Saturday, June 30, 2007

Leftovers galore

I've been going out a lot lately, so I've tried to be wise about the leftovers. I tried to reuse a tofu dish I didn't really like, and I still didn't really like it.
Yesterday I invented a yummy dish that worked wonders for some OTHER leftover tofu. The tofu was in spicy sauce. I stirfried it a bit more to make it firmer. Then I added a can of goya green peas in coconut milk and some Thai spicy sauce. It was quite yummy! Sort of a creamy spicy sauce. Then I put some jasmine rice in the microwave, which I don't reccommend doing, since you can't monitor the soaking up process.

I had a half of a leftover burrito to which I added the rest of my refried beans (finally using them up). It was better the first time, but full of the protein I need! Things will calm down a bit perhaps this week and I'll get to try the magic out in the kitchen!

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Park Picnic

So in an effort to save the evening after a dissapointing rejection from Shakespeare in the Park my friend and I had a little picnic in the park. We made pita sandwiches, and had some carrot sticks

Pita Park Sandwiches
whole wheat pita bread
Hot Pepper hummus
kalamata olives
raw spinach

Then I went to a FREE screening of "Talk to Me," the story of Petey Greene the radio DJ. I proceeded to devour a box of Raisinettes. But hey, the box tells me they're a great source of antioxidants! But like my friend says "the box can say anything it wants that's a matter of opinion". So it does! :-)

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Summer means SALAD!

Inspired by Yahoo! no less, I whipped up a scrumptous salad. I'm known to rave endlessly about my salads, but really, it was yummy!

What's in the fridge? Salad
raw spinach
grapes
kalamata olives
cherry tomatoes
baby carrots
green pepper
5 pieces of vegetarian pepperoni
dry toasted sesame seeds
Pathmark salad topping-garden vegetable

Quick Salad Dressing
olive oil
walnut oil
raspberry balsamic vinegar
seaweed and sesame seeds
white pepper
sea salt
onion powder, garlic powder

In an effort to use up some other ingredients, I made a burrito/quesadilla with some refried black beans and questionable cheese.

Restaurant Hiatus

This weekend I tried a few (new and old) restaurants. It was heavy on the soy, which isn't bad, but not always good to load it up. One interesting experience I had this morning...

Since it's 95 degrees I really wanted some iced coffee with soy milk. But since I work in the far corners of the Bronx, there's no establishment (such as Starbucks) that sells such a product. So after asking 3 separate places, I had to go to the grocery store and BUY a small carton of soy milk (Vanilla, I was feeling festive). Then I went to Dunkin Donuts and ordered a medium hazelnut iced coffee (about half full) and poured my own soy milk in it. The guy at DD was quite nice and even gave me a discount. But boy was that a trip! Sheesh!

Friday, June 22, 2007

Quinoa and Chard Pilaf

I had to use up some chard in a major way. See a trend? Yes, I tend to buy too many things...

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup dry lentils + ~4c water/broth
8 oz mushrooms, chopped (I used dehydrated mixed wild mushrooms)
~1 cup water
Bunch of chard (remember it reduces when cooked)

1. Cook lentils in a pot w/ vegetable broth as directed on package \
2. Saute onions, garlic, and mushrooms - mix in quinoa - cook 5 minutes in large pot
3. Add above lentils to above pot - cover and cook 20 minutes.
4. Add water as needed so mixture doesn't stick.
5. Remove from heat. Shred chard and gently mix into pot. Cover and sit for 5 minutes.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Lazy Days

Since I took a nap today, I didn't really feel like cooking for myself. So I just plopped in some tortellini with spinach and cheese. I took some Amy's Organic Basil Tomato sauce and added a bit of my quickly going south spinach. It was a quick and easy meal. I supplemented with leftover Arugula Visscysois (sp?).

Then I got the urge to use up some bananas because, for some reason, I bought too many bananas. So I made a vegan banana bread to bring to work tomorrow. I used my momma's recipe, and veganized it.

Veg*n Triathlete's Momma's Banana Bread
Preheat Oven to 350 F (not 400 like I did today)
Blend til creamy: 1/2 c vegan butter (melted), 1 c organic granulated sugar
Beat 3 Tbs hot water and 2 tsp Egg Replacer; add to above
Add 4 mushed up bananas (the older the better)
Add 2 c (whole wheat) flour, 2.5 tsp baking powder, .5 tsp salt
Add a hand-full or more of dried blueberries (or anything else you want)
Bake 1 hour

Then I felt the need to use up the remaining salvagable spinach. It only turned out to be about a cup. So I used my momma's pesto recipe as a very rough base, since I had nothing it called for except pine nuts and garlic. I call it:

Spinach and Arugula Pesto
1 c spinach + 2 handfulls arugula
1/4 c Hazelnut oil
1/4 c pine nuts
1/4 c vegan parmasan grated cheese
1 clove garlic

Whirl all together in a small food processor. I froze it for later.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

A dinner in 3 parts

The first part was an attempt to do something interesting with arugula. I don't even particularly like arugula but a) I need more leafy greens, b) I was told to buy local produce and that's what was in stock, c) it's good for you!

