A Little Green...

A few weeks ago, I bought a bunch of dill to make a potato gallette I saw in a magazine. But then I had leftover dill. So I made orzo with cherry tomatoes, feta and dill (which I found on my epicurious app) which left me with extra feta, dill and a lemon. The lemon and dill went into an arugula salad with herbs, roasted asparagus and eggs (from an old Vegetarian Times), which left me with extra arugula that went into an arugula edamame dip (another epicuriuos recipe). And so on and so forth until Saturday afternoon. I found myself with some orzo, which I cooked al dente adding some spinach in the last few minutes. I also had some lemon and dill, which were mixed together with some olive oil, oregano and garlic, and some feta. I mixed the dressing, put the feta on top and added the hot pasta to melt it all. Absolutely delicious.

So I thought I had this Greek thing down. Some lemon, some garlic, a little feta and you're golden. Maybe some olives, because whats Greeker than that? I may have been a bit over confident.

Tonight I decided to make a Greek inspired pesto. It had green olives, lemon, capers, walnuts (that's Greek, right?) and garlic mixed in with flat leaf parsley and enough olive oil to make it saucy. I'm not saying it was bad (Mike and I really enjoyed it) but I'm missing the mark on the flavor profile.

Not Quite Greek Pesto

1 bunch flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I think if you took it up to 1/4-1/3 cup it might help)
6 large green olives (again, more of this might up the missing Greek Factor)
1-2 tablespoons of capers (and the juice that fell in while I added them)
1-2 cloves of garlic (my olives also had garlic centers so I only needed one)
1/2 cup of walnuts
Enough oil to make it a creamy saucy consistency (I'd guess 1/3-1/2 cup)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Process everything but the oil in a food processor until everything looks as small as you'd see it in a pesto (super helpful, I know), then slowly stream in enough olive oil to make it creamy and the saucy consistency you're looking for.

I poured mine over some fresh pasta and added a bunch of feta.

And then I ate it while watching Greek.

I guess that's as Greek as I'm getting for now.

Finally...

We've been eating a lot of fake meat over the last few months. Fake burgers are a no brainer and they seem to please my meat eating boy, but at five bucks a pop (yeah, prices in Seattle are nuts) they were getting kinda expensive.

But after making the awesome chickpea cutlets from the Veganomicon last week, I've been thinking that there's a better, cheaper option.

I should also mention at this point that I received the awesome gift of a green apple colored KitchenAid mixer for my birthday, complete with several attachments to play with. I've been staring at the grinder attachment (pictured with chunks of raw meat hanging out of the top) trying to think of a use for it that didn't involve weird meat chunks hanging out of it.

So today I made my first attempt of cheapy fake meat. Ground "beef". I made it with wheat gluten (pretty cheap and available in bulk) and a couple of pantry staples, cooked it, ground it and browned it. I ended up making sloppy joes, but I think it would work in tacos or maybe a meat sauce. I'm pretty happy with it.

My next project: burgers.

Ground "Beef"

2/3 cup vital wheat gluten
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
a shake or two of cayenne pepper (more if you're feeling daring)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce (very important for color & umami)
1/2 cup vegetable broth (plus a little more if its looking dry)

Mix together all the dry ingredients. Add the wet all at once. Mix with a spoon until combined and then start kneading together (this stuff feels really cool while you're mixing, kinda rubbery). After it starts sticking together into a rubbery ball thing, start pulling it into a log shape.

At this point, I rolled it in foil that I sprayed with oil and then placed the roll seam side up into a pan with some water at the bottom and baked it at 350 degrees for twenty minutes. I think you could probably bake it without the water or boil it in some water.

Run it through your handy dandy grinder and brown the grounds in some olive oil and use as you would ground beef...or at least the fake kind.

Luck O' The Irish

I don't know why, but I always feel like things should come in threes.

So tonight I started making soup and realized that I could take it in two different directions: cream of broccoli or cream of spinach. I could even let Mike decide so I didn't have to...but two options didn't seem right and I just couldn't help myself from figuring out a third option.

I opened the fridge and saw some cabbage left over from Thursday's steamed bun extravaganza and decided to offer a cabbage and potato soup as the third (and throwaway) option.

But Mike had to go and stick with his Irish roots, citing the proximity to St. Patrick's Day, and choose the one option that I had no earthly idea how to pull off: potato and cabbage soup.

I feel I rose to the challenge quite well. Maybe my Dad is right about me being "mostly Irish".

