an exciting disaster

Oh readers, let me tell you a tale of two thirds fail. My second Boston Organics delivery was chock full of vegetables I'd never really cooked with before, and I was ready for the challenge. But some challenges remind you that life is full of setbacks, and the important thing is to keep on going.

So everything started okay. I had some potatoes from a shopping trip that needed to get used up, so I threw them on the boil. I mean the basics of mashed potatoes are pretty easy, right? Boil the potatoes until they're soft, with or without skin, then mash into a bowl with milk/cream, cheese maybe and salt & pepper.

From the Boston Organics order, I had a bunch of spinach, which I chopped and simmered in olive oil with an orange pepper and some onions. Then I sort of saw the eggplant of the corner of my eye and decided to throw that in. I skinned it, sort of squared it (cut the sides off some it was moderately rectangular), and then cubed it. I had done this for a nut loaf before, and liked the way it looked. But that wasn't where the fail came in -- because I hate dry/rubbery eggplant, I decided I should add some veggie stock to make it juicy. It did that, I guess. But mostly, it just made it taste like soup. The most boring soup you've ever had.

You may have noticed that I shied away from explaining further about the mashed potato, well, no, that was not the 1/3 win. I also had a beet handy. I've posted my beet salad before -- oh wait! i haven't! i must do that! -- but I wasn't ready for anything quite so sweet. So, yeah, I boiled up a beet and threw it in the mash, which made it this ludicrous pink. It didn't mash as well as the potato, probably need another twenty minutes longer if it would ever get that way. And THEN I ADDED HAZELNUTS. Le sigh. Awful idea. Great with potato salad, but there is nothing great about hard nuts in your mashed potato, because even though you know what's in there, every time you bite down on the nut you just get this idea that the potatoes didn't cook enough. Awful.

However, the meal was saved by the asparagus. It was beautiful, a great mix between thin and thick, and I copied a recipe Nicole told me over drinks -- brush them with olive oil, salt & pepper, then broil in the oven for 15 mins. I also took the liberty of adding some secret seasoning. I'm not gonna lie, they were AMAZING. Anyone baking asparagus instead of broiling or grilling is a fool. There, I said it.

Anyway, I look forward to righting the wrongs I inflicted on these innocent vegetables in the future. Thanks for listening.

Vegan Friendly Cooked Breakfast

I stayed in my vegan friend's house last week, and made a pretty good vegan friendly version of a cooked breakfast! Ok, the mushrooms and tomatoes are there already - but this post will share info about the product available to create vegan sausages that tastes like pork, and how to make a scrambled tofu that looks and tastes very much like egg....

Ingredients:

• Mushrooms
• Tomatoes
• Potato Farls
• Asda Meat Free Sausage Mix, Water, Soy Sauce, Garlic Powder, Pepper.
• Tofu, Engevita Yeast Extract, Onion Powder, Salt, Pepper, Turmeric.
  

1) For the sausages, Asda have a fab meat free sausage mix - just add water, mould into shape and pop on the pan. As a pork lover, this didn't really float by boat, but it came close enough.... add some garlic, soy and pepper to bring out a more spicy porky flavour! I probably made it too watery and could do with some practice to get it right....













2) To make the scrabbled tofu, cut out a chunk of tofu, and pop onto a hot pan, using vegetable oil. Use this yeast extract, Engevita, to add a cheesy nutty taste. Add the onion powder, salt and pepper, and some turmeric to give the tofu an eggy colour, and mix about on the pan until scrambled. Now this is delicious!







3) Served with fried mushrooms, fried or grilled tomatoes, and potato farls....and yes, there is soy milk in the tea. A full cooked breakfast, without a trace of animal products!

Stuffed Collard Greens

Stuffed Collard Greens

Ingredients:

• 20-26 whole collard green leaves cleaned and thick part of stalk removed
  
• 1 can of your favorite beans
• 1 8oz package of goat cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella or jack cheese
• 1 large or 2 small diced shallots
• 2 cups chopped peppers
• 2 cups mashed cauliflower
• 2-4 Tbs fresh chopped parsley or cilantro or basil
  
