More good eats, beets, & a new veggie dinner

So my SD card reader decided it didn't want to work today. I used to have this problem quite often.....but it hasn't happened in forever! Maybe later I'll go search for a cable, OR....use my laptop instead. So the TastyBite giveaway will have to wait a day or two. Sorry!

I hope you've all been having a nice holiday or winter break.  Mine's been pretty boring, but I've been able to keep up with my workout schedule and walking. The weather has been insane. One or two days in the 70's, then down to the 40's...then back up to the 70's...etc. I can't keep up!

We went to our CSA before Christmas and picked up a HUGE box:

Too much stuff to mention, but lots of greens, rice, coffee, tomatoes, and citrus!

I also recently tried a new frozen entree. Now I don't often eat these things....but once in a while when you're just not in the mood to cook and you want something with a specific amount of calories, etc.....found this:

Moo Moo's Poblano Chick(Pea) Patties. They're vegan and gluten free! And low in calories. Very tasty indeed! And they don't skimp....there was plenty of food in the box.  I'll let you know when I try another one.

And look at this cool cauliflower I found at the store. It was too colorful not to buy it. However, the color seemed to fade in cooking...sniff....as you can see in one of my Indian meals:

Oh, and there were beets in the CSA box.....and they came with all the greens. I had to cut them off in order to fit them in the fridge and needed to figure out what to do with them. Lindsay over on Twitter suggested I saute them with garlic and olive oil.  Thanks! I sauteed them in a little water, with some minced garlic. Then when it was done, I added just a tiny bit of Earth Balance on top. Delicious! I love beet greens...this was the first time I'd ever eaten them:

Ok, that's all folks. I will try to post that giveaway before the New Year....!!!! It's a whole box of goodies :)

One last thing...any thoughts on how difficult it will be to change the name of my blog? If people follow in a reader, how will I be able to tell them my new name & url??

Eat smart,
T.

Tomato Bisque and Raw Cauliflower Mash

First, if you haven't done so already, I'd really appreciate it if you'd read my previous post about Sweeteners and Vitamin D and give me any thoughts you might have about them (don't forget the polls on the right side of the page). Thanks!

I had a bunch of hydroponic tomatoes from the local farmer's market, so I decided to make a sort of tomato based soup.  I don't usually puree my soups, but I thought I'd try it (even though I only have a tiny food processor).  It worked really well, mixed with a sweet brown rice/barley mixture and topped with nutritional yeast.

Tomato Vegetable Bisque:


2 cups water
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or other nondairy milk)
5 tomatoes
2 parsnips, steamed
4 stalks celery
1/2 yellow/white onion, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
1 head broccoli, cut up (incl. as much of the stem as you want)
1 roasted red bell pepper (I used a jarred pepper)
10 fresh basil leaves (torn into small pieces) 
10 leaves of flat kale, torn into bite-sized pieces (lacinato), or use spinach, collards, other kale
2 tbsp arrowroot mixed with 2 tbsp water
2 tsp cumin
2 tbsp vegan worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
red pepper flakes
salt/pepper to taste


Puree all the vegetables except the onion, garlic,basil, kale, and 1 tomato until smooth.  Set aside. Now puree the last tomato just a tiny bit, so it's still chunky.  Add to other vegetables.  Heat 1/4 cup water (not part of the 2 cups) in a stockpot.  Add the onions and garlic and saute until soft. Now add the pureed vegetables and stir.  Add in the water and heat on medium for 5 minutes or so.  Add in the basil, kale, spices, worcestershire sauce and tomato paste. Mix and cook for another 5 minutes.  Add in the almond milk and stir.  Then add the arrowroot/water mix and stir well.  Let it boil for a minute and then turn down and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add more salt/pepper to taste if needed.  Serve over cooked sweet brown rice (the stickiness adds to the creamy texture of the soup).

The other day, I tried another recipe from Ani's  Raw Food Kitchen: Cauliflower Miso Mash.  Very interesting.  Never made raw cauliflower like that before.  I left out the psyllium powder because I didn't have any. And of course, I left out the oil.  But the miso and lemon gave it a really nice flavor!  And it took forever in my tiny food processor. Apparently it doesn't like raw cauliflower :)

And this is just a random fried rice I made the other day:

That's it for today....another beautiful day out and the sun is shining.  Good day to get my Vitamin D!!

Eat smart,
T.

Tomato Chickpea Soup and Raw Cauliflower Salad

So yesterday I made two recipes, neither of which were my own, but both were delicious.

First, I made a Raw Cauliflower Salad with Orange Vinaigrette.  I came across it on a raw food blog.  You should really check it out! The only thing I did differently, was I left out the asparagus (I didn't have any), I used the purple raisins instead of the golden (didn't have any of those either), and I replaced the oil in the dressing with water.  It was a perfect recipe for yesterday's weather, which was around 70 degrees.  A perfect summer salad, if there ever was one :)

To go with the salad, I made VeganYumYum's Spicy Tomato Chickpea Soup.  I don't have a blender, so blending it wasn't an option.  I did however puree the chickpeas in my little food processor before putting them into the pan.  I also used crushed tomatoes instead of diced. Tossed in a bit extra turmeric...it's good for you! And once again, I  left out the oil....didn't need it.  I saute everything in water these days.  It was quite nice and spicy.....thumbs up.

