August 30, 2010 in Frugal Tips, Healthy Fare, Uncategorized
I thought we’d do a little something different this Meatless Monday, and give a shout-out to the vegetarian cookbooks that have inspired us.
November 18, 2009 in Gluten Free, Healthy Fare, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Entrees
I literally bought some pomegranates on impulse the other day as I was stocking up on squash from the glorious display at Wegman’s. I had no specific plans for them, but decided I wanted to experiment with adding them into a savory dish – preferably one involving one of the squashes I just procured (I’m gripped by something of a fixation at the moment).
As it turns out, they’re a wonderful accompaniment in this stuffed squash recipe, like juicy little jewels, adding tart little bursts of flavor that pairs nicely with the mellow, sweet spice of the stuffing. Read the rest of this entry →
September 23, 2009 in Entrees, Healthy Fare, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Entrees
This is a choose-your-own-adventure recipe, price-wise. I may do this from time to time if you like the idea: take a base recipe (i.e. the curry) and offer different levels of frugality, shall we say; typically reflected in the protein choice. Read the rest of this entry →
July 13, 2009 in Appetizers, Healthy Fare, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Entrees
Creamy Southwest Gazpacho
Anne’s gazpacho looked so yummy I decided to try making it with a southwest twist. Anne called her gazpacho “liquid salad,” and likewise mine could be labeled “liquid salsa.”
I decided to throw in an avocado to try for a creamy texture. It worked great and tasted smooth and delicious, but the color was very muddy. I added a small can of tomato paste for color. Result: creaminess with a deep red color! Perfecto!
May 11, 2009 in Appetizers, Gluten Free, Healthy Fare, Side Dishes
Sesame Ginger Slivered Asparagus salad
It is said that President Obama is not a vegetable fan, and that his least favorite is asparagus.
I consider the gauntlet thrown down!
Mr President, If you’re reading this blog, and I believe that you are – - – If you don’t like this salad, I will pay you $1,000,000!!!
I set out to make an asparagus salad that would have a real tang – something different, so marinating in a spicy sesame ginger dressing was my first thought. I tried blanching the asparagus first, but this made it just too soggy after the marinade. So then, I sliced the raw asparagus very thinly on an angle to make the most surface area possible and then marinated it for a few hours. I added red peppers and pineapple for sweetness and then slivered almonds for crunch. DELICIOUS!!!
SESAME GINGER SLIVERED ASPARAGUS SALAD
2 pounds asparagus
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce (use Tamari soy sauce for a gluten-free salad)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup diced pineapple
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup slivered toasted almonds
Discard tough ends of asparagus and then slice asparagus in very thin slices on an angle – about 1/8th to 1/4 inch thickness – then place in a large zip lock bag. Mix together soy sauce, rice vinegar, oils, garlic, ginger and honey and pour into bag with asparagus. Seal and refrigerate 2 to 4 hours.
Drain most of marinade off of asparagus and toss with pineapple, red pepper and slivered almonds. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish.
– posted by Donna
May 6, 2009 in Side Dishes
Does a blog entry always have to document a success?
It seems to me that the two-way nature of a blog should allow for us to occasionally share the recipes that, well, don’t go so well. As happened recently. See, I was determined to overcome a lifelong loathing of rhubarb. As a consummate food lover, it really bothers me that there are a few foods I don’t like. I recently overcame my hatred of Brussels Sprouts, for example. As it turns out, microwaving frozen ones and topping them with margarine actually is NOT the optimal preparation, and trying a few other cooking methods like roasting and braising – using fresh sprouts – is actually quite delicious.
Surely the dreaded rhubarb would be the same, right? It must have just been a preparation issue. Since it’s in season (and of course at a low price as a result), I thought it the perfect time to tackle my prejudice. I scoured my cookbooks and the net in search of a nice way to celebrate the season with some other spring produce, and came up with a nice combination: a spinach salad with fresh strawberries and sliced, lightly cooked rhubarb, topped with a shallot vinaigrette. Should have a nice sweet and sour effect, using the classic pairing of strawberries with the rhubarb. Like so:
STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB SPINACH SALAD
2 cups rhubarb, sliced on the diagonal (approximately 4 stalks)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 6 ounce bag baby spinach
1 dozen sliced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Place the rhubarb in a saucepan. Sprinkle on the sugar and add enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil and cook for two minutes. Remove from the heat and strain in colander. In large salad bowl, combine shallots and vinegar, then stream the olive oil in slowly, whisking constantly. Taste and add seasoning as needed. Once emulsified, add spinach and toss to coat leaves. Add in strawberries and rhubarb, tossing gently (just to incorporate). Divide into 4 servings and top each with walnuts if desired.
*****
The cooking directions for the rhubarb were taken from several sources which seemed to offer some consensus – yet two minutes later (yes, exactly), the rhubard was absolute MUSH. Sigh. I drained it well, went ahead and assembled the salad anyway, just to see if the tastes worked well together, despite the texture. Well, it was just okay. I was hoping for tartness to combine with the strawberries, but it was really just weakly sour. Still, the sourness was offset well enough that it was edible, and I threw some chopped walnuts on the top to add some contrast to the mushier portions.
So why am I sharing a much-less-than-stellar recipe with you? I thought I might get some rhubarb-loving experts to help me out. Where did I go wrong? Give me some tips!