• 1 tsp chili powder
• salt
• pepper
• 1 28oz can seasoned crushed tomatoes
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350deg
2. Boil water in a large stock pot and add collard greens. Turn heat off and let sit for 7-10 minutes.
3. Carefully remove collards from water and lay out grouping them small medium large.
4. In hot skillet cook the peppers, shallots, and cauliflower (if not already cooked) until they start to go limp
5. Combine peppers, shallots, cauliflower, fresh herb, cheese, and chili powder in a bowl and mix until goat cheese has dissolved. Add salt and pepper to taste remembering that it can be added later.
6. Lay out a large/Medium collard green and scoop a golf ball sized amount of the mixture into the center. Wrap the outside of the collard green over the mixture. Wrap that stuffed collard with a small/medium leaf making sure that the major seam from your first wrap is covered by the new leaf.
7. Place in a medium sized baking dish.
8. Repeat until you are out of stuffing or greens.
9. Salt and pepper the top of the greens and cover with crushed tomatoes
   
10. Cover with foil and baked for 15 minutes
11. Remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes
12. Remove from over and let sit for a bit
13. Enjoy!

Commentary:
I came up with this recipe/idea on my own. I was in the market thinking about how I really wanted a stuffed shell but didn't want the pasta part and bam....it hit me! Why don't I stuff it in a collard green? The first go round was a bit of a mess! Not enough collards, too much mix, salty, but non the less tasty! I have tried making them a bunch now and this recipe is pretty much the base for a great tasting stuffed collard green. I find that keeping it simple on the inside makes it easier to pair with side dishes. It also helps those people cooking for vegetarians b/c you can always make a wonderful meat dish to serve along with the greens. I hope y'all enjoy!

quinoa, the sneaky protein

So dear readers, today I give you more of an idea than a full on recipe, but please consider this ingredient in your culinary adventures if you haven't already: quinoa. Say it with me: KEEN-WAH. I usually use this kind, you can get it in the fancy organic grain section of your supermarket. Check out its nutritional analysis here (and compare with white rice and couscous). Basically, think of quinoa as an opportunity to put some protein into an otherwise starchy meal. It adds body to soups as well.

In the attached pictures, I added red quinoa to a vegetarian curry for added protein. So if these pictures have managed to put you in the mood, please visit my other curry posts here. Ignore the first post, unless you want to read about that one time I thought it would be a good idea to try making fennel.

(edited to explain accompanying curry photos ... please notice use of quinoa in photo below)

Armenian Lentil Burger

This is a burger for the book I've been working on. Forgive the laundry list of ingredients—it's definitely not a complicated recipe: You cook the lentils with some aromatics, then fry an onion with some spices, blitz the cooked onion and beans and some eggs in a food processor (though last week I made this with my friend Emily, who owns a meat grinder attachment for her Kitchen Aide, and—wow!—what a terrific way to make a veggie burger!), then shape the mixture into patties, and then cook them.

Now I've not been to Armenia before and I have very (very) limited experience with Armenian food. The inspiration for this burger comes from an Armenian friend who, when she learned about this book, insisted that an Armenian burger be included. And she was onto something! The allspice and cinnamon and clove lend a warming, even slightly numbing quality that is delicious. But do let me know if you make this and have any suggestions.

Armenian Lentil Burger

1 cup French lentils
2 T plus 1 t olive or grapeseed oil
1/2 onion, sliced into two quarters from the stem
2 whole cloves
1-inch piece ginger, sliced into two pieces
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 cinnamon stick
bay leaf
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1-3/4 t ground allspice
1/2 t ground cinnamon
2 pinches ground cloves
pinch cayenne
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 t grated fresh ginger
2 eggs
1/2 t salt
squeeze lemon
3/4 cup toasted breadcrumbs

Pick through the lentils and rinse thoroughly. Stud each of the onion quarters with a clove. In a lidded medium saucepan, heat the 1 teaspoon oil over medium high heat. Add the onion quarters, ginger pieces, garlic cloves, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf. Stir, then cover and cook for one minute, until fragrant. Add the lentils and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Discard the aromatics (the onion, ginger, garlic, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf) and pour off any excess liquid.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-low heat. Add the chopped onion, ground allspice, ground cinnamon, ground cloves and cayenne. Fry for about 12 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to caramelize. Reduce the heat and add the garlic and ginger. Cook for about five minutes more, until the onions are fully cooked.

Set aside 1/2 cup of the cooked lentils. In a food processor, combine the remaining lentils, eggs, and onions, and pulse until thoroughly combined. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the reserved lentils, salt, lemon juice, and breadcrumbs. Adjust seasonings. Using your hands, shape the mixture into four large or six medium patties (or if you want to mimic the photo, you can make about a dozen mini-burgers).