And I also just wanted to say...I LOVE KALE AND BROCCOLI!!! I really do.  I think I'm addicted to them now.  I buy it up at the farmer's market, but I always run out in a couple of days (kale)....I'm almost out of it now and should've gone to the market (yup, they're open on Tuesday afternoons now too) to get some.  Too tired.  They haven't had any broccoli in a while, so I buy that at the supermarket, but we eat it practically every day.  Is there such a thing as overdosing on green stuff????  Jeez, I hope our blood doesn't just run out of us if we get cut, LOL!

Next post will be that FL trip post (Disney)....coming soon.  I've got the pictures all ready to go :)

Eat smart,
T.

SHEESE. FAIL.

Ok, people, I tried....I really tried.  I just can't do it.  I can't eat the Strong Cheddar Style Sheese.

I ate it alone.
I ate it on a cracker.
I put it on some rice to melt.
I put it on toast to melt.
It did not melt.
It smells bad.
It tastes bad.
I tried.

There's my Sheese poem for the day.
I'm so sorry.  I really wanted to like it, especially because it's so expensive.  Thank goodness I have my Dr. Cow as a backup.

If you know a way I might like it, please PLEASE let me know.
(this is what happens when you don't vote on my vegan cheese poll...I have to test for myself!)

On to good food.  Made a variation of my Indian dish today for lunch.  Still not spicy enough for my husband.  Oh well.  Again, I tried.  I need some good red chili paste or something.  What has a LOT of kick and is vegan? (& is not a fresh pepper, because I'd have to use gloves and that's a pain)

Tanya's Gobi Curry:
(see here for my original Indian dish)


Instead of potatoes, use steamed cauliflower (lower calorie and tastes just as good).  Make sure it's not too soft though, you don't want it to totally disintegrate into the food.

Cook onions and celery in a little water to start, before adding some grated carrots and the chickpeas.  


This time I used a new spice I bought: Sharwood's Hot Curry Powder (it's not spicy hot though....sigh.) instead of the garam masala.  


I cut up a fresh tomato into small wedges and added that with the grated carrots.  


Otherwise, the recipe is still mostly the same....so go have a look at the original!

The exciting news: I got my copy of 1,000 Vegan Recipes yesterday!!  I won it off of OneFrugalFoodie's blog.  Thank you to Alisa from OneFrugalFoodie and to Robin Robertson (the author of the book) for their help in getting that sent out again after a problem with the first shipment of it!

A quick addition.....I made a version of VeganYumYum's Moroccan Spiced Vegetable Home Fries yesterday. Delicious!  I made them in the oven instead, as baked fries.  And I forgot the sugar, which turned out fine. No oil, except for the spraying of the pan and I left out the celery root, because I didn't have any.  Great flavor...will make again!

Well, I wish you all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Until next year,
Eat smart,
T.


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All day in the kitchen...

I'm warm and exhausted from cooking all day! Ok, it was also 73 degrees today, which didn't help.  But it sure was nice.....we were able to get a couple of good walks in....in shorts :)

This morning, I made Stuffed Cabbage.  I tried to find recipes online.....they're all so different.  I based mine on one I found here, but sort of made my own version of it. Then I ran out of Chocolate-Covered-Katie's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough balls I'd made, so I had to make more.  This time: Banana Bread Balls! Yup, I made up my own flavor :)  And finally, for dinner, I made the Red and White Cauliflower Bake from the VeganYumYum cookbook.

Let's start off with the Stuffed Cabbage, shall we? I had a nice cabbage I got from my local farmer's market this past weekend, so I had to come up with something! (I'll have to find a use for the rest of it......maybe cabbage salad??)

Stuffed Cabbage, based on a recipe I found online (the author apparently had already adapted it from a Vegetarian Times recipe):

1 head of cabbage, cored and soaked in boiling water for somewhere between 5 and 15 minutes)
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup chopped button mushrooms
3/4 cup chopped onion
4 tsp minced garlic
a handful of raisins
1 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes (made a little too much sauce)
2 TB agave nectar
3 TB lemon juice

To make the tomato sauce: Saute 1/2 the onion and 1/2 the garlic in about 1/4 cup water.  When soft, add the tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat.  Add 2 TB lemon juice and 1 TB agave nectar (this gives it a nice sweet and sour taste).  Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes.


To make the filling: Saute the rest of the onion, the celery, and the garlic in about 1/4 cup water until soft.  Then add the chopped mushrooms and cook for another 2 minutes.  Add the rice and the raisins.  Stir well. (you may need to keep adding just a little water to keep it from sticking) Stir in 1 TB lemon juice and 1 TB agave nectar. Mix well and let cook for another 2 minutes.


Heat the oven to 350.  Spray a baking dish with oil.  Spread half of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan. Take about 8 leaves off of the cabbage, one by one, spreading a big spoonful of filling onto each leaf.  Roll it up and tuck the ends under.  Put it seam side down on top of the sauce.  Mine made about 8.  You'll have to judge for yourself how much filling to use.  When all the stuffed cabbages are in the pan, pour the rest of the tomato sauce over them evenly.  Cover with tinfoil and bake for 30 minutes.


