Dinner from a someone else's odds and ends

It is a challenge sometimes to use up the last of the veggies in the fridge. It is even harder when someone else stocks the kitchen. Broccoli and yellow squash with tofu and cashews served on quinoa. All made without garlic or soy sauce. I think that was the real challenge. Without a strong flavored sauce the quinoa was a bit flat but the veggies and tofu were quite good.

Inspiration from the Home Front

Matt has been cooking without me. Last night he ate better than I did. This is a roasted vegetable pasta. On the side is home made hummus with vegetables. I am going to give it a try next week.

One Course at a Time

I cooked my dinner one course at a time and ate them as they became available. This is one of the freedoms that comes with cooking for one.

I started with a tomato salad. Then enjoyed some seasoned and pan (not) fried tofu. Next some seasoned brown rice made with vegetable broth. Next was a pear (peeled and sliced). Then a bit of collard greens but most went in tomorrow's lunch.

The tofu was drained, sliced, and patted dry. Then it was rubbed with cumin and coriander and sauteed in a non stick pan. A couple tablespoons of soy sauce and a mild and smoky hot sauce were mixed and poured on at the end. Sauteed in the sauce till all thickened and brown.

Pumpkins for Dinner

We ate pumpkins stuffed with fake sausage for dinner. They also contained onion, collards, broccoli, some spices, and whole wheat couscous. Baked for an hour and then cut in half. Matt said they were really quite good. I was going to give him credit for just trying them. It was sort of a fun way to clean out the refrigerator.

Lazy Dinner #4

Roasted Vegetables with Apples

2 yellow delicious apples cubed
2 onions cubed
1 large sweet potato peeled and cubed
2 carrots peeled and cut in 1 inch pieces
2 sprigs thyme
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Put veggies, apples, thyme, and olive oil in pan and toss. Roast in 450 degree oven for 45 minutes. Stir twice during roasting. Remove thyme. Salt and pepper to taste and serve.

I enjoyed this and it was just one dirty pan. House smells like fall.

Simple Dinner

Mushrooms and green beans with a little garlic, salt, and olive oil. Kept putting off making this since I only had local shiitake mushrooms. It is not the same as when I use oyster mushrooms but it might be just as good.

Easy Office Lunch

Loved my lunch today. It was a great celebration of the last big harvests of the summer season.

Local cherry tomatoes, corn cut from one local ear of corn, and a can of black beans rinsed well. I added a little salt, soy sauce, cumin, and red wine vinegar.

Pancakes for One

I ran out of rolled oats and I don't have a blender so my standards of cereal or smoothie were out. I tried a herbivore whole wheat pancake topped with mixed berries and a little sugar. Both pancakes and topping were my own creation.

Pancakes for 1
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp flax meal
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup soy milk (need to confirm)

Cook on non stick griddle without adding oil. I think the pancakes are about 500 calories. Topping is more.

Lazy Dinner #3

Some left over rice, a can of white beans, and a bag of baby spinach make for another quick and easy dinner. Some garlic, salt, and pepper is all I added for flavor as the spinach provided most of the flavor.

Lazy Dinner #2

This is me looking for inspiration in some lazy but reasonably food centric meals. Also trying to remember how to post pictures with words.

Lazy Dinner #1

Muffins - Whole Wheat Plum - try 1

Muffins - Whole Wheat Plum - try 1

Muffins - Whole Wheat Plum - try 1

1 c flour
1 c whole wheat flour
4 T flax seed meal
4 t baking powder
1/4 cup sugar

2 bananas mashed
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp vanilla
3 plums peeled and chopped
Soy milk - Put plums in 2 cup measure and add enough unsweetened soy milk to equal 1.5 cups.
2 T maple syrup

Mix wet and dry ingredients separately and then mix together.

Lightly oil muffin tins (safflower oil). Fill most of the way. Makes 18.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Yes I put half the sugar in wet and half in the dry ingredients.

Enjoying some whole wheat plum muffins with black coffee.

Summer Favorites Revisited - Three Sisters Stew

Just realizing that we are way into summer and I have some favorite recipes still to enjoy. I am going to put off posting my meals from back in April and enjoy the current season. I think this post will be the first in a series revisiting summer favorites.

Three Sisters Stew with Okra and Leeks is a great one dish meal that shows off the tastes of summer. I use olive oil in place of butter and leave out the sour cream garnish.