To panfry: heat two tablespoons olive, grapeseed, or vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the burgers, in batches if necessary to avoid crowding, cooking 5 to 6 minutes on each side until browned and firmed.

To bake: Preheat oven 350-degrees. Place burgers on a lightly greased baking sheet for 15-20 minutes, until browned and firmed in the middle. Flip them over halfway through the baking time.

Crispy vegetables are wonderful with this—slices of cucumber and radish and romaine and red onion—on a toasted bun or stuffed into a warm pita. It’s also good with this easy yogurt sauce:

1/2 red onion, minced
2 t lemon juice
1/2 t salt
1 small cucumber
1 cup Greek-style plain yogurt
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint (loosely packed)
pinch cayenne

Combine the red onion and lemon juice and salt. Let stand while you grate or finely chop the cucumber. Stir in remaining ingredients. Adjust seasonings and serve.

Vegetarian Bleu Cheese Tagliatelli

This here pasta recipe was inspired by, or maybe just directly stolen from, my old flatmate Thomas. He was one of the only vegetarians I ever lived with so he and I and my other flatmate Stuart would always cook together whenever we had a chance. We lived near a Lidle (a very cheap German chain store found throughout Europe that even carries organic produce now) where good bleu cheese was in ready supply and Thomas used it in almost everything he cooked. The man changed my mind about mould.

The vegetables in this are just a suggestion. I usually use whatever is left in the fridge at the end of the week, but it would probably be nice as a simplified version; maybe just red pepper, cherry tomatoes and mushrooms or something. Apologies for the out of focus picture and I assure you it is much more delicious than it looks...

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 diced onion
• 1 chopped red pepper
• 1 thinly chopped carrot
• 4-5 broccoli florets chopped into mini-florets
• 5-6 mushrooms chopped
• red wine
• 1 cube vegetable stock
• 3-4 tbls sour cream
• water
• basil
• bleu cheese
• tagliatelli

Directions:

1. Heat the oil and bay leaf in a large/deep frying pan. Add the onion, pepper, carrot, and broccoli. Cover and saute for 5 minutes, stirring when needed.
2. Add the garlic. When onions are starting to become softened, add the mushroom and crumble the stock cube over the vegetables.
   
3. Add a hearty splash of red wine, cover and simmer a further 3-5 mins.
4. Add the sour cream and water. I usually do it by eye, adding enough water to thin out the sour cream, not too much. Just to make a sauce that covers the vegetables.
5. Add the basil and simmer uncovered on a very low heat, turn off if too much liquid is evaporating.
6. Cook the pasta according to instructions or personal taste. I usually dry it out in the pan on the stove after so it is not too wet.
7. Add the sauce to the pasta and mix well.
   
8. At this point you can either add the bleu cheese to the pasta as you are mixing, or if serving to other people, maybe allow them to add it individually to their plate. Either way go easy as too much can overpower the sauce.
   
9. Add cracked black pepper to taste and you are good to go!
   

vegetarian chipotle chili

ingredients:

• olive oil
• minced garlic
• 2 onions
• 4 red peppers
• 8 spring onions
• 2 chipotle peppers
• crushed hot chili peppers
• 3 cans dark red kidney beans
• 3 cans of diced tomatoes
• a fistful of kalamata olives
• a bunch of pepitas
• a bunch of fresh cilantro
• spices: cumin & pepper & salt & turmeric & paprika

instruction:
start with garlic and oil and chilies, dice everything else when appropriate (and its almost always appropriate) and toss in big pot, simmer for a couple hours, then serve.

Baked feta and tomato

This is so quick and easy, and SO tasty - its perfect for throwing together when you don't have the energy for much else.

Ingredients:

• Feta cheese or goats cheese
• Vine tomoatoes
• Rosemary
• Oregano
• Black Pepper
• Olive Oil
  

Also can use:

• Fresh Basil
• Balsamic Vinegar
  

Serve with salad, as done here, or on a toasted ciabatta or brown soda bread.

Can be baked at 180C or grilled.

1. Preheat the oven or grill. Slice the tomatoes and feta.

2. Put the feta and tomato into a dish with olive oil, season with the rosemary, oregano, and black pepper. Optionally add some balsamic vinegar.

