Winner of my $65 CSN giveaway!!

First, a little recipe.  I made this a while ago....and then I made it again recently, replacing some items.  Did not come out quite as good the second time, so I'm going to stick with my original!  The second time around, I didn't have enough queso, and so I used 1 cup of almond milk and some nutritional yeast. NOPE.  The casserole didn't hold together.  So make sure you use ALL queso and make sure it's thick enough, otherwise it won't hold together very well :)

Cheeezy Broccoli Rice Casserole:

3 stalks celery, chopped or sliced
1/2 yellow onion, chopped

3-4 cups chopped broccoli (small florets plus chopped stems)
1 green pepper, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
5 cups cooked brown rice
2 cups of my vegan queso (or any thick queso)
salt to taste
water for saute pan

In large saute pan (make sure it's deep enough...all of the ingredients are going in there), add 1/4 cup water, celery, and onion.  Cook until soft.  Add the broccoli, pepper and tomatoes. Cook an additional 5 minutes. (If you're going to bake this, there's no need to cook until soft. If you're not baking this, but eating  right out of the pan, cook them until desired softness) Add more water as needed, so it doesn't stick to the pan. Add the brown rice and mix it up.  Add in the queso and mix until well-combined.  Add salt as desired. Spread in a greased/oiled 9x11 baking pan and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, until the top is browned and a bit crisp.  OR eat once combined, without baking!


Remember that awesome soup I made the other day?? Here's a picture. It doesn't do it justice, but I made it twice and it's sooooo good :)

I guess that's it........HAHAHAHA just kidding!

The winner of my CSN Stores giveaway is......

Lindsay: "I follow you on twitter" 

Congratulations!!! 

Ok, NOW that's all....

Eat smart,

T.

Black Bean Polenta Bake and more good stuff.

So we went back to work today. I guess the summer can't last forever. Oh well.  It's a busy week and then there's a quick trip to Atlanta.  I'm not sure how I'm going to fit in my workout schedule with this work schedule. It's more difficult because I can't really exercise before I play (I'm a musician, if you didn't know) because it makes me very shaky....so that kind of eliminates workouts/walking before a rehearsal or a concert.  So when??  I can definitely workout on days when we only rehearse in the morning...which is usually at least once per week.  And then on the day off I can do it.....ok that's 2 days.  Hmmm.....I guess it'll just vary from week to week.

No farmer's market this week...

Now for that recipe.

Black Bean Polenta Bake:

3 cups cooked black beans

1 head broccoli, chopped
1 1/2 red bell peppers, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 cup pureed/strained tomatoes
1 cup cornmeal
3 1/2 cups water
garlic, onion powder, chili powder, creole seasoning, cloves, black pepper, salt

Place the black beans in a bowl and mash them up pretty well.  They can be a little chunky. Mix in some chili powder, onion powder, cloves (1/2 tsp), black pepper, garlic powder, and salt.  Mix well. Set aside.


Place 2 1/2 cups water in a pot. Bring to a boil.  Place the dry cornmeal in a small bowl and add in some creole seasoning.  Add the rest of the water (1 cup) to the dry cornmeal and stir.  When the pot of water is boiling, turn it down to low and slowly stir in the cornmeal.  Stir constantly for about 3-5 minutes. It will thicken up.  Then turn it off and cover. 

Put the chopped veggies in a large bowl and add the pureed tomatoes to them, along with some garlic & onion powder, chili powder, salt, and black pepper. Mix well.


Spray a large casserole dish/pan with oil.  Layer the black bean mash on the bottom...use it all.  Spread it out evenly.  On top of that, layer the veggies.  Finish by adding the cooked polenta to the top.  It won't be totally flat on top or anything, but that's ok.  Do your best to cover all the veggies.  (Optional: add some vegan cheese on top of the polenta.)

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, then turn the oven UP to 400 and bake another 20 minutes.












I guess that's it for today's post.  It's still hot....where's Fall?? Don't forget to see the cool stuff I got in the care package swap!

And PLEASE please please give me suggestions here for good raw/vegan restaurants in Atlanta and Manhattan.  I'm so surprised nobody's given me any.....with so many bloggers in NYC! Times running out!

Giveaways:
Kristen over at Kristen's Raw is giving away a whole set of her eBooks!! Check it out.
The Vegster has an awesome CSN Stores giveaway too!

Eat smart,
T.