Potato and Cabbage Soup

2 t. Olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced fine
1 large clove of garlic, smashed
2 smallish potatoes, diced fine (I used russets, but some red potatoes would save you the peeling and be tasty too)
1/4 cabbage, thinly sliced (I'd say it was about 1 1/2 cups)
3-4 cups of vegetable stock (depends on how brothy you like your soup)
1/2 t. paprika
1/2 t. turmeric
a pinch of caraway seeds (okay, I used adjwan seeds, but only because it reminds me of caraway and I don't own any caraway seeds)
Buttermilk
Sliced green onion

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and translucent (mine got a little past this and I had to deglaze the pan). Add the potatoes, cabbage, stock, paprika, turmeric, caraway and a bit of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are soft.

To serve, fill your bowl, dribble in some buttermilk and add a sprinkle of green onion.

And this is definitely a case where the garnishes are vitally important. Without the buttermilk and onion this soup is a little flat, but with I'm quite proud of the soup.

Leftovers

The other day we did some heavier shopping than normal at the cheap (and far away) grocery store. Normally my shopping is just what I feel up to carrying down the block, but we came home with several bags of fresh vegetables only find we had no room in the fridge.

I spent an hour going through moldy tupperwares and forgotten ends of cheese and came to the conclusion that I have to get better at using up my leftovers.

So the next day I took the few things that passed the no-fuzz test. Some enchilada sauce, the last of my pile of tortillas, some black beans I'd cooked with a little onion and some of my chipotle in adobo, the other half of my acorn squash and some steamed kale (though the chard filling from last post would have been delicious here, the few leftovers were devoured as lunch the following day). I added cheese (so I use it up before I forget it) and ended up with a very satisfying, easy enchilada casserole.

Enchilada Casserole (Made Entirely Out of Non-Fuzzy Leftovers)

Spread about 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce* over the bottom of a greased 8x8 pan. Break two tortillas and cover as much of the bottom as you can. Sprinkle with half the beans, half the kale (I added a bit of garlic and chili powder to mine), half the squash (sliced and peeled) and a handful of grated monterey jack cheese. Break another two tortillas and follow with the other half of the beans, kale and squash, along with another handful of cheese. Break another two tortillas on top of that and pour on the rest of your sauce. Then sprinkle with a little more cheese and put it in a 350 degree oven until its hot, bubbly and the tortillas are a bit squishy (that's how I like them at least). It should be about 15 minutes.

You can freshen everything up by adding some lime juice and/or fresh cilantro after it comes out of the oven. Sour cream is always nice as well.


*My enchilada sauce is just a 1/4 of an onion (diced fine) sauteed in a little oil. To that you add 3-4 crushed garlic cloves and 1/2 a seeded chipotle from a can of chipotles in adobo** and cook just until you can smell everything. Add a 15 oz can of tomato sauce, 1 cup water and a tablespoon of cocoa powder along with a teaspoon of the adobo sauce. Sometimes I add a little pinch of sugar and I'm sure I'd add cumin if I had any, but that should give you a nice jumping off point. You can add more heat from there, but it'll sneak up on you, so start slow.

** A note on the chipotles: Just because they are packed in sauce it does not mean you don't need to be careful while handling them. Wash your hands thoroughly after dealing with them and avoid touching your face until you're sure you are clean and pepper free.

I mention this because I made the mistake of scratching my ear after only rinsing off my hands. It'll start out as a gentle warming and get more and more intense until you just can't stand it.

Luckily (or unfortunately) I've done this on another occasion so I know that a cotton swab dipped in a little milk will kill the flame, but its seriously embarrassing to have to explain why you're making dinner with a q-tip in your ear...for a second time...so I suggest just being careful.

A bit of dinner therapy

My mom has always said that you should make bread when you're angry because you can get all your aggression out while kneading the dough. Tonight I found out that there are lots of ways to take out aggression.

I had a conversation this afternoon that made me want to tear my hair out. My friend asked me four times if I was okay ("Because you really sound like you're down") before concluding that I was mad at her. That I could have dealt with, but the pity that went along with it was too much.

I got off the phone feeling all twitchy. I needed do be doing something. Something that wouldn't let me think. So after a bit of Wii Fit boxing (seemed like a good remedy), I decided I needed some cooking therapy.

I decided that some chard and squash enchiladas sounded like a great way to use up my acorn squash, my plethora of corn tortillas and all that frustration.

After banging a squash on the counter to cut it, smashing 6 cloves of garlic to smithereens, hacking some chard into ribbons and letting the onion be an excuse for leaking a few tears I was feeling much better. (There was also an incident with mishandled peppers, but I'll tell that story with a later recipe) My troubles melted away into the smell of cooking onions.

The only problem left now was a dirty pan from last night's dinner.

So my enchiladas became tacos. And tonight's dish was born.