3. Bake in the oven, or grill, for 20 minutes.

4. If using bread, add in for last 5 or 10 minutes.

5. Serve the feta and tomato on the bread and/or with salad. Make sure to scoop out all the olive oil from the dish and drizzle it over the top. Finish with the fresh basil, chopped and sprinkled on top.

Celeriac-Apple-Potato Puree

Ever since cookbooks became bedside reading material for me, I've been reading about how hand blenders and electric beaters and food processors are anathema to mashed potatoes. Evidently, by whizzing them up with such a device, the glucose or something is released, and it results in heavy, sticky, "gluey" potatoes. At my first restaurant job, which was when I first came across this law of potatoes (because I swear, every cookbook published after 1999 makes reference to it; if you don't own a food mill, there is something wrong with you), I asked the sous chef what a potato ricer [which is basically the same thing as a food mill but handheld] was; the next day he brought me one. I've never been one to break rules, so the potato ricer has since been the device of choice when I mash any vegetable at my own home, but I've always wondered what said sticky potatoes taste like.

Well, I have tried this recipe two ways now, one with the food processor and one with the food mill, and finally, I know what these cookbook authors are talking about. The food processor potatoes were sticky and viscous, and the food mill ones had a lighter mouthfeel and were more delicate and precious in a way that Alice Waters might approve of. Though I will serve the food mill ones to people I want to impress, I secretly liked the gluey stuff. That version was more like dessert--apple-potato-celeriac dulce de leche or something.

(Apologies for the quarter-chicken sitting next to the mash.)

Celeriac-Apple-Potato puree

4 T butter, separated
1 head of celeriac (celery root), 1/2-inch dice (peeled!)
1 granny smith apple, 1/2 inch dice (peeled!)
2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, 1/2-inch dice (peeled!)
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 cup water
1/4 c heavy cream
1/4 c milk
squeeze of lemon

In medium skillet melt 2 tablespoons of the butter, and then add the celeriac, apples, potatoes, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes or so, until it just begins to soften. Add the water (you could also use wine, or cider), cover, and cook for 25-40 minutes, stirring often, until everything is very soft. Add more liquid if it begins to burn. Transfer the mixture to a food processor or put it through a food mill and puree. Heat the cream, milk, and rest of the butter in a small saucepan. Return the potato-apple mixture to the original pan. When the cream/milk mixture is hot, stir it into the puree. Add lemon, taste for seasoning, serve hot.

MEATBALL CHALLENGE! entry three

Meatballs were one of the things that I still missed for a long time after I went vegetarian. So this is my version of the fake ball of meat, and let me tell you, it preceded JaBootaay's by long shot. I taught him everything he knows about fake meat. For reals.

ingredients

• 1 package of fake meat (i'm all about gimme lean)
• 1 large onion chopped finely
• a large handful of parsley chopped finely
• a large handful of pepitas/pumpkin seeds
• half a cup of bread crumbs
• 3 eggs
• season with basil, salt and crushed chili flakes!
  

So fake meat usually is kept in the fridge. It doesn't start out crumbly, so zap it in the microwave for a minute while you're chopping your onion. Add things to a mixing bowl as they're ready. If you get your portions wrong, err on the side of dryness since you can always add another egg but you probably only have so much fake meat. I encourage experimentation when seasoning these, but myself I often go for salt, basil and a considerable amount of crushed chili flakes!

When you have a mixing bowl full of unmeaty goodness, you have to get your hands dirty. I know egg on hands is the grossest thing ever, but be grateful this time its not egg and raw meat on hands. You want to press the fake meatballs into their titular shape, using more force than you would with regular meatballs because fake meat isn't as inherently wet. These portions should make just under 20 small meatballs.

I like to serve meatballs either as a main with salad and some other dish, but this time I was in a hurry so I just whipped up a zuchini & pepper pesto sauce to throw on some pasta. And voila.

tiny little quiches

Ever since we read this post from bread & honey, we've been meaning to make mini crustless quiches. Really, they're the perfect dinner - easy (most of these ingredients are just measured with your hand, like in antiquity... or with horses), small portions (and thus good for leftovers), healthier than with crust, and made pretty much only with ingredients already found in the fridge. You can modify this in pretty much any possible way you want, so we omitted some of the stuff we didn't have.

