipe borrowing a few of his listed ingredients. So with no further a do...here is what I did.....

Cut on package of tempeh in 5 pieces, then sliced each of those pieces in half (thickness wise) then I cut that piece in half (length wise) - wow, lets just show you a photo to clarify that mumbo jumbo I just wrote!
Then I put them on a plate and sprayed them with a touch of veggie oil. Sprinkled them with some powdered mustard, garlic powder, pepper, and onion powder. Did it to both sides. Then I fried them in a garlic olive oil blend that I still had in fridge, but you can use any kind of oil. Here it is frying...

After they browned (5 mins each side)- I put them on a paper towel lined plate then transferred to a serving dish. Wipe out the pan to make the sauce.

Then for the mustard sauce:

1 Tbs Veggie Soup Powder
1.5 Tbs. Yellow Mustard Powder

1 C. White Wine

2 Tabs. Maple Syrup

1-2 Tbs. Arrowroot Powder

Combine the first 2 powders and add a little water to make a paste. Pour the wine into the pan, and bring to boil. Add the paste, stir and simmer. Then add the arrowroot, enough to make it into a thicker sauce (you can add some of the hot liquid into the arrowroot before you add it into the pan to make sure it doesn't get lumpy.) Once you get it to the thickness you desire, remove from heat and add the maple syrup. Pour over tempeh. Lookie how pretty.....

I served with baked sweet potato and steamed broccoli. Was a very good combo, and aren't the colors pretty together???

Verdict:

Sauce - LOVED, maybe next time a little more maple syrup? Not necessary, but a thought.

Tempeh - The sauce differently complimented the tempeh. This tempeh, for some reason was strong, next time I will pre-boil the tempeh before preparing it. Also, I think some marination of the tempeh would be good. Maybe in the wine/mustard sauce mixture before it gets fried. I'll let you know when I figure it out. I must say the leftovers are awesome since the sauce covered the tempeh for a couple of days.

I'm giving this 4 out of 5 forks,
just because the tempeh was a tad strong, everything else was great.

The Birdies Returned & Brought Cookies....

Finally I have been assured, by the birds, that Spring is definitely here. THE ORIOLES RETURNED SATURDAY MORNING! See......

We were all set for them:

Organic Oranges - CHECK

Grape Jelly - CHECK

Camera - CHECK

Then the BLUE JAYS migrate thru....

The above photo only shows a few of the birds....at times we've had 50-100 birds at one time. Well it helps that we bribe them with peanuts.

So now you are wondering which birds brought the cookies. I must confess, they didn't....but I did make some Peanut Butter Chunky Cookies per Goods request.

Sorry for such a poopie picture - I was on the fly when I took it, no amount of PhotoShop could help it either.....but the recipe isn't poopie - totally yummy. It comes from the Jiff Website, I'm reposting it with my changes.

Ingredients-
3/4 cup Jif Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Vegetable Shortening (Spectrum)
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 Tbs rice milk
1 Tbs vanilla
1 egg replacer
1 3/4 c unbleached flour
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4-1 c. coarsely chopped unsalted
blanched roasted peanuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Combine peanut butter, Shortening, light brown sugar, rice milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended.
Add prepared egg replacer. Beat just until blended.
Combine flour, salt and baking soda.
Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended. Stir in chopped peanuts.
Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet.
Flatten slightly in crisscross pattern with tines of fork.

Bake at 375ºF for 7 to 8 minutes or until set and just beginning to brown.
Makes 3 dozen cookie

Just a note - THESE ARE GREAT COOKIES!
Definitely 5 out of 5 forks.

Flower of the week - May 5th, 2009

Well, I'm bringing back "Flower of the Week" - I ditched buying fresh flowers for the house in the winter time, when the economy took a spiral. But now that it is spring, and things are sprung, I'm going to use Mondays to feature flowers or plants that we have growing in our yard.

The first plant I'm featuring is one of my all time favorites......

The plant name is: Epimedium x Youngianum - or commonly known as "Fairy Wings" - and here is a closer look to see whyI not only love the flowers (that bloom for 3-4 weeks) but the leaves are a beautiful heart shaped so it adds dimension in our garden for all of the growing season. It's a part sun to light shade plant. Highly recommend this plant if you are in the 5-8 planting zone (some varieties are 4-8 zone)