The recipe can be found in Peter Berley's Fresh Food Fast.

Posts from years gone by can be found at:

http://aspiringherbivore.blogspot.com/2009/10/dinner-september-8-2009.html

http://aspiringherbivore.blogspot.com/2009/09/dinner-september-3-2009.html
http://aspiringherbivore.blogspot.com/2009/10/dinner-september-3-2009.html

http://aspiringherbivore.blogspot.com/2007/08/i-finally-wanted-some-okra-and-i.html

Breakfast - March 27, 2010

To begin my birthday celebration, I started with some excellent fresh fruit.

Dinner - March 22, 2010

Sort of a traditional midwestern meal made with odds and ends from the refrigerator. Starch: Quinoa pilaf with spinach. Protein: A "hamburger helper" like flavored tempeh sauteed with some mushrooms. Vegetable: Simple side of asparagus. Tasted about as unispired as it sounds.

Dinner - March 19, 2010

Simple salad with some boiled new potatoes. This is one of my favorite things to have after traveling to recalibrate myself.

Dinner - March 16, 2010

The other day I was trying to remember that tempeh recipe that Matt liked. I thought I should check my blog. It wasn't there then but I think this is it.

This is Curried Tempeh with Brown Rice and Peas from Bishop's A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen. I substituted sugar snap peas and served cauliflower on the side.

Not a power house of a dish but a nice way to make tempeh. The result is a sort of mild risotto like dish although it is definitely not risotto.

Now that I have found it, I will try it again.

This looks like a clean out the refrigerator meal.
Sauteed greens with mushrooms. Mashed sweet potatoes. A sautee of snow pea and onions. Glazed tofu.
I would guess Immer's recipes were the base for the greens and potatoes. Kornfeld's recipe would be the base for the tofu.

Dinner - March 14, 2010

We must have been getting ready for picnic season. A meal of potato salad and coleslaw. Also known as new potatoes with sauteed shallots and herbs served with a crunchy cabbage salad.

Lunch - March 14, 2010

This is the start of a red bean chili from Bishop's A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen. The recipe had coffee in it. I liked it but it was more like really good red beans than chili. I think it will be some new techniques to add to my chili plans.

Dinner - March 9, 2010

So far behind. Trying to get started again with the posting. We have been cooking but I have been so busy with the new job and volunteering. This is a mango and black bean salad served with a side of broccoli. Maybe there was a recipe. Maybe it will come to me.

Dinner - March 3, 2010

We decided to try and go back to some simple meals. Just vegetables and beans or in this case processed beans as tofu. I guess that is not that simple but it is a step in the right direction.

I wanted to make Kornfeld's glazed tofu but realized I was out of soy sauce. I substituted some fermented black bean sauce. I then remembered that I don't like fermented black bean sauce (or at least what you can buy in a jar in the grocery). I managed to eat this but Matt couldn't.

The aspargus had looked great but when I roasted it in the oven it came out kind of stringy. I think I crowded it to much in the oven. For reference 2 lbs of asparagus does not fit on one cookie sheet.

Dinner - March 1, 2010

I believe this is my own creation. It is Mushrooms, Seitan, and Brussels Sprouts with Pumpkin Seed Oil over brown rice. It was satisfying but nothing special. This is why I still cook from recipes.

Lunch - February 28, 2010

I believe this is called broccoflower and is some sort of cross between broccoli and cauliflower. I would say it is more like cauliflower in feel and structure. I used it in a soup where broccoli was called for.

The soup was Iowa Open House Grain & Pasta Pottage from a Frontier Soups' Soup Mix. I made my own vegetable broth which turned out pretty good. I had saved the water from cooking some potatoes and parsnips and added it to a new broth I made with shallots, onions, carrots, celery, potato, and some spices. After making the broth it felt like a waste to use a spice packet with dehydrated vegetables.

While this was okay I wouldn't serve it to anyone. I didn't even make Matt try it. I did eat it all for my lunches over the following week. The pasta in the package was whole wheat but not very good. The rices in it were nice but it just never was quite worth the effort.

Dinner - February 27, 2010

This is Elise's Sesame Noodles from the Eating Well Ipod Touch Application. You can find the recipe here. This is a keeper. Very easy since the vegetables and sauce are not cooked. Cook the pasta, toast the sesame seeds, toss it all together.

