recipe: mushroom stroganoff

I make weekly meal plans to avoid throwing food in the garbage (I abhor waste). I knew I wanted to eat "Mexican Night" this week, so I needed something else that would use a lot of sour cream. Stroganoff just seemed logical.  I've never actually eaten homemade stroganoff; I usually just stick with Lipton Sidekicks. Sooo... this was uncharted territory for me!

As usual, I grabbed inspiration from a few different recipes.  I'm very happy with how it turned out. If I needed to make one modification, it would be to reduce the broth for LESS time, since my sauce ended up a bit thick (hah, upon reading my notes more carefully, I accidentally used 1/3 of the amount of water requested so that would be my error.  The recipe below is how it should probably be made). Otherwise, it was very tasty.

The actual type or ratio of mushrooms is up to you.

Mushroom Stroganoff
Ease: 1 very easy
Time: 3 somewhat quick
Ingredients: 2 easy
Source: Primarily All Recipes Portabello Mushroom Stroganoff (and details in comments), although I also looked at the Food Network and Rachael Ray's version.


Ingredients:

• Egg noodles, pasta, or rice 
• 2-3 Tbsp margarine (or olive oil)
• 1 large onion (I used 3 smallish onions because that's what I had on hand), chopped
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced 
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 large portabello, sliced
• 5 large cremini mushrooms (or equivalent)
• 8 largeish shitake mushrooms (or equivalent)
• 1  1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tsp mushroom soy sauce (or normal soy sauce, but mushroom sauce is very strong and tasty)
• 3/4 - 1 cup sour cream
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley (or less; I really like parsley)
• splash white wine (i actually didn't include it, but I wish I had some to try it out)
• black pepper

Directions:

1. Cook your starch (egg noodles, pasta, or rice) while following the rest of the recipe.
2. Heat margarine/oil in large frying pan on medium heat. Add onions, shallots, and garlic. Sauté until tender. 
3. Turn heat up to med-high. Add mushrooms and saute until they've released their liquid and are cooked. Transfer mushrooms from pan to plate and set aside.
4. Add broth and soy sauce (and wine, if using) to same pan and simmer until reduced to 1/3 volume. 
5. Mix sour cream and flour in measuring cup. Add to frying pan and mix with broth until smooth. 
6. Add mushrooms and mix well. 
7. Serve over starch. Top with fresh parsley and ground black pepper. 

Recipe: toaster oven mini zucchini pizzas

This is the time of year for "too much zucchini", so I've been on the search for zucchini recipes. Pinterest has been particularly useful in this search. So far I've tried dill zucchini chips (not good at all), zucchini fries (meh), and zucchini pizzas (finally, a win!), and a vegetable soup (also meh, but I think that was my fault and not the recipe's). I think that I might just not like zucchini all that much... Perhaps I should have opted for baked goods that hide it better...

In any case, I've decided to post my version of the zucchini pizzas, since I seem to have a problem following recipes without modifying them. In this case I had a good excuse: I don't pepperoni, and I don't have a grill!

Toaster Oven Mini Zucchini Pizzas
Ease: 1 very easy
Time: 1 very quick
Ingredients: very easy
Source: Kalyn's Kitchen


Ingredients:

• Zucchini, the fatter the better
• Olive oil
  
• Sauce of your choice: alfredo, BBQ, pizza, thai, etc.
• Cheese of your choice: mozza, cheddar, parm, etc.
  
• Veggie toppings of your choice: bell peppers, onion, mushrooms, fresh basil, etc

Directions:

1. Slice zucchini into 3/4" slices. I had a fat zucchini so I did my slices widthwise, but you could also make long and skinny pizzas with lengthwise slices.
   
2. Place the slices on a cooking sheet, and brush the tops with olive oil. Broil in a toaster oven for 8-10 minutes.
   
3. Flip the slices over and top them with the sauce, toppings, and cheese.
4. Broil again for 5-7 minutes, or until the cheese has started to bubble and brown.
5. I suggest eating these with a fork and knife, and carefully... No one likes the hot-cheese & roof-of-mouth combination.

recipe: nic & kyle's vegetarian chili

(Originally emailed Apr. 2, 2008)

our recipe!, by LG Weddings

I've added two new people to the list. Julie, from my lab (I've added you in case you find some recipes for your sis or for CR), and Dane who I know from Laurier people (hey, you said you wanted a recipe!). The background info: I (try to) send out a vegetarian recipe every week, seeing as Kyle and I usually try at least 1 or 2 new recipes per week, and I hope that someone out there actually finds something they like.

