"Creamy" pasta sauce

So I got this idea from one of my livejournal communities. I had a ton of leftover hummus, and a disaster with the groceries that did not come. So I decided to make some "creamy" pasta sauce. I got some natural pasta sauce from the ghetto-mart (even had eggplant in it, spiffy) and put in some of my red-pepper hummus. It makes it nice and creamy tasting, imitating, well, cream sauces. It was quite good, and quite quick. As of now, my groceries have come...

Lentils and turnips

I won't go so far as to call my lentils dal. I don't think I do a good dal. But I did make some lentils in the crockpot. I got the recipe from about.com (go figure) and made a few alterations.

Curried Lentils and Turnips

1 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
2 cup lentils, rinsed
1/2 cup brown rice
1 17-ounce package chopped turnip greens with turnips
5 cups vegetable broth
salt to taste

Put brown rice in crockpot with broth and turn on high for about an hour. Prep everything else. Add everything else to crockpot and make sure there's enough broth to cover all ingredients. Cover and cook on high for about 4 hours. If you have longer, you can cook on low for about 8 hours.

Muffins and toothpaste

I've been using Tom's of Maine natural toothpaste. I have to say, it gets my teeth squeeky clean and doesn't taste bad either. Much better than the conventional stuff. Although I do use that at school. Yes kids, I try my hardest to brush 3 times a day, which usually means twice at school.

In other news, the latest muffin installation was pure experiment. Although lazy, because I used the box.

Red Pepper Corn Muffins
2 boxes cornbread mix - follow directions on box. Add minced red bell pepper to cornbread. Add about 3 tablespoons brown sugar. Bake and enjoy.

They do have a certain interesting taste. And they were all eaten up at work today, so I suppose they were good. :-)

Muffins

I've been making muffins and/or cupcakes every Sunday for school. Here are the latest creations.

Banana Bread Muffins
Preheat Oven to 350 F
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 flour, 2.5 tsp baking powder, .5 tsp salt
Add a hand-full or more of goji berries(or anything else you want)
Bake about 45 minutes in muffin tin.

Sunny (Raspberry) Corn Muffins from VwV
Preheat oven to 400 F
1 c flour
1 c cornmeal
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c sugar (brown)
1/2 c vegetable oil
3/4 c soy milk
one small container soy yogurt (I used fruit on bottom raspberry)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1.25 c dried blackberries.

Mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In separate bowl whisk oil, soy milk, yogurt, vanilla. Fold ingredients into dry. Fold in the blueberries. Don't overmix. Bake fore 20-25 minutes.

More from last week

For the rest of the week took some Wild Rice Soup I'd had in the freezer forever and heated that up. Suprisingly, it was wonderful still. Very creamy, like it's intended to be.

Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
6 T. margerine
2 medium onions (stew cut)
8 strips vegan bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
6 c. veggie broth
3 c. water
1+ c. carrots (stew cut)
2+ c. red potatoes, unpeeled (stew cut)
1 1/2 c. uncooked wild rice (not the quick cook kind)
5 T. flour
1 c. non-dairy milk
1/2 - 3/4 c. nutritional yeast

Directions
1. Melt butter in large soup pot over medium to medium-high heat. Add bacon pieces and onions; saute until onions are cooked and bacon starts to brown.
2. Add broth, water, carrots, potatoes, and rice. Cover and cook on medium until rice is chewy and done (about 40-45 minutes).
3. Combine flour and non-dairy milk in a tightly sealed jar and shake well; add to soup. (If this is too thick at this point, add a bit more water.)
4. Add nutritional yeast.
5. Enjoy! Serves at least 6.

Last week

There's nothing better than being able to have a soy mocha and a bagel with soy cream cheese and local jelly on the weekend. I feel a little bit pretentious. But there IS a street taco van outside my door. So it makes me feel more...grounded.

Anyway, life has been hectic. Last Sunday I cooked some African Peanut Stew for a friend and finished it for lunch for a few days. Definitely decadant....

African Pineapple Peanut Stew
I made this tonight and it was SO good. My kale was a little wilted, so I'm glad I could use it all up (I froze it, don't ever do that).

African Peanut Stew

1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1-2 bunches kale (4-8 cups sliced)
1 cup, about 5-6 small red potatoes, quartered
about 2-3 portobello mushrooms, sliced into small chunks.
1 can crushed pineapple in juice
1 can no-salt added diced tomatoes
1 cup crunchy, natural peanut butter
1 tablespoon Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce
I used dried parsley and oregano
salt to taste


Boil the potatoes in a pot, covered with water for about 10 minutes, to get them soft. Drain.

Prepare the kale by washing it and removing the large center stem from each leaf. Stack the leaves on a cutting board and slice them into one-inch thick slices.

In a large, wok sauté the onions for about 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic, and stir for another minute.

Add the pineapple and tomato and its juice to the onions and bring to a simmer. Add potatoes and mushrooms. Stir in the kale, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until just tender. Mix in the peanut butter, Tabasco, and spices and simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste, (This makes about 4-6 servings).

Stuffed, Baked Kabocha Pumpkin

Cut a hole in the top of a medium-large kabocha pumpkin/squash, like you were making a jack-o-lantern. Scoop out the insides and save the seeds for baking. Bake (with top back on) for 45 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

Meanwhile, cook the stuffing.

2 cups water
2 cups veggie broth
seasoning: cinnamon, tumeric, pepper, coriander
1 cup quinoa
3/4 cup jasmine rice

Boil for about 15 minutes. Add more water so it's moist.

Also, cut up some veggies for the stuffing. I used local white eggplant, green zucchini, shitake mushrooms, and toasted pine nuts. I didn't, but I reccomend, stir-frying the eggplant and zucchini for a few minutes to brown them. I also reccomend, but didn't, seasoning the veggies before you mix them with the stuffing.

Mix everything together. Stuff the pumpkin and put the remaining stuffing in a casserole. Bake the stuffed pumpkin again for 45 minutes at 350. Add casserole to the oven with 15 minutes to go.

Cut open pumpkin in slices, like a watermelon and serve with lots of stuffing. Don't forget to peel the pieces!

Bake the seeds for about 20 minutes, turning every so often. Top with salt!