Most cold sesame noodle recipes I make are based on using peanut butter and garlic. This has neither so it is a little more refreshing.
I used half regular sesame seeds and half black sesame seeds due to availability in my pantry.

Dinner - February 26, 2010

This is based on Saag Tofu from my Eating Well Ipod Touch Application. You can find the recipe here. I substituted unsweetened soy milk for the yogurt. I would call it more like "not creamed spinach with tofu over rice" but still very good. I accidentally upped the cumin which I liked.

I plan on making this a regular for us. It was super fast. I would serve it to vegetarians but I wouldn't call it saag to prevent expectations of a really rich sauce. I think pan size would limit being able to easily make this for four. I think we ate all of it.

Dinner - February 25, 2010

Balsamic Roasted Seitan with Cipolloni Onions and Crunchy Cabbage Salad and Mashed Potatoes with Parsnips
from Berley's Fresh Food Fast.

We had this before and thought it was great. This time I wondered what I had thought was so great.

The onions were very large and ended up a bit strong. The last time they were the size of pearl onions. The cabbage was still good but I was out of walnuts so it wasn't great. The parsnips were particularly strong and I didn't use the full amount noted in the recipe.

I am wondering if I used to like the "meat substitute" way of cooking better.

Lunch - February 25, 2010

I used the left overs from the sandwiches to make a salad. I thinned the adobo/veganaise with a little water and tossed it all together just before eating. Find the original post here.

I thought this was great. It is inspiring me to eat more salads for lunch.

Dinner - February 24, 2010

This is a TLT (Tofu, Lettuce, and Tomato) Sandwich from Eating Well's Ipod Touch Application. In the background you can see Black Bean Soup from Eating Well Magazine's February 2010 issue. The sandwich recipe can be found here. The soup recipe can be found here.

The recipe calls for extra firm tofu but I had (and generally prefer) firm tofu. I smashed it under a pipe plate with some weight on it before proceeding with the recipe. I found the tofu came out of the oven as promised which is unusual for me and backed tofu. I used veganaise for the mayo. I thought these sandwiches were good but should never be compared to a sandwiches with bacon. The tofu tasted mostly like mustard to me.

The soup calls for prepared salsa. I did not have any so I substituted 1/2 cup diced tomato, a clove of garlic, a 1/2 tsp of adobo sauce, and 1/4 cup of bell pepper. I added the cilantro un-chopped to the food processor with the last batch of soup. This soup was easy and better than canned.

Lunch - February 21, 2010

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic and Sage from Immer's Everyday Dining with Wine. I didn't have any sage. Still an excellent dish. I serve these to everyone.

Fusilli with Green Lentils, Root Vegetables, and Parsley Caper Puree from Bishop's Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen. I used 12 oz of pasta instead of the pound and still think this was too pasta heavy.
The lemon and parsley give a nice brightness in the winter. I used multi colored carrots for this dish. I probably wouldn't bother with the pasta again except that it looks like it is one of those handy recipes where the ingredients are always on hand.

We started this meal with Yukon Gold Potato & Cauliflower Soup with Truffle Oil from Immer's Everyday Dining with Wine. I forgot to snap a picture. I reserved and used a cup of the cooking water to thin the soup and it was still a too thick. I used the food processor instead of a blender which may have effected the outcome. It was good even if it resembled mashed potatoes. I will make it again. Thanks to Betty and Mark for the truffle oil.

We were going to go to lunch with my parents but as I was behind on my cooking due to illness earlier in the week I wanted to use up some vegetables and so subjected my parents to trying new recipes.

Dinner - February 20, 2010

This was going to be Indian Mango Dal from Eating Well Magazine's February 2010 issue. When I went to the pantry I had yellow split peas and not yellow lentils. I upped the cooking time but the peas were still a little firm and chalky. I liked it anyway so I am figuring the real recipe is excellent. The recipe can be found here.

I made a recipe and a half with two large mangoes. I would consider the mangoes I used ripe but not soft. I served it over brown basmati rice (1 cup uncooked).

The recipe claims you can make it in 40 minutes but I think it took me the time it took to cook the rice which is about an hour.

This made for excellent lunches as leftovers. I will definitely make this again.