Mini crustless quiches (makes 6-8, depending on how big your handfuls are)

Veggies (we used some grated carrot and a handful of broccoli)
4 eggs
3/4 c milk
garlic (one clove is suggested, but we tossed in some more for good measure)
handful chopped spinach
large handful of grated sharp cheddar
pinch of flour
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Saute your chosen vegetables with garlic until they soften.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, spinach, cheddar, and pinch of flour. Season with a small pinch of salt & some pepper.

We used muffin cups, which were actually a little messy and yielded a poor presentation, but you can grease a muffin tin with some butter. In the bottom of each cup, spoon in a small amount of sauteed vegetables. Use a large spoon to drizzle egg mixture over each muffin cup. You can fill almost all the way, since they don't puff up much.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until firm and puffy. Allow to cool a little before attempting to remove.


Keeping with the "whatever's in the apartment" mentality, we ate these with a slice of bread, but for leftovers we'll probably whip up some brown rice for a good starchy side.

Vegetarian Lasagne

Ingredients:

• All the veggies you want! I used mushrooms, spinach, carrots, onion, garlic, red pepper, and courgette.
• Pasta sheets.
• White sauce (er..I used a jar but will write how to make your own here). To make own: 50 grams margarine, 50 grams flour, pint of milk
• Tinned chopped tomatoes
• Cheese (mozzerella/cheddar)
• olive oil
  

Herbs and flavouring:

• Basil,
• Oregano,
• Pepper,
• Salt,
• Nutmeg,
• Marjoram,
• Bayleaf

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.

2. If using carrots, chop them and boil for a few minutes to soften them, while preparing and chopping the other vegetables.

3. Soften the onions and garlic in olive oil in a saucepan. After a few minutes, add the red pepper. After they have cooked for about five minutes, all in the courgette, carrots and mushrooms.

4. Stir and cook in the oil for about ten minutes, then add the tinned tomatoes and mix in all the herbs.

5. Cook for ten minutes or so, flavouring more as needs be.

6. For the cheese sauce, melt the margarine in a sauce pan and then mix in the flour. When the margarine has absorbed the flour, slowly add in a little of the milk, stirring constantly. Stir carefully to make sure the milk soaks into the flour without becoming lumpy. Keep adding the milk bit by bit, stirring all the time, until you have a creamy sauce. to thicken the sauce, raise the heat; likewise, if you want to thin it out a little, lower the heat and add a little more milk until its the consistency you want.

7. When the mixture is finished, take it off the heat and add in all the cheese. You don't need to cook it for this, it should just melt in the heat of the mixture.

8. Take the vegetable mix, and pour half of it into a dish. Add some pasta sheets, then layer on some of the cheese sauce. Repeat: another layer with the remaining vegetable mix, a layer of pasta sheets, and finish with a layer of cheese sauce.

9. Sprinkle some pepper on the top, slices of tomato are nice too.

10. Cook the mixture in the oven for 30 mins.

Spicy White Bean Soup with Broccoli

This is one of those on-the-fly soups that will probably never be fully replicated, but I am going to post the recipe anyway.

The stock I used for this soup had a fortifying tomato base, a result of frying a few tablespoons of tomato paste in the stockpot before adding the rest of the vegetables (which I almost always do because, because it’s good). I also added a dried, very hot pepper that would have stolen the show had I not removed it halfway through the simmering.

I cannot stress enough how much of an improvement homemade stock is. Not just in this recipe, but in life. A few months ago I wrote up a few recipes and guidelines here.

Dried beans are much better than canned. You lose the slime and the slightly fishy taste. To prepare dried beans for cooking, you need to rinse and pick through them for any stones or discolored beans, put them in a bowl and cover them with 2 inches of water, and let them soak in the refrigerator for at least eight hours or overnight. After drained, they are ready for use.

Some bright green herb might complement this recipe—cilantro or parsley, or even watercress or spinach whizzed up with the beans. Also, a few gratings of lemon zest or drops of lemon juice might be good.

