Tomato Hummus, Sweet Rice patties, and upcoming giveaways

Sitting here with some coffee and freshly baked whole wheat oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, I'm ready to write a post.  And on top of that, it's 78 degrees outside!

Just got back from a friend's birthday lunch (Happy Birthday, Dave!!) at Emeril's.  Will be posting about that in the next day or two.  Back to work tomorrow, for a few days before we are officially off for the holidays.  My goal for this break is to get back to sprouting.  I know, it's a small goal....baby steps......

I had a coupon for an Eden product, and so I bought a can of garbanzo beans in the store the other day (I tend not to buy cans anymore, but these are BPA free).  So I thought I'd make some hummus, and as I was making it, I realized I wanted to make it more interesting than plain ol' hummus.  Here's a recipe I came up with (for some reason, it DOES taste like there are olives in it, but I still like it-I hate olives-S also thought there were olives in it!) Weird.

Tomato Hummus:


1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1/2 tomato
2 tbsp tahini
juice of 1 1/2 lemons
1 tsp of minced garlic

1 tsp Creole Seasoning (or cayenne pepper, black pepper, plus salt)
2 tbsp sundried tomatoes (soaked for about 10 minutes)
1 tsp olive oil (optional)
1/2 cup chopped/sliced zucchini (optional, but I like it!)
1/4+ cup water for creamier texture


Put everything but the water in a food processor and blend well. You still may have little bits of sundried tomato in there, but that's ok.  Add the water as necessary for creaminess and blend.


I'd like to talk a little more about coffee on my blog, because I love the stuff (as I do beer).  While in Atlanta earlier in the year, I went to Trader Joe's and found this:

It's REALLY good!  I love it...not too strong (I'm not so into French Roast). It's a nice breakfast coffee. And I'm almost out. Booooo. Hey TJ, wanna send me some more?

On another note, I won some great stuff from Lindsay over at CookVeganLover blog during her 12 days of giveaways.  Thanks!! Can't wait to try all this stuff from Lucini:

Speaking of giveaways...I will be doing a Tasty Bite giveaway very soon! That will be a whole box of goodies (yes, they sent me two by mistake, so I'm giving one to you!).  AND....I've contacted Bob's Red Mill and asked if they'd like to do a giveaway (this is my first inquiry to a company about this kind of thing) and they agreed! They're a great company and I just made an order there for my oat groats, whole wheat flour, etc...so check them out, because there will be THREE winners for that one :)

Stuff I've been eating:

(Roasted potato wedges with rosemary and Creole Seasoning)

(one of my Indian dishes, you can find them here)

(this morning's all whole wheat oatmeal choc chip cookies)

(Sweet Brown Rice patties with edamame)

Recipe:

Leftover sweet brown rice (seasoned with Seasoned Rice Vinegar) and Vegan Furikake. 

Mix together and form into patties. Brush on soy sauce.  Fry up in a skillet.

Will be crispy on the outside, but still soft and sticky on the inside.

I think that's it.  I need to go enjoy the warm weather and do more walking, although I'm pretty sore from yesterday's lower body workout! Oh, and of course I need to finish my cup of coffee and cookies first :)

Eat smart,

T.

A Day of Mushrooms

Hello again!  Welcome to mushroom day.  I had leftover Shiitakes and White Buttons from the market, so I thought I should use them up.  Tonight I made Experimental Stuffed Mushrooms and Teriyaki Udon Noodles with Shiitake Mushrooms.  Both were pretty easy (especially the Teriyaki dish).  The most time consuming part was taking the stems off the mushrooms and chopping them.

So here are the recipes!

Tanya's Experimental Stuffed Mushrooms:
(makes 8 mushrooms)


8 large white button mushrooms
1 slice of a yellow onion, chopped
1-2 TB whole wheat bread crumbs
1/4 cup canned chickpeas
1 TB canned crushed tomatoes (or tomato puree)
salt, pepper, garlic powder, italian seasonings (basil, oregano, etc.)


Preheat the oven (I used my Cuisinart Toaster Oven) to 375 degrees. Saute the onion in a pan with a little water.  Cook for 3-4 minutes.  Pull the stems out of the mushrooms (so you get the whole thing and have lots of room to fill) and chop them up.  Add them to the onions.  Add a bit more water, if it's sticking to the bottom.  Cook for 3-4 minutes.  Put the cooked onions and mushroom stems in a bowl.  Add the bread crumbs and the chickpeas.  Mash up the chickpeas really well in there.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Take the mushroom caps and put them on tin foil or a sprayed cookie sheet. Fill them evenly with the stuffing.  Bake for about 15 minutes. (If you like cheese, you could probably add a bit of parmesan on top near the end of the baking)


Tanya's Udon Noodles with Shiitake Mushrooms:
(serves 2-3)


6 oz dry udon noodles (cook as directed on package and set aside)
2 cups chopped shiitake mushrooms (you can add more...they really shrink!)
~1/4 cup teriyaki sauce (add more or less depending on your taste)


Add mushrooms to pan with a little water (1-2 TB).  Cook on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes.  Add the udon noodles and the teriyaki sauce.  Stir often, so it doesn't stick.  You may want to add another tablespoon or so of water while it cooks.  Again, stir often!  I like it a bit crispy, so I cook it until the noodles have browned and crisped up.  Stir, stir, stir. Done. 


Now, I don't usually measure anything when I'm cooking, so I hope it all comes out right :)  And I'm not sure that Italian style and Japanese style go together.....but it was fine by me!

See? Pretty simple, huh? Watch, I probably forgot a step.  Hehehe......for your sake, I hope not.
Eat up!

Coming up soon: my Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Eat smart,
T.