Today I will share with you my recipe for vegetarian chili. I grew up with my mom's chili recipe: simple, tasty, hearty, but full of meat. And it turns out that it doesn't work well as chili when you just omit the meat. I have tried time and time again to make vegetarian chili and it nearly always ends up tasting "off" and being overly liquidy. So I did some investigative work (including Wikipedia and some recipe sites), plus some trial and error, and finally settled on a vegetarian chili recipe I like. Kyle says it's the best food I make. I don't have a meat substitute in it (I've tried it and I didn't like it), but you could always try that if you wanted. I usually serve this chili with a dollop of sour cream and some shredded cheese. If I'm feeling fancy, I'll chop up some avocado and mix it with lime juice and serve that over top of the chili. I guess green onions would also work as a garnish. We make fresh french crusty bread for dipping.

Some comments from now me (as opposed to me writing in April of 2008). I was searching for this recipe today and I couldn't find it (can't find any recipes in our recipe box since I decided to "re-organize" it. Grr. Then I checked my second go-to spot: my blog! And I realized to my astonishment *gasp* that I haven't posted our chili recipe. As you've already read, Kyle and I developed this recipe together, but the other cool news about it is that we served it at our wedding! The caterer at the Toronto Zoo (Compass Canada) was really great about it and they made our chili for us. How cool is that?

Now as it turns out, Kyle and I have different methods of making this chili. And... his tends to end up better than mine. So I'll intersperse the Kyle Method below.

our recipe!, by LG Weddings

Nic & Kyle's Vegetarian Chili
Ease: 1 very easy
Time: 3 somewhat quick (quick to throw everything in a pot, but long time to let it simmer)
Ingredients: easy to get
Source: my mom, plus inspiration from various places

crockpot chili, by me

Ingredients:

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 chili or jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• 2 large cans diced tomatoes
• 2 cans kidney beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tbsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1-2 splashes red wine
• 1/2 tbsp oregano
• 1 squeezed lemon (or about 2-3 Tbsp of lemon juice)
  
• few grinds/shakes of black pepper

1. Saute garlic, onion and pepper in a bit of oil for a few minutes - until fragrant and onions are soft. But don't brown garlic.
2. In crockpot or slow-cooker, combine remaining ingredients and add onions and garlic.
3. Set crock pot to high until chili starts to boil, then turn heat down.
4. Boil for several hours. Throughout the day, scoop off the liquid that rises to the top and RESERVE. Do this before you stir it because it's easier. (Kyle method: don't scoop off liquid until the very end)
   
5. Before serving, mix some (> 1 Tbsp) cornstarch into the mug of reserved liquid and add gradually back into the chili until the chili is thick.
6. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, lime-y avocado cubes, etc. Also, fresh bread.
7. Yum.

Update & Gingery Squash Soup

I hope that everyone's holiday season has been going well!
I haven't been sending out /posting recipes for many reasons:

1. I've been busy and/or lazy with the Holiday Season
   
2. Kyle and I have both had bad colds, resulting in us being less than enthusiastic about cooking and trying new recipes. And when we don't try new recipes, I don't have anything to send out in emails because we rely on the same 15 recipes.
   
3. Normally we shop once a week, but since we don't really like walking for 45 minutes in the cold, we've dropped it down to once every two weeks. This results in us trying fewer new meals and eating more ready-to-eat meals. And then it snowed one week and we were sick so we didn't go shopping for 3 weeks (maybe even 4???)
   
4. Kyle doesn't get home until 6:30, so I end up doing most of the cooking myself (I still only have a part-time job in my old lab, so I make my own hours and come home by 3pm). I don't really enjoy cooking for 1.5 hours on my own, so I'm less likely to try new meals.
   
5. Of the new recipes we have tried, I still feel like they need a few tweaks before I send them out. Some of these recipes include:
   
   • cream of mushroom soup: I combined two different recipes and got to use our brand new food processor (Christmas gift!) and it was OK but not creamy enough and had waaay to much thyme
     
   • mashed russet & sweet potato: I loved this one but Kyle was bored by it. The major problem was that the potatoes took too long to bake - i don't like running the toaster oven for 1 hour just to bake potatoes - and we ended up with chunks in the mash because we got impatient. I'm currently trying to find a way of baking potatoes in a way that takes less time and energy
     
   • gingery butternut squash soup: I'm starting to wonder if maybe I just don't like squash soup all that much because I seem to find problems with just about every soup I make. I'm giving up on this recipe and posting 3 recipes below and you can pick your fave.

Instead of trying new recipes, I've focused my energy elsewhere. I've been trying to photograph every meal we eat, as well as some of the steps in the preparation stage. Also, I've been updating the blog by slowly working through the photos, where I'll add an older recipe to my blog once I have a photo to go with it. No photo for this recipe, but just picture yellow blended soup ;)

Gingery butternut squash soup: Lauren's version

1 onion (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (pressed)
2 T fresh ginger (minced)

Saute with 1 T olive oil until onion is cooked.