Spicy White Bean Soup with Broccoli

Serves 2 really hungry people, or 4 not-so-hungry people

2 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 medium carrot or two small, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 T tomato paste
1/4 to 1/2 t red pepper flakes
1/2 cup dry red wine
3/4 cup white navy beans, soaked for 8 hours or overnight
12 cups vegetable stock
1 head broccoli, chopped into small florets, and the stem peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and bay leaf. “Sweat” the vegetables—cook them until they are soft but not browned, 8-10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and red pepper flakes, stirring to coat, and cook for about a minute. Then add the wine, and cook until the wine is reduced by half. Then add the beans and the stock and bring everything to a boil. Turn the heat down, bringing the soup to a simmer, and cover the pot, cooking until the beans are tender; it may take anywhere from one to two hours, so taste as you go. Once they are ready, carefully puree the soup in a blender or food processor. Return the soup to the pot and bring it to a simmer. Add the broccoli. When the broccoli is fork tender, turn of the heat, adjust the seasonings, and serve.

cheese and vegetable quiche

Ingredients:
Pastry:
200 grams flour
100 grams margarine
water (2 -3 tablespoons approx)
salt

Filling:
Eggs (2/3), milk and....anything! In this case I included tomato, garlic, onion, spinach and mushroom, with feta cheese in one, and cheddar cheese in the other. (feta quiche is on the right).

1. Heat oven to 250 degrees celcius (or 230 with fan oven).

2. Make the pastry by sieving the flour with some salt and then mixing in all the butter. use a little water to make it a bit more moist and then knead the whole mixture together. Then use a rolling pin, and with some flour sprinkled over the counter, roll out portions of the pastry to line the dishes. (this is the procedure for Short Pastry...I chose it simply because it was the easiest!). Line the dishes with the pastry, trim the edges, and prick the pastry at the bottom a few times with a fork.

3. You need to cook the pastry by itself for a short while first, so pop into oven at 250 degrees celcius (or 230 if its a fan oven), for 3-5 minutes. When the pastry is done, take it from the oven and flatten it down if it has risen. Lower the oven to 200 - 230 degrees.

4. Chop all the vegetables and put them into the pastry lined dish. Add the cheese and season with salt and pepper.

5. Mix the eggs and add a little milk and seasoning. Then pour the mixture over the vegetables in the dish. Try to make sure the egg is covering all of it, in particular the spinach leaves...don't want them going all crackley....

6. Cook the quiche in the oven at 200 - 230 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes.

Observation: I used grated chedder in one, and when cooked, the cheese was spread evenly throughout the whole quiche, and had a really strong flavour. It was much nicer than the feta quiche, in which I had put chunks of the feta. But I should have put in more, it wasn't as prominent a flavour as I hoped it would be...so definitely overdo it on the chunks of feta cheese if you want the flavour to come through properly!

nut roast

So back around Thanksgiving I made a nut roast. It was pretty good but kind of ugly. The combination of eggplant, nuts and bread crumbs made the whole thing this yucky beige and not even the carrot and nut crumble on top could give it visual appeal. Anyone have any advice?

Delicious Stuffed Crust Pizza

I love stuff crust Pizza!!! This is an extremely simple recipe. All you need is a store-bought pizza crust, a jar of you favorite thick pasta sauce, mozzerella cheese and a handfull of you favorite veggies quickly sauteed.

First. Grab a prepared store-bought dough and prepare your countertop to roll the dough. Toss the flour on the countertop and roll out the dough to about 13 inches. Add flour generously to prevent sticking.

Second. Arrange rolled pizza dough on a pizza pan, make sure to make a circle as best you can.

Third. Place a generous amount of mozzerella cheese 1/2 inch from the edge of the pizza. Section by section, roll the edges of the dough over the cheese to create a seal over it, press firmly as this will create your stuffed crust.

Fourth. Use a spoon to scoop your desired amount of pasta sauce onto the ready pizza crust. Afterwards add your mozzerella cheese to the pizza and top with the vegetables (I used grilled chicken, mushrooms, bell pepper and onion sauteed for a few minutes.)

Five. Make sure you don't drop any toppings for any eager bystanders to quickly eat off the floor. Besides, it may give him gas.

Six. Place prepared pizza in the oven according to directions on the pizza dough. Usually it goes in the oven for 15 minutes at 375 degrees.

Seven. Remove from oven, allow to cool for a few minutes. Enjoy.

stuffed acorn squash and sides

Well, to start, I didn't use these Jamaican peppers, although they looked very yummy. I just couldn't figure out where exactly I'd use them.

But anyway. This was an opportunity to make something with these acorn squashes I bought. So I put the acorn squash in the oven to bake after cutting them in half, removing the seeds, and brushing them with butter and garlic. On the sid I used my regular salad and then I put these chickpeas in a frying pan with diced onions and a helluva lot of paprika until they were sort of toasted.