Broccoli Bake and the Goods

Several days ago, I made VeganYumYum's Creamy Broccoli Mushroom Bake and it was absolutely amazing! I will definitely make it again and again.  I used arrowroot powder instead of corn starch and I left out the oil.  I had some leftover mini spelt shells, so I used those instead of orzo.  I was a bit worried when I put it into the 8x8 pan.  It was quite liquidy(not a real word, I know) and really soaked up the breadcrumbs when I put them on top.  But when I took it out of the oven, it had solidified and the breadcrumbs on top gave it a nice crunch.  So it really did come out great :)

On our way back from Florida yesterday (more on that awful trip later), my husband was nice enough to let me stop at a big health food store in Mobile, AL (Virginia's Health Foods), even though he was sick....poor guy.  I tried to make it quick....you know, quick for me....at a health food store :)

The goods: bulk oat groats, bulk raw sunflower seeds, bulk raw cashews, Artisana Coconut Butter, raw almond butter, Primal Strips, sprouted grain pasta, large agave nectar, chia seeds, quinoa, millet, and Arame. Forgot to add the tempeh to the picture.....can't find it here, so I bought two packages!

It's very exciting....I love health food stores! Is that so wrong? I guess it's a good thing I didn't spend all day in there, or I would've emptied out our bank account :)

Perhaps I'll wait until tomorrow to blog about our disaster of a trip....something to look forward to.

Eat smart,
T.

Tomato Casserole

Brrrr.....it was so cold today....only in the mid 40's.  We went out for a walk earlier, when the wind chill was 33 degrees!  I thought my ears were gonna fall off.  I know what you're thinking....but hey, this is New Orleans!

Went to the market yesterday, on the way to rehearsal. Got some good stuff: broccoli, mustard greens, red mustard greens, lettuce, hydroponic tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, various oranges, white turnips, a huge cabbage, and key limes.

I've been meaning to make the Pumpkin Pancakes from Isa Chandra's Vegan Brunch for a while now.  So that's just what I did this morning!  The only difference was that I left out the oil (had to add in a bit of water instead), and used whole wheat flour.  They were amazing!!  I froze a couple of huge pancakes to have later on.

Tonight I thought I'd make something with tomatoes, since I had so many. I also needed to clean out my fridge a bit!  And I came up with a Tomato Casserole:

Tanya's Tomato Casserole:

Topping:


2 medium red-skinned potatoes, boiled
1 medium/large sweet potato (I used a white sweet potato), boiled
~1/4 to 1/2 cup almond milk, unsweetened (or any other non-dairy milk)
salt, pepper, garlic powder, tomato powder (happened to have some from Barry Farm)


Filling:


1 cup (packed) boiled mustard greens (you can sub. spinach or kale)
2 large fresh tomatoes
~1 cup fresh broccoli florets 
optional: 2 tbsp Daiya Italian Shredded "Cheese"


Sauce:


1/2 yellow onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
4-8 cherry tomatoes, cut in quarters (or you can use diced canned tomatoes)
~1 cup crushed tomatoes (I use the kind that are pureed and have herbs in them)
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 leek, washed, sliced and halved
salt, pepper, creole seasoning, red pepper flakes
splash of white wine


Mash up all the topping ingredients and set aside.  To make the sauce, put 1/4 cup water in a saute pan and add onions and celery.  Cook until soft.  Add the leek and cherry tomatoes and cook another few minutes. Add the splash of white wine (shhhhh, don't tell my husband I used his wine!)  Add the brown rice and crushed tomatoes and mix well.  You may need to keep adding water from time to time, to keep it from sticking and to add more quantity to the sauce.  Add the spices and let cook for a few minutes.  Preheat oven to 350.  Spread half the sauce into a 9x13 pan (sprayed with oil).  Slice up one tomato into 6 slices.  Layer them evenly on top of the sauce.  Put half the broccoli and half the greens on top of the tomatoes.  Spread the rest of the sauce on top.  Layer the other half of the tomatoes, broccoli, and greens on top.  Sprinkle with the Daiya cheese if using.  Spread the potato topping over the top.  Bake covered for 15 minutes.  Take cover off, and bake for another 15 minutes.  Bake longer, if you want the topping more browned.  



Now remember, this was a "what's in my fridge" casserole.  You're welcome to use whatever YOU happen to have in the fridge!

Hope you all had a Happy New Year celebration!
Eat smart,
T.

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.

Easy Vegetable Bake

I think I took the easy way out tonight to try and use up some of the vegetables in the fridge.  I made an "everything-but-the-kitchen-sink" casserole.

Tanya's Easy Veggie Bake:


Saute: chopped onions, celery, and mushrooms.
Put in bowl: sliced yellow squash, golden zucchini, large tomato (in wedges), 1 green bell pepper, and anything else you need to use up.
Add the sauteed vegetables to the bowl with other veg. 
Add garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, basil
Put in a 9x13 baking pan.  
Spoon some canned diced tomatoes all over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  
Sprinkle mozzarella (or Daiya Mozzarella) on top and bake for another 5 minutes.
Done!


So easy.  I need to work harder this week.....more interesting recipes.  It's not easy when you have to work.
Oh, and I have to say it paired very nicely with the Riesling we had leftover from last night!

Still have a list of recipes I want to make, including brownies and no bake chocolate peanut butter something or other....the list goes on.

Good night folks, until tomorrow.
Eat smart,
T.