Behold Arugula Vichyssoise

1/4 cup chopped white and pale green part of leek, washed well
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 small russet potato, peeled, grated coarse and reserved in water to cover
2 cups low salt chicken broth
2 cups packed arugula, washed well and spun dry
3 tablespoons soy milk


In a small heavy saucepan cook the leek with salt and pepper to taste in 1 tablespoon of the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until it is softened, add the garlic, the potato, drained and the broth and simmer the mixture, covered, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the potato is very soft. Stir in the arugula, simmer the mixture, covered, for 1 minute and in a blender puree it in batches for 2 minutes, or until it is completely smooth. Transfer the puree to a metal bowl set in a larger bowl of ice and cold water, stir in the half and half and chill the soup, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until it is cold. Serves 2

The second part was a quest for some quick cooking carbs. I settled on Israeli couscous again and was going to serve it with leftover curry slop that I made the other day. Only that smelled funky. So...

The third part turned out to be a veggie burger cooked on a skillet with some cheddar cheese melted over it. Not classy, but yummy. I served that on top of the couscous.

Lastly, to drink, I had some Goji Juice. Goji is a Tibetan fruit which has lots of potassium, protein, and amino acids etc. Good for you anyway. Oh, and made some iced green tea...decaff...

Monday, June 18, 2007

Asian inspired grilling and stir fry

So I decided to try my free George Foreman type grill for the first time (I got it probably 3 years ago). I marinated some tofu, sugar snap peas, mushrooms, and tomatoes in a mixture of soy sauce and mago chili sauce. I put them on the grill for about 20 minutes. I cooked up some spelt and had it all together. It was a real meal! Balanced and everything.

I put the leftovers (minus the tomatoes) in a wok and fried it all up. I added a small zucchini, diced, and a whole bunch of diced pistachios (finally!). I put some ginger and garlic and onion powder in and mixed it all up! I'll take that for lunch. Both incarnations are wonderful. Cherrio!

Coulda been vegan pizza

I had some pizza dough from Trader Joes that got soggy in the fridge. So I was forced to buy Philsbury pizza dough. Not thinking it was vegan, I decided to also buy some cheese while I was at the store. So I made some pizza with Philsbury dough, which turned out WAS vegan, and real cheese. I even had some vegan cheese in the fridge...Oh well.

Ingredients
Philsbury Pizza Dough
Veggie Pepperoni rounds
(organic) mushroom
Annie's Organic tomato-basil tomato sauce
(store brand) shredded mozarella and cheddar cheese

Form the dough however you would like. Mine turned out slightly thick (and undercooked). Bake in 400 degree oven for 6 minutes. Top with sauce, toppings, and cheese and bake again for 11-15 minutes, or until the cheese is slightly browned. Let cool, cut, and enjoy!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Middle Eastern Fusion

Magic! It's the name I have for the stuff I make up.

The meal started off wanting to sautee pistacchios. I forgot to do that (teehee). But I did use up some leftovers in the fridge and made a spicy slightly curried stew. I really threw everything together, so everything is an approximation.

Middle Eastern Fusion Stew with Israeli Couscous
Ingredients
A bunch of cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 small zucchini, cut in bite-sized pieces
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 packet veggie crumbles
leftover tempeh cacciatore
leftover 3 C soup
a dash of cinnamon
a dash of yellow mustard powder
black pepper
sea salt

Israeli couscous (cooked like rice in veggie broth)

Saute everything in a large pan (wok).
Enjoy!

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Dosa Hut

So today I went with the Vegetarian Meetup Group to the Dosa Hut. As I've said, I'm trying to carbo-reduce for a few days. So I didn't want to get a fried dosa. Instead I ended up with some roasted cashews and a very thin lentil soup. I was dissapointed with the lentil soup, and the cashews just didn't do it for me.

::sigh::

Starting tomorrow I get some more carbs...

Monday, June 11, 2007

3 C Soup

3 C Soup features cauliflower, chickpeas, and carrots. Oh, and curry. So perhaps it's the 4 C soup?

Ingredients
1 head cauliflower, washed and cut into bite-sized chunks
about a handfull (or more if you wish) baby carrots, halved lengthwise and then horizontally
1 can chickpeas, rinsed
7-8 cups veggie stock
various spices to taste: onion powder, garlic powder (or real onions and garlic), cumin, tumeric, curry powder, salt, pepper

Boil all ingredients for about 15 minutes until the carrots and cauliflower are soft. Then put into a blender/food processor to make creamy.

Serves about 4.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Sunday

I'm getting ready for a carbo-reduction for three days, and then a carbo-replenish for 3 days right before my race. So today I was eating my "last" carbs. Plus, when recovering from a night of drinking, it's important to refuel "properly".

For "breakfast" at 11:30 I had a poppy seed bagel and cream cheese from Dunkin Donuts, some calcium fortified OJ, and coffee.

For dinner I had a big ol' bowl of Tempeh Cacciatore from the Vegan Planet cookbook with spinach fettucine. I'd post the recipe, but I'm too lazy, and I made it a few days ago. My first recipe posting will be tomorrow...

Welcome!

Welcome to my new recipe blog! Everyone else is doing it, so why not me? Plus, when I search for recipes, I want my blog to come up! :-) Everyone who knows me knows I love to cook and eat. So this blog will be dedicated to my recipes, and perhaps some thoughts on local restaurants and food. You might even get tired of hearing what I had for lunch, but at least you can find that recipe for Mexican Arroz you had the other day at my house!