Monday, November 20, 2006

Thankfully...

...I've made something to post! The past couple of weeks have been kind of hectic and I've made nothing worth posting. The good thing is that I've been getting aquainted with the gym in my office. The bad thing is that we've been eating a lot of boring food lately.

Since M and I are going our separate ways for the holiday, we thought it would be nice if we did a pre-Thanksgiving feast. I toyed with the idea of a Tofurkey, but they're kind of pricey and well...I've heard some mixed reviews. I decided that since we won't be home, we should just use up what we have in the fridge/pantry and make something wonderful out of what we had.

The Menu

Stuffed Tofu
I used the idea from Susan's post and just stuffed with a different filling and used a different marinade. I think the only thing that remained the same was the tofu and method of preparation.

I marinated my tofu with a little water, a spoonful of Vegebase some thyme, garlic bay leaves and a little sesame oil.

Quinoa Stuffing
I love quinoa. I like it better than rice even, so I thought it would be great as stuffing. Here's what went into mine.

4 cloves garlic, minced
4-6 scallions, snipped
3 ribs celery, finely chopped
2-3 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 cups veggie broth (I used water mixed with Vegebase)
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 cup quinoa

Saute veggies until they start to soften slightly (about 5-7 minutes). Add broth and quinoa and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer until most liquid is evaporated.

Cranberry Sauce
Easier than easy, here's how I make mine.

1 cup fresh cranberries
1 cup orange juice
1/4-1/5 cup sugar

Set it to boil and then reduce to low. Let it cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and it starts to look like jelly. :) It took mine about an hour... Keep it covered for maximum effect.

Roasted Broccolini
I had a pound of broccolini in the fridge that might have been wasted had I not made use of it! All I did was wash it, trim the ends and throw it into a foil pouch and into a 350 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes. It took the same about of time as baking the tofu with the stuffing, coincidentally enough...

Lemon Garlic Broccoli
We had some leftover steamed broccoli, so I just quickly sauted in a pan with a little Earth Balance, some fresh lemon (I used the juice from one small lemon), garlic and dried Italian seasoning. Yum!

Herb & Garlic Beer (cider, actually) Rolls
This was a mix that I have had forever. No really. I am almost positive I got it at the Duty Free Shop the last time I went to Canada on the way home and I was trying to use up the rest of my Canadian currency so I bought random things there. I love the Duty Free shop...they sell the most random things there (mostly maple syrup, tshirts and alcohol, but still). I decided that the mix should be used, so I mixed the dry stuff with some Magner's (I had no beer, only cider) and baked it in a muffin tin instead of a loaf pan. I'm really not much for white flour, but I knew these would find a place in M's heart (he ate two with dinner). The cider with the herbs and the garlic made a great combo.

And here it is all plated!




I'll be doing a lot of cooking for the holiday, so stay tuned! :)

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Pad Thai leads to padded thighs...

...or so my jeans tell me! I made Pad Thai from Vegan with a Vengeance tonight. I didn't make it for me to eat because I'm trying to be good and eat in a manner that would make Dr. Fuhrman proud (and/or help me shed pounds, either way it's a win-win, right?). I made it for M as he is totally enamoured with this recipe, and because it makes a ton of food, he can have it for lunches and dinners and what have you over the next several days.

Ugh, this is too good not to eat! I tweaked the recipe a small bit, using sesame oil instead of peanut oil, leaving out the cilantro, and using cashews instead of peanuts as I didn't have any, but it still came out wonderful! I really should work on adding an ingredient or two that I don't like so I wouldn't crave this and dream about grabbing it out of the fridge everytime I walk by...



Yes, it's hard to be strong when you know that there is a hefty bowl full of that goodness hiding behind your orange juice and carrots. Actually, I think I put it behind a big bunch of kale. Kale will save me, right?

So while M is feasting on that lovely load of carbs, oil, and soy sauce (oh, it's wonderful!) this is what I'm eating...



Tempeh Sausage Gravy (from VwaV of course) with pureed cauliflower (I meant it to be a mash, but it had other ideas) and grilled asparagus.

Good. Very good actually. But it's not Pad Thai!



Oh well, time to go cuddle a puppy!

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Bananas: Scourge of my childhood, passion of my maturity...

Little Nikki did not like bananas. Little Nikki didn't like much of anything.

One day, Nikki grew up and her taste buds changed. Suddenly all sorts of food that she did not like before started tasting wonderful. It was like magic!

Nikki met Mr. Banana one day on her way to make a smoothie.

Mr. Banana said, "You should take me with you because I love smoothies!"

"But, while I think you're beautiful, I really don't like bananas."

"Just give me a try, just this once. If it doesn't work out, we'll never have to see each other again!"

So Nikki took Mr. Banana and added him to her smoothie. Sure enough, the end result was a symphony in her mouth. She loved it so much that Mr. Banana became a regular in her smoothies and soon thereafter he became her egg replacer of choice for baking.

Nikki quickly became a little too obsessed and accumulated two dozen bananas. "How am I going to eat ALL of these?" she wondered out loud. Suddenly it hit her!

Banana Bread!

And with all of those bananas there were enough for not one, not two, but three whole loaves!

Banana Chocolate Chimp Bread (courtesy of Sticky Fingers Bakery as published in VegNews in their Oct 06 issue)



1/3 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 medium ripe mashed bananas
1/2 cup soy or rice milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Cream margarine and sugar, mix in flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add bananas, soymilk and vanilla. Mix until batter is moist and sticky. Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into greased loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes or until top is brown (or passes toothpick test).

This recipe is great. It is very easily adapted to any filling you might want to substitute for the chocolate chips, and is good on its own too. I happened to make one with the chocolate chips, one with pineapple chunks, coconut and sunflower seeds (a tropical banana bread!) and a plain one with a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg and quince butter for added spice.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Getting Autumnal on the Charles (River)

Saturday



Sam: I wanna go outside!

Me: [groan]

Sam: Please?



Me: Ugh

Sam: I could just lift up my...

Me: Okay already!

Sam: I like our pumpkin!



Me: Move it, buster.

Sam: My shadow is so cool, it looks like another dog!



Me: You're so cute! Let's cross the street!






Sam: Let's go on the river path!

[runs and pulls at full grey speed]




Sam: Oh look, there's my favorite log to sniff!





Me: Oooh, do you see how pretty the river looks?












Sam: Yeah, this is great...but I want to go exploring!

Me: You're the boss!









Sam: HEY! Watch your step!

Me: What? Why? Ahhhhh!




Me: What is that??!?!?

Sam: It's just a caterpillar.

Me: My, what a big fuzzy thing...

Sam: Oh look!

Me: What now?



Me: I think the wind must have knocked it over or something.

Sam: Can we go back home now?

Me: Sure, let's take the stairs to the street.






Sam: [sigh] I don't like the asphalt walk home.




Me: Look on the bright side...your shadow is back...



Sam: Yes! Oh look, our pumpkin has a friend!



Me: Looks like it! I think someone deserves a treat!

Sam: I'm good with that.





This excursion was brought to you courtesy of:



My brandspanking new digital camera which I have named Betty. :)

Monday, November 06, 2006

Viva Las Vegas!

Hey everyone! Sorry for not posting...between being sick and having serious illness befall friends and family members, I haven't been able to do much!

I do have a post all lined up though, I promise.

Looks like I'll be rockin' out in Las Vegas for Thanksgiving. Does anyone have any good restaurant suggestions for Sin City?