The other thing on the side was this zucchini and spinach dish with cream. I just simmered the veggies in water until the water started to boil off, added some milk and seasoning. The seasoning in this case was cumin and chili flakes, that sort of thing. I cooked down the milk until it was more of a sauce and then turned off the heat.

For stuffing the acorn squash, I cooked rice and red lentils each on their own, and then combined with cheese and red kidney beans and dumped into the squash and served.

Fast and the Furious Veggies (good for use with leftovers)

Sometimes there is just no time, that’s when I pull protein containing leftovers out of the fridge and throw them in the microwave OR put on the water for fast cooking angel hair. I then pair them with these super easy and quick veggies.


Prep Time: 5 minutes (about 30 seconds if you use pre chopped veggies)
Cook Time: 7 minutes

Ingredients

• 2lbs of your favorite veggies (I used zucchini and tomatoes- usually I add mushrooms but we didn’t have any)
• ¾ cup of your favorite pasta sauce or combination of sauces (I use ½ cup pesto and ¼ cup garlic tomatoes- it’s what was left over in the fridge)

Heat your pan for about 45 seconds then spray with pan spray. Put the veggies in the pan according to cooking time (start with onions or shallots, give it a minute and zucchini, eggplant, broccoli- that type of thing, throw tomatoes in last). Once they have started to soften dump on the sauce and cook for another minute or so. Serve along side left over baked chicken or on top of angle hair pasta.

parnsip chips, pan-fried zuchinni & salad

This meal was kind of all over the place.  I had oil left over from making mushroom fritters, so I wanted to make parsnip chips, which are a nice alternative to the usual potato standard.  The rest of the dishes just arose from wanting to serve a salad and then needing to make a veggie dish that would look sizable.  Yeah, that was the idea.  "Sizable."  Vague, I know.

ingredients

• three biggish parsnips
• a few inches of oil
• seasoning
  

Basically you just cut the parsnips into strips and drop them in oil until they look yummy.  I seasoned mine with rosemary and oregano. 

 

ingredients

• two zucchini
• 1 small onion
• 1 tablespoon of crushed chili peppers
• 1 tablespoon of crushed garlic
• liberal amounts of bijola
  

For the zucchini, I carefully cut them into flat slices.  They'd have the same taste either way really, but there's something nice about digging in to a nice slab of zucchini.  They take about 8 minutes on high heat.  As usual, go oil then garlic then onion. 

 

signature salad variation #934  

(its more of a bean salad really) 

ingredients

• no spinach!  (shocking, i know)
• liberal sprinkling of organic pea shoots
• 1 can cannelini beans
• 1 can butter beans
• 4 spring onions
  
• feta cheese!
• vinaigrette

What'd I do?  Chop chop chop, dress and serve.

 

They went together okay.  I didn't time the whole thing very well and the parsnip chips weren't really hot by the time I served.  I loved the zucchini but JaBootaay was uninspired by it.  Ah well.  I ate his.

mushroom fritters

So these fritters came about one evening when I'd invited Jeanette for dinner and wanted to make something with mushrooms because mushroom-hating JaBootaay was out of town.  We went through loads of my cook books, nothing was quite right or we didn't have the ingredients until we saw some write-up on corn fritters with a mushroom variation from Bittman's tome.  

 

ingredients

• 16 mushrooms (button mushrooms were on sale, that's what we used)
• 4 spring onions
• liberal handfuls of fresh parsley
  
• 1.5 cups wheat flour
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of milk
• teaspoon of baking soda
• salt and pepper to taste
  

 

So I started by chopping mushrooms and spring onions.  Jeanette made a batter with two cups of wheat flour, some baking soda, an egg and some milk.  The amount of mushrooms should seem a lot in comparison to the batter, maybe a 2:1 ratio.  It all got served together, so we had balls of mushrooms/onion held together by batter.  These balls get dropped into a couple of inches of oil like this:

Using wheat flour meant it was a little harder to tell when the fritters had "browned" but you can still pretty much just tell when they're done.  Basically just have about 4 on the go at a time.  Your yield should be about 20 or so.  I'd encourage you to make them not that big or they won't cook through.  Also, we served them without a dipping sauce, but I would definitely make up either a marinara or a chutney to serve these with.  They had a nice moist center, and a good one-two flavour punch from the batter and then the mushrooms.  We plated with the second zucchini au gratin I made, and overall they were a good pairing.