Chard and Acorn Squash Soft Tacos

1/2 small acorn squash *

1/2 medium onion
Sprinkle of sugar
4 cloves of garlic (squished like crazy)*
1/2-1 chipotle, chopped and squished into a paste (the kind that was stored in adobo sauce)*
1/2 lb. chard (washed, stems cut out and leaves hacked into lovely ribbons)*

4-6 corn tortillas
Enchilada sauce (recipe to come later) or taco sauce
Sour Cream

Put the acorn squash cut side down on a greased sheet pan and cook it in a 350 degree oven until its squishy enough for a knife to pass through easily (and not just because its a super sharp knife that could cut through a boot without loosing its edge). I'm gonna say this takes 20 minutes, but I can't exactly say I was paying attention.

Let the squash cool a bit and then peel off the skin and dice as small as you feel you need to (mine were kinda big chunks because it was still really hot)

Film a large saucepan or high-sided skillet with a little oil and place over medium heat. Add the onions, a little salt and that sprinkle of sugar. Cook the onions slowly until the onions get a nice golden color (not browned, no crunchy bits--you want the onions soft and caramelized).

Add the garlic and chipotle and cook for a minute, then add the damp chard. Stir. Cook until the chard has wilted and softened to a texture you actually want to eat.

Add the squash chunks and stir everything around.

Taste to make sure its spicy enough/salty enough/delicious enough for your tastes.

To serve, put a large spoonful of the chard/squash mixture on a warmed corn tortilla, drizzle on some sauce and a dollop of sour cream.

*Feel free to use the food prep time as time to get out all your aggressions.

One thing I know for sure

I keep getting these "25 Things About Me" notes from friends on Facebook so I was trying to think of 25 things I could say about myself.

I think I'm up to 13.

I don't think I'm really all that interesting...I guess that could be my #14.

BUT, #6 ("I would eat a boot if it was covered in barbecue sauce") reminded me of something delicious.

Barbecue Tofu Sandwiches

Take a chunk of tofu (a 1/4 of a block is about two sandwiches, but more is always better)

Put it in a plastic bag.

Put the baggie full of tofu in the freezer.

Leave it there until its good and frozen.

Put it in the fridge. (The day you want to eat, take the tofu out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to defrost)

Squeeze the tofu like a sponge to get out some of the water.

Crumble the tofu into a pan with a little olive oil heated in it.

Cook the tofu for a few minutes so you get some crunchy bits.

Add your favorite barbecue sauce and let everything heat together.

Put it on a bun.

Add some coleslaw or pickles and onions.

Freezing the tofu makes it chewier and crumblier. You can also get out a lot of the water by just squeezing it like a sponge.

Did you know coconut milk can go bad?

I had pineapple fried rice for the first time a few months ago and fell in love. It had this lovely curried coconut flavor along with the pineapple bits and a beautiful yellow color that is so appealing. A few weeks ago I made my own version because I was creating a waste-free one-woman menu for my mom and needed to use up some coconut milk.

Problem is, I didn't write it down.

Tonight I decided to re-try the pineapple fried rice recipe I made for my mom's menu. I finished cooking the rice with the onion and curry powder and everything was sticking more than usual because I decided to try a lower fat "saute" with water (bad plan). My coconut milk was in a plastic container because I'd made a curry earlier in the week and I was having a lot of trouble getting the lid off which seemed odd. But once it was open and I saw the weird brownish color the top had achieved I could see why it was sticking. I thought "maybe this is like cheese, I can take off the gross stuff on top and the underside will be fine" but after scraping off the top layer and bravely tasting the tangy, frothy milk I knew that was not the case (ick).

So this is pineapple fried rice without coconut milk

Coconut-Free Pineapple Fried Rice

1 teaspoon olive oil (its so not worth doing without)
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon curry powder (mine is extremely mild McCormick's, hence the curry paste)
1 1/2 cups cooked white rice
2 tablespoons vegetable stock or water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon red curry paste
1/2 small can pineapple chunks, cut smaller if you wish (keep all the juice from the can)
1 egg, beaten

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat.

Add the onions and cook until tender and translucent. Add the garlic and curry powder and cook for a minute more

Add the rice and cook for a minute more.

(This was the point when I realized I had no coconut milk, but if yours has not gone off, you can add about 1/4 cup here and skip the stock/water....also go easy on the pineapple juice)

Now mix in the stock or water, soy sauce, curry paste and the juice from the pineapples. Make sure you get all the chunks of curry paste mixed in and then add the pineapple chunks.

Squish everything over to one half of the pan and pour the egg into the other half and scramble it around until it starts to set up. Slowly mix the rice mixture in as you scramble until the whole pan is one big sticky rice mixture.

Make sure to taste and add any salt, pepper or additional curry powder at this point.

You could add some frozen peas and carrots at this point and cook until they heated. Some cilantro or Thai basil is a nice addition right at the end as well.

It still wasn't quite as good as the first time, but it was my cooking adventure for the evening.