A "Heart-y" Valentine Dinner

I don't normally get too excited about eating. I mostly enjoy the cooking and preparation. But I was really looking forward to tonight's dinner. I bought heart shaped pasta....



... and made a pasta dish of broccoli, roasted yellow peppers, sundried tomatoes, and a soymilk "cream" sauce. I just realized I forgot to put in the olives - rats! I thought it needed more salt, but it needed the olives! Oh, well. We rarely have pasta, so this was quite a tasty treat for us.

I also made green beans, potatoes, and carrots, with a little EB and garlic salt and pepper. Simply delicious.

I took a pound of seitan from the freezer and after thawing, cut it into heart shapes. I breaded it with panko and baked it. I also made a fantastic carmelized onion and date relish to serve with it. I love how the panko breadcrumbs get so crispy.

I made French bread too. When I set it on the table, I thought, I should have shaped it into heart - it's the only food without heart.

Then after slicing a piece and then cutting the piece in half, we noticed that could be made into a heart. Yea - a completely heart-y meal!

The hearty table...

For our treat I wanted to make strawberry sandwich cookies. I made heart shaped sugar cookies, and for the filling decided on Tofu Strawberry Cream from More Great Good Desserts. This cream is seriously the best thing I've eaten in quite some time. I don't know if I like the touch of lemon in it, or if I just got a great jar of "strawberry all fruit" but it is so so good. I have leftovers!

After I filled the cookies, I drizzled chocolate over them. Yummmmmmmy!

And that's our Valentine dinner.

How I Used the Homemade Ketchup

Sometimes I get tunnel visioned, like I thought I had to use my homemade ketchup that I made Saturday and let sit until Tuesday, only as ketchup. Then I got some nice suggestions from those of you who share my loathing for wasting food. I decided to convert the ketchup into a sweet and sour sauce, which is not my favorite thing, but I had lots of fresh veggies for a great stirfry. I took 2 cups of the ketchup and added Braggs, rice vinegar, and fresh ginger. The sauce was good, but did take on quite a cinnamon flavor when heated. I had fresh mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, and carrots, and frozen sugar snap peas.


I put it over some leftover brown rice for a filling dinner.

Tonight Chase and his gf came by for a burger dinner, so we really got to use ketchup! That's it in the agave nectar bottle (that was supposed to go home with Chase Sunday). We had your usual lettuces, tomatoes, onions, and avocado, hot black beans with carrots, onions, and salsa added in, and freezer Ore-Ida fries. I had never bought frozen fries until today. That's how desperate I was to not waste the ketchup! Anyway, the ketchup - as ketchup - is really good. I think I'll make it again when I can use fresh tomatoes.

Right before I popped these lovely buns into the oven, I checked the ingredients again and was sad to discover they contain honey. We ate them anyway, and they were really very good. I tried to make myself feel better with the fact that honey was far down on the ingredient list.

I am trying to learn to like eggplant, so one evening I made eggplant patties from Eat to Live.

I ate them with some leftover greens and veggies. Actually, I put the veggies on the patties, then folded them like a taco and ate them. I have many leftover patties.

Saturday night I'm planning on using a Christmas gift certificate for dinner out at our Veg Award winning restaurant Nu Age Cafe. I go there often for lunch and get my favorite salad. Since winning the award, a new chef was hired and he has for some reason added dairy to many of the entrees, including my favorite soy nuggets over broccoli. The menu used to be all vegan. Am I the only person who thinks food tastes better without butter and cheese?

Sunday Night Goulash

The weather teams had been telling us all week that Sunday was going to bring the coldest temperatures in a decade. Then Friday they changed their minds. I'm not complaining - it was sunny and 68 degrees! It just wasn't soup weather anymore. But I already had on the menu "Vegetarian Goulash" from Nava's Vegetarian Soups cookbook. It's her take on Hungarian goulash, made with potatoes, carrots, green beans, and seitan. I used sweet potatoes instead of white. Then I didn't want to use carrots (orange again), so I used cauliflower, which actually turned orange. I hate frozen green beans and the fresh ones looked awful, so I used edamame. The goulash is seasoned only with vegetable broth, red wine, fresh parsley, and of course paprika. It is wonderful, a real meat and potatoes type stew. I got a huge pot full, probably because of the cauliflower.



I had just made a pot of black beans, so I made a black bean, corn, and red pepper salad to go with the goulash.



Although we didn't actually watch the Super Bowl, I felt the need to make chips and dip. I had a huge bag of corn tortillas in the freezer, so I made the chips from those.