Menu - Week 2/21/2010

Split Pea Soup with Fresh Peas & Potatoes
(From the Farm Fresh Delivery Newsletter)
Basic Skillet Corn Bread
(Berley's The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen)

Elise's Sesame Noodles
(Eating Well, Ipod Touch Application)

Roasted Corn, Black Bean & Mango Salad
(Eating Well, Ipod Touch Application)
Sesame Salmon (by Matt)

TL&T (Tofu, Lettuce, and Tomato) Sandwich
(Eating Well, Ipod Touch Application)
Roasted Root Vegetables with Oregano
(Immer's Everyday Dining with Wine)

Mushroom and Brussels Sprout Saute
served over Simple Rice Pilaf
(I am going to try making this up myself)

Saag Tofu
(Eating Well, Ipod Touch Application)

Dinner - February 17, 2010

This is Lemon Lentil Soup with Spinach from Berley's Fresh Food Fast. I am debating on whether to rename this "Instant Soup" or "Pound Soup".

I made a version of this before I had a pressure cooker and liked the results enough to make it again. This time I made it in the pressure cooker and hence the idea for the "Instant Soup" rename. It is not only the quick time on the stove but the fact that there is really no chopping involved either. Peeling the garlic is the most time consuming part of the recipe. I also skipped wrapping up the spices and just pulled them out individually before adding the spinach. This left the rosemary leaves in the pot but I think that was okay.

This time I made about a recipe and half. That kicked the lentils up to a pound. I then rounded the tomatoes up to about a pound which matched the can of diced tomatoes I had. I also used a pound of baby spinach. Hence the idea for the renaming to "Pound Soup". I also used a whole head of garlic because I was close and I just thought that would be cool. Now I have a recipe I can almost remember but I will be checking in to get the spices right.

The soup and bread were not the best combination. I enjoyed the soup greatly as lunches.

Dinner - February 14, 2010

For Valentines Day, I was going to make a fancy meal and serve the last bottle of Italian Barolo that Matt got me several years ago. Instead we did laundry and had pizza and beer. It really was quite good and made the laundry tolerable.

One pizza is caramelizes onions (cooked with thyme and garlic) and sauteed portabello (cooked with garlic). The second pizza is sauteed spinach (blanched and cooked with shallots). The onion and mushroom pizza was the winner but it was nice to have both.

The crust was a recipe and a half of the whole wheat crust in The Healthy Hedonist cooked on a hearth stone (borrowed from my mother). Ten minutes at 500 degrees.

With the hearth stone I can make the crust from scratch and all of the toppings by the time the oven is hot.

Menu - Week 2/14/2010

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic and Sage
(Immer's Everyday Dining with Wine)
Yukon Gold Potato & Cauliflower Soup with Truffle Oil
(Immer's Everyday Dining with Wine)

Indian Mango Dal
(Eating Well Magazine, February 2010)
Luca's Sesame Ginger Broccoli Florets
(Immer's Everyday Dining with Wine)

Black Bean Soup
(Eating Well Magazine, February 2010)
Green Salad and Bread

Tofu Au Vin
(Eating Well Magazine, February 2010)

Dinner - February 13, 2010

This is Potatoes and Chard with Green Curry Sauce from Bishop's Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen served over brown jasmine rice. That thick tasty sauce is based on coconut milk. I thought serving potatoes over rice was a bit excessive in the starchy category but we really enjoyed it. This is a great way to get your greens, rainbow chard was used here. I used a mixture of Yukon Gold and Klamath Pearl potatoes. You leave the peel on and they turn out great. There is something slightly strange about this dish but we both think we are going to be craving it. I will serve to some guests but I don't know which ones. I look forward to trying this again.

Dinner - February 10, 2010

This was Linguine with Orange Sauce and Cilantro from Bishop's Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen served with Bok Choy from Bishop's Vegetables Every Day.

The pasta dish was as weird as it sounded. I made the orange sauce from fresh squeezed orange juice. It was a reduction that was kind of fun to make. I then tossed it with some pretty bad pasta. First mistake was that I used whole wheat pasta. The second was that I tried a local brand that was actually quite like cardboard. I would say that this dish with the poor pasta choice boarded on "Lets order carryout" but the bok choy saved the day.

The bok choy tasted great. I based my dish on Bishop's recipe but his calls for some broth. This was so soupy without adding broth that it wasn't needed. Lots of garlic and bok choy make their own broth that tastes great.

Dinner - February 9, 2010

This was a try at Israeli Couscous & Mushroom Pilaf with Spiced Tofu from Bishop's A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen served over a mixture of romaine and green leaf lettuce dressed in lemon juice and olive oil. I didn't realize that Israeli couscous was a different size and I just had the little regular stuff. I cut the amount down to 1.5 cups and used 2.25 cups of water. The cherries and crimini mushrooms made for a nice earthy flavor but we were looking for a little tang. Some bites with just the right amount of dressed greens were excellent. I am going to give this a rating of has potential but I may still make it a regular meal here. I hope I am giving the impression that this was a great little meal.

Dinner - February 6, 2010

This is Indian-Spiced Cauliflower, Chickpeas, Potatoes, and Kale from Kornfeld's The Healthy Hedonist.

The notes in my cookbook said I made a double recipe previously that didn't quite fit in my dutch oven. I also noted that I used coconut oil, diced tomatoes in place of crushed, and 3/4 tsp of cayenne pepper. I also noted that I served it over half a serving of brown basmati rice. I wrote "good" at the top of my notes.

This time I used the the pan from my pressure cooker. I didn't have coconut oil so I used 2 tbsp of canola oil, 2 tbsp of roasted peanut oil, and 2 tbsp of roasted sesame oil. I was gong to go with just 4 tbsp of oil which follows my general rule of double the recipe but not the oil. I opted for 1.5 times on the oil since the pressure cooker is not non-stick. I only had a can of whole tomatoes so I just chopped them before adding to the pot. I think I was a little shy on the coriander.

This dish smelled heavenly and I think it tasted "great". The broth that developed was excellent. As noted in the cookbook this recipe makes great leftovers. I think serving it over a limited amount of rice is good since it is already full of great starches. I think this as the entire meal could serve 6 when doubled. The recipe says 4 to 6 for a single batch which it pairs with some raita and rice pilaf.

This recipe comes together including all the prep and cleanup in less time than it takes to make the rice. I think the taste of this dish is good enough to serve to any guests but I am still reluctant to serve a stew with kale to guests because I fear they will not see it as beautiful.

I also want to note that the vegetables from Farm Fresh Delivery were excellent. I was at about 5 days from the deliver and the vegetables were still in beautiful condition. The Klamath Pearl potatoes were perfect in this recipe and about half of them I left whole. It is now nearly a week since our delivery and I just washed up the remaining lettuce and it still looked better than when I get it at the grocery store.

Menu - Week 2/7/2010

Dinners:

Linguine with Orange Sauce and Cilantro
Sauteed Bok Choy
Bishop's Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen

Fusilli with Green Lentils, Root Vegetables, and Parsley Caper Puree
Bishop's Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Spinach & Coconut Milk
Sugar Snap Peas with Fried Ginger
Sesame Encrusted Salmon (by Matt)
Bishop's Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen (for vegetables)

Potatoes and Chard with Green Curry Sauce
Bishop's Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen

Balsamic Roasted Seitan with Cipolloni Onions
Crunchy Cabbage Salad
Berley's Fresh Food Fast


Lunches (to be augmented with salads):

Lemon Lentil Soup with Spinach
Berley's Fresh Food Fast

Red Bean Chili with Ancho Chilies and Coffee
Bishop's Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen

Iowa Open House Grain & Pasta Pottage
Frontier Soups Soup Mix with Broccoli added


Meals in Reserve:

Farm to Kitchen Frozen Soups

Farm to Kitchen Tomato Sauce with Spinach Pasta

Dinner - February 5, 2010

I had a note in my recipes for the week for Orecchiette with Spicy Broccoli. I did not have orecchiette and I could not find the recipe. I made this up based on my memory of several of Bishop's recipes but I think I can claim it as mine.

Orzo and Broccoli with Olives
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
4 garlic cloves, pressed
2 big stems of broccoli, broken into bite size florets and peeled and chopped stems
1/2 cup chopped olives
1 tbsp capers
salt
pepper
6 oz whole wheat orzo

Bring a pot of water to boil, cook the orzo about half way, add the broccoli and cook both until done. Meanwhile saute the garlic and red pepper flakes in the olive oil in a large pan. Drain the orzo and broccoli and add to the saute along with about 1/3 cup of the water. Add the olives, capers, salt, and pepper. Saute for a minute or two and serve.

We both liked this. It was great with some red wine. It is fast to make too. I would say this serves two for dinner with a good vegetable to pasta ratio.