April 8, 2009 in Healthy Fare, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Entrees
Spring being a little reluctant this year, and I felt like cooking up something that would make the best of the dreary weather outside. A good chowder always warms me inside and out, but I don’t have the money to spend on good clams. Using tofu is always a good way to save on proteins, and the kombu (just look in the Asian food section of your grocery store’s International Foods aisles) gives it both thickness and a nice ocean-y flavor. If you’re never tried it – fear not! This healthy version of chowder is also quite lowfat.
CONNECTICUT CHOWDAH
4 cups vegetable stock
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 leek, chopped (an onion is fine if you don’t have a leek on hand)
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1 bay leaf
3 inches kombu sea vegetable
1 1/2 teaspoon each salt and coarsely ground black pepper (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
16 ounces silken tofu
1 tablespoon mellow white miso paste
8 ounces oyster mushrooms, chopped
Spray a large stockpot with nonstick cooking spray. Using about two tablespoons of the stock, heat the celery and leek over medium heat until softened, 3-4 minutes. Add remaining stock, potatoes, bay leaves, kombu, salt, pepper, and Old Bay; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove bay leaves and kombu. In blender, combine tofu with 2 ½ cups of the simmered soup and puree. Pour pureed soup back into the stockpot. Dissolve the miso paste in 3 tablespoons of hot water and stir into soup. Heat a large skillet with cooking spray and sauté the mushrooms for 3 minutes, until soft. Add to stockpot. Serve with (what else?) oyster crackers.
– posted by Anne
March 12, 2009 in Appetizers, Healthy Fare, Side Dishes, Vegan Recipes
It was bound to happen eventually. Two people in two different states writing for the same blog – we’d inevitably have to write about the same foodstuff in the same week at some point. That time is apparently now! So, while Donna may have beaten me to it, my variation is different enough that you’ll like it too!
I love the extra note of deep sweetness that sundried tomatoes bring to hummus. I also have *stage whisper* a secret ingredient. Like so many culinary innovations, this came about totally by accident. I was prepping to make some hummus one day when I realized that I was out of lemons! What to do? What could substitute for the acidic tang of lemon juice? I decided to give rice vinegar a whirl, and found that I really loved the end result. You can replace the juice completely or do a combination of the two, as I do regularly now.
Unlike Donna, I do keep tahini in the fridge, and I do prefer the sesame flavor it adds. Vive la difference!
SUNDRIED TOMATO HUMMUS
2 15 oz cans chickpeas, drained
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes
2-3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
approx. 1 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
I start with the garlic in the food processor and pulse it to chop, because I take the opportunity to be lazy when I can (plus, ya know, 11 month old). I then add all the other ingredients up to the vinegar and pulse it until very well mixed and starting to smooth out, then I run the processor continuously as I drizzle the oil in. Continue running until it meets desired smoothness, occasionally scraping down the sides. Taste it before you add salt, as there can be extra salt in the tomatoes.
- posted by Anne
February 12, 2009 in Gluten Free, Healthy Fare, Side Dishes, Vegan Recipes
It doesn’t sound very sexy, but I thought it was just delicious. I adapted this from a Top Chef recipe, in fact! I saw current contestant (kind of the villain of the show at the moment, but undeniably talented) Stefan make this and was intrigued by the concept. So I snagged Stefan’s original recipe from the Bravo site, did a little tinkering, omitting more expensive ingredients like rendered duck fat, and simplifying it a bit, and voila.
1/4 cup butter (or olive oil, if vegan)
1 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 medium red cabbage or half of one very large head, shredded
2 tart apples, diced
2 sticks cinnamon
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup red currant jelly
salt and pepper to taste
I shredded the cabbage in my Cuisinart – it was enough to fill the work bowl completely.
Melt butter or heat oil in a large, deep, heavy pan or dutch oven. Add onion and sweat for about 5 minutes, until softened and getting a little color. Add sugar, vinegar, red wine, and salt; bring to a boil.
Add cabbage and toss to coat. Once cabbage begins to soften, stir in apples, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, and cloves. Lower heat to medium-low and let simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Stir in currant jelly. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
One thing to note: I found that this actually does NOT hold up very well overnight in the refrigerator. It’s not terrible, but it’s not as good as it was fresh and certainly doesn’t gain anything. I do recommend serving & eating it immediately.
February 4, 2009 in Entrees, Gluten Free, Healthy Fare, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Entrees
I admit it, I’ve been cooking rather heavy stuff of late, even if they are healthy – lots of soups and stews and hearty fare. I can’t help it, it’s the hibernation impulse. And since I try to avoid driving in the snow whenever possible, I rely heavily on bulk items in the pantry – which is also a very economical way to go. This particular stew is a great one for cleaning out the pantry & tossing in whatever extra root veggies you like. Today I added a sweet potato and a celery root (celeriac), the latter of which added a nice, sweetish, clean taste into the mix. A parsnip would have been nice if I had one, too. Go crazy!
SPICY LENTIL STEW
5 cups vegetable broth
1 pound lentils, rinsed and sorted
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large sweet potato, diced*
1 celery root, peeled and diced*
1 tablespoon chili powder
t teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
coarse black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Bring broth to a boil in a stockpot. Add lentils, return to a boil and then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Add tomatoes, vegetables, spices, salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered and stirring frequently (you want it to reduce a bit and thicken up) for 30 minutes. Taste for seasoning and vegetable tenderness – cook longer if needed for vegetables (adding water if it becomes too thick).
Finish with the balsamic vinegar. Top each bowl with sour cream if desired.
*Or any other root vegetable you have on hand and like!
– posted by Anne