We like Alton Brown's guacamole. I made that to go with the chips. Why do I wait for sporting events to make chips and guacamole?



Chase fixed his plate and goulash like this:

For treats, I made Schoolyard Oatmeal Cookies. I used sour cherries instead of cranberries, and also added in some chocolate chips. We loved these cookies. Sugar-free, not too sweet, and I like the recipe because it only makes a dozen cookies.

I also made Native Blend Popcorn Balls from the Vegan Lunch Box blog, which I've been dying to make. I used puffed corn instead of popcorn. (I guess I made "Puff"corn Balls....) and as much as I love these, I just had all kinds of trouble getting them together, probably because cornpuffs don't have all the nooks and crannies of popcorn. I had to keep putting the mixture in the microwave to remelt the sugar, then burn my hands trying to form the balls before the sugar hardened again. But they are really really delicious and I definitely recommend you give them a try - but using popcorn!

Oh, I had thought about having Southwest Sunshine burgers to have with our meal (I made rice instead) and then I was feeling bad about having store bought burgers and buns, so I made ketchup from Real Food Daily. I had to add a little more agave nectar because it didn't seem sweet enough, but otherwise it's an easy and tasty recipe. I forgot to send some home with Chase, so I now have 3-1/2 cups of ketchup that will only keep for 5 days. Hopefully Chase will come have a burger with me later this week.

Now I get to enjoy some Sunday night leftovers and a couple more days of 70 degree weather.

Easy Weeknight Meals

I have a few standby dishes I make in bulk for quick and healthy meals throughout the week. One is chickpea and veggie stew, seasoned with cumin, coriander, garlic, and red pepper. I'm still able to get some nice fresh green beans from my neighborhood grocer, so I've been enjoying those as well.




I've been trying to stay with meals consisting of beans and two veggies, one of which is broccoli. On this night I sauteed fresh spinach and mushrooms. A lot of meals looked like this:

I added some shredded and chopped fresh zucchini to the spinach and mushrooms for leftovers.

My absolute favorite new creation was a variation on a recipe I saw for beans, rice, and cabbage, which I had never had and sounded interesting. I used my homemade pinto beans, substituted quinoa for rice, and used my favorite Mann's broccoli slaw instead of cabbage. I'm not sure why, but it was incredibly good.

Another night I made some quick red lentils and a saute of fresh and frozen veggies.

One recipe I have been dying to try is Susan V's Barbecue Tofu and Veggies. The night I decided I had to have it, it was already 7:00 pm and there was no time for using the crockpot. I had homemade barbecue sauce that was a week old and needed using, and I had all the other ingredients, so I made a stovetop version.

I took a taste test of the tofu while it was simmering, and to my extreme dismay, the tofu was bad - nasty, awful, inedible. I was NOT wasting this effort, so I picked out what I figure was at least 80 cubes of tofu.

The rest of the veggies tasted fine, so I added in some greens, and ate it without tofu, over some leftover quinoa. A couple of nights later, I added in some GOOD tofu. I still want to make the crockpot version soon.

Sometimes I add almonds and cranberries to my broccoli.

Here's some braised red cabbage and onions. The cabbage is 49 cents a pound right now and I love it.

On an evening I needed something sweet, I cored an apple and stuffed it with mashed banana, almonds, and a chopped date. A little cinnamon on top and four minutes in the microwave - very nice.

Lastly, some potato bread I baked and gave to Chase.

I've been enjoying everyone's "Behind the Apron" posts. It's been a busy week, but I'll find time to visit all my fave blogs soon.

Light & Healthy Tex Mex and Pie Try #2

Tonight we had a delicious mexican meal. Our main course was Susan V's Sante Fe Spaghetti Squash Casserole. I made this casserole shortly after Susan posted it, but I gave it all to Chase without having any myself. I'm glad I got to eat it tonight because, like everything Susan creates, it's wonderful. Here's a shot of the filling, before the cornmeal topping went on. Isn't it beautiful!



This is the casserole right out of the oven.



To go with the casserole, I wanted something crunchy. I decided on texmex springrolls. Chase said chips and guacamole would have been good, and it would have been excellent, but I wanted a healthier accompaniment. I have never made springrolls - only rice paper rolls - to be gluten free. I made up a filling of green onion, red pepper, spinach, corn, cilantro, and pinto beans (I had just made a big pot), and lots of spicy seasonings. We filled one dozen, and then baked them. I added mango to our favorite salsa to serve with the spring rolls. They didn't turn out too pretty (don't laugh Megan!), but there wasn't a single one left over. Baked rolls are just as crispy as deep fried and we really enjoyed these.