3 granny smith (or similarly tart) apples (peeled and cubed)
1 medium or large butternut squash (peeled and cubed)
2 potatoes or sweet potatoes (cubed)
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

Add to pot and bring to boil. Simmer until squash and apples are tender. Puree in blender or food processor.
Salt and pepper to taste. Jay likes to add hot sauce to it too.


GINGERY BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP: Michelle's version

2 onions (chopped)
2 tbsp fresh ginger (peeled and minced)
In a large soup pot, saute in 1 tablespoon oil until onion is translucent

2 apples (peeled, seeded, chopped)
1 butternut squash (peeled, seeded, cut into cubes- you can substitute 2 cups of cooked winter squash here too!)
4 cups/1L chicken (sub veggie if you want) broth

Add to large soup pot and bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer until squash and apples are tender. Puree in blender until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley...and enjoy!!!!

(I like to add a splash of soy milk just for consistency too.....)


Not as Gingery Acorn Squash Soup: Nic's version
(I had tried making the above versions but had a disaster where I let it cook all night and it tasted grooooosss. So I was kind of wary to try it again. Instead, I used their recipes as a base and used up some things that were in my fridge, like a really old granny smith apple, a half going bad sweet potato, and some shriveled ginger. Sounds good, eh? Hehe... I found that the ginger taste of the soup was really mild, which may relate to the fact that the ginger was no longer fresh. I also found this soup very starchy and thick, which may relate to the potatoes and maybe also to the type of squash. Adding water helped if I found it too thick, and I actually liked it - until my 4th day in a row of eating it!)

• 1 onion (chopped)
  
• 1 tbsp oil
  
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger (peeled and minced)
  
• 1 apple (peeled, seeded, chopped)
  
• 1 acorn squash (peeled, seeded, cut into chunks)
  
• 1 russet potato
  
• 1 half medium sweet potato
  
• 4 cups veggie broth

1. Saute onion and ginger in oil until onion is translucent
   
2. Add apple, squash, potatoes and broth and bring to boil. Simmer until veggies are tender
   
3. Let cool a bit and blend in a blender or food processor.

*** Energy saving tip: When I know that something has to simmer for a while, I usually turn the burner off a few minutes before I want it to be done. The burner usually stays hot for a couple of minutes so the soup will stay boiling/simmering for that time. Plus with a soup as large as this, it really retains its own heat so it will continue to cook a bit long after you turn off the heat. Plus, you have to let it cool before you can blend it anyways, so you might as well turn off the burner as soon as possible. ***

Sesame Tofu

(Originally emailed March 19, 2008.)

I stumbled across this recipe online and Kyle and I loved it when we first had it. It was a little overpoweringly sweet, so we've reduced the amount of honey in it. Also, serving it over more rice helps cut the sweetness. It's very quick and simple, which I like. It's also pretty healthy if you serve with broccoli and brown rice. Tip: If you're serving it with rice (and I suggest you do), make sure to start the rice just before or right after you start pressing the tofu, or your tofu and sauce will be done and your rice won't (this is especially true with brown rice)!

Photo: Sesame Tofu with broccoli and brown rice
Sesame Tofu
Effort: very easy and pretty quick too!
Ingredients: Easy
Source: Jewish Vegan and Whole Foods Market

Serve with steamed bok choy or broccoli, sautéed watercress or eggplant, and brown rice.
Note: this is the original recipe. Try it out and then decide how to tweak it for yourself (e.g. we use less honey)

• 14 ounces / 1 block extra-firm tofu
  
• 1/4 cup cornstarch or flour for dusting
  canola or corn oil for frying
  
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds, lightly toasted
  
• 3 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1/2" pieces \
  
  Sauce
  
• 1/3 cup honey (we reduced it to about 3 tbsp)
  
• 3 tablespoons tamari
  
• 3 tablespoons finely minced ginger
  
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil (not toasted)
  
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  
• 2 cloves finely minced garlic
  
• 1–2 teaspoons red chili flakes

1. Wrap tofu with paper towels and place on a cutting board. Put another cutting board or heavy plate on top to press out liquid about 20 minutes.
   
2. Stir together sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer sauce while you cook tofu.
   
3. Dry drained tofu with paper towels and cube. Dust very lightly with corn starch or flour.
   
4. Heat <1cm>
5. Serve with remaining sauce for dipping or to drizzle over vegetables.
   

Hot Chana and Puri

I'm playing around with blog formatting, especially since I'm turning emails into blogs. If you have any comments on preferred formats, please let me know

(originally emailed April 30, 2008)

Photo: Hot Chana with Moghlai Spinach, basmati rice, and storebought 'naan'

I thought that I might not send out a recipe this week because I haven't been particularly inspired lately. But then I ate dinner tonight, and it was delicious, so you're hearing about it.

Kyle and I bought a vegetarian indian cookbook a while ago but we've