Here's a picture of my Banana Bread Balls! I basically used the Choc. Chip Cookie Dough Ball recipe, but added in a little banana. I used about a half of a banana...maybe next time I'll use a little less.

And last but certainly not least, the Red and White Cauliflower Bake from VeganYumYum.   This was an excellent dish! It uses a ton of cauliflower, which is good, because I picked up a locally grown one the other day and it was HUGE!

I left out the vegan margarine/olive oil in the recipe.  I also forgot to blend up the stewed tomatoes first...but that's ok. I crushed it up the best I could in the pot.  Actually, I probably could've used more tomato...I love my tomatoes!!!  I used arrowroot powder in place of the cornstarch...I used almond milk instead of soy milk...and I used whole wheat flour for the all-purpose.  I definitely recommend this great recipe!!

Wow, ok, I'm tired.  Ooooooh my package from Barry Farm just showed up! Exciting! Unfortunately, my VeganStore package is stuck in Louisville by UPS.....wonder when it will get here...it's got my vegan cheeses in it....

Eat smart and Happy Holidays,
T.

Two Markets, One Day

So I finally went to that other market.  It was ok, not too big.  Had a couple of nice tables of produce from local farms.  There was even a mushroom farm!  Perhaps this market was a bit too hillbilly for my taste....but anyway, I got 2 eggplants, 1 beautiful cauliflower(I got excited taking pictures of it!), and some huge Portobello mushrooms.

Then we went to our usual market (followed by pizza at our favorite pizza place: Rocky's).  Here's the list of today's stash: cucumbers, brown jasmine rice, Challah, mustard greens, kale, green onions, turnips, tomatoes, roasting peppers, satsumas, Asian pears, sweet potatoes, lettuce, and yes, more okra.

I think tonight is going to be leftover night: brown rice with that Shiitake mushroom sauce.  I'll steam some new veggies to go with it. So no more posting until tomorrow! Coming soon: Sweet Potato Bake from VeganYumYum.

Until then...
Eat smart,
T.

P.S.-HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

A McDougall Day

I used the "Monk Bowl" idea for lunch today.  I cooked some brown rice in the rice cooker and steamed veggies on the stove.  For the sauce, I made the Shiitake Mushroom Sauce from The New McDougall Cookbook.  The only I did differently, was I used fresh Shiitakes, because I had a ton from last week's market! It made a lot of sauce, so now I have a ton leftover....which is good, because I also have a lot of leftover rice. And by the way, I used a flat leaf type of kale in the vegetables.  It was grown on the property at the Saturday market!

For dinner, I basically made my Cauliflower a la Lemon recipe, but I added some potatoes, because I didn't have a ton of broccoli and thought they would go nicely with the lemon flavor. However, I left off the couscous for this meal, since we had potatoes in there. And I didn't add oil, just a little spray on the pan first.

Tomorrow's market day!  I'm excited, are you?? (Is it wrong to look forward to Market Saturday every week?)

Eat smart,
T.

Roasted broccoli & cauliflower a la lemon

Hey everyone!

For tonight's meal, I roasted broccoli and cauliflower and served it with Israeli couscous.  This is a recent discovery of mine, and I love it!  It's really easy too, once you've broken up the broccoli and cauliflower. I suppose you can always buy the packaged florets, but it's fresher to do it yourself. But some of us have more time than others....so do what you have to do. Here's my oh-so-lemony recipe!

Tanya's Roasted Broccoliflower a la Lemon w/Israeli Couscous:

Broccoli and cauliflower, broken into florets (enough to fill a roasting pan)
1-2 lemons
1 cup Israeli (pearl) couscous
olive oil
spices: salt,pepper, lemon-pepper (if you have it), garlic powder
2 cups water


For roasting:
Put all broccoli and cauliflower in a bowl.  Add about 1-2 tbsp olive oil,salt, black pepper, lemon-pepper (I use Mrs. Dash), and some garlic powder.  Add juice of 1/2 lemon.  Mix well and let sit a few minutes.  Put in a greased roasting pan, spread out evenly.  Put in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.  After 15 minutes, mix them up so more sides can get that "ever so slightly burnt" look.  Once out of the oven, add the juice of 1/2 lemon and mix it up in the pan before serving.

For couscous:
Put 1 tbsp olive oil in a pot.  Add couscous and heat, toasting them nicely.  Once toasted, add juice of 1 lemon, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil.  Once boiling, turn the heat way down and let simmer, covered (or mostly covered) for ~15 minutes or so....however long it takes for the water to be absorbed.  In some cases, you may need to add a bit more water, if couscous is not fully cooked.

I love lemon, so I always add extra once it's on my plate!


And that's it for today, folks.  I don't know what's on the agenda for this week....haven't thought that far ahead.  But I do know I have lots of vegetables from the market this weekend, so I'll have to think of something.  Still wondering about that golden zucchini.....

Enjoy the last of your weekend!
Eat smart,
T.