There wasn't much left of any of this meal.

I was determined to make a good lemon pie after messing up last week. I followed Susan's recipe again, except I used 4 Meyer lemons and 1 blood orange for the juice. I even made the oatmeal cookie crust, which was super tasty. I barely filled the tip of my quarter teaspoon with agar agar. This time the filling was stirrable while cooking, and I could actually pour it into the crust.

The filling flavor combination of lemon and a bit of orange was soooo good! I had a little left over and put it in a small bowl. Several hours later I decided to see how the leftover tasted, and I was disappointed again.

I had jello again. I did NOT want to throw out another pie, because I loved the flavor. Then it dawned on me. I didn't screw up the recipe, and Susan's recipe isn't bad. It's just that Susan's recipe wasn't for lemon CREAM pie, which is really what I wanted. I think Candi left a comment on my last post that any of Susan's recipes she has made turned out great, and same goes for me, and I've made a lot of them. Anyway, I decided to make a quick trip to Whole Foods and get some whipped topping so I could have the kind of pie I wanted to serve. It really is a beautiful and delicious pie, especially with that crust!

The topping did the trick (although it does take away a little flavor). Here is Chase's SECOND piece.

Before I thought of the whipped topping, I thought I had better make a backup dessert. I decided to make Banana Oatmeal Cookies from Vegan Lunchbox, which commenters raved about. The cookies are simply oats, bananas, sunflower seeds, dates, baking soda, and cinnamon. I deviated slightly and used half sunflower seeds and half peanuts, and I added in two teaspoons of raw chocolate. These cookies are addictive little bites of heaven. I absolutely love them and highly recommend these healthy treats.

Hope you all had a great weekend! Is anybody into Super Bowl Sunday?

The Good, the Bad, and the So-so

Tonight we had an interesting pasta meal. We made Pasta with Sweet Potatoes and Roasted Red Peppers from The Complete Vegan Cookbook. It's a puree of sweet potatoes (grilled, but I just boiled mine), topped with roasted red peppers, and served over fusilli pasta. I love sweet potatoes, but not sweet, so I did not put nutmeg and mace in the puree. We're so used to a veggie filled tomato sauce, we wanted more ingredients. So we sauted some onions and seitan to add to it. It was different and very pretty, but it just wasn't quite what we wanted. Chase and I thought about what we could do to make it better, and we decided we missed the tomatoes. So next time we'll add some roasted or sundried tomatoes. We did enjoy the fresh parsley and squeeze of lemon juice over the sauce, and we both agreed that using the quinoa bread to soak up the sauce was the best part! So this dish was just so-so.




Along with our usual steamed broccoli as a side dish, I made Marinated Cauliflower and Edamame Salad from the Fatfree Vegan Recipes index. I did substitute sundried tomatoes for the fresh tomatoes, so it's not as pretty, but it was quick and easy to make and this dish was good!



I wanted to use my farmers market Meyer lemons to make dessert, so I made Susan V's Calamondin (or Lemon) Pie. I just made the filling and put it in a store bought graham cracker crust. Chase loves that crust and they come with those nifty lids so it's easy for him to take home. Anyway, I don't know what I did wrong, but I made glue. The instructions for the filling say to cook and stir for 3 minutes after it comes to a boil. Well, after just 30 seconds it was unstirrable. I went ahead and put it in the crust and it was tearing up the crust, and it was so sticky I couldn't get the top smooth. I remember thinking a 1/2 cup of cornstarch seemed like a lot, but I put it in the fridge to set (as if....)

It sliced easily and of course it held together. We spent some time taking a nice picture. Then Chase took a bite and didn't say anything. I looked over at him and he said "It's like jello." And it was. It wasn't creamy at all. It was rubbery and so not what I had in mind. The lemon flavor was great, the texture was bad. Maybe my pan was too hot????

Here's what I will throw away, along with uneaten slices :(

I have a bird update. Two weeks ago 63 dead birds were found within a 3 block area of downtown. Two vet reports have come in and they both conclude that this particular flock of birds was infected with parasites. The birds had not eaten in approximately 2 days, and that, coupled with the drop in temperature overnight, caused their deaths. There was no bird flu or poison or fermented mistle toe - that was one of the rumors going around. The vets said the only thing unusual about this incident was that the birds ended up in the middle of downtown.

The bird incident was 2 Mondays ago, and I couldn't go to work until 2:00. Last Monday I went to work, then got sent home because our roof had collapsed in 2 spots. I'm wondering what I will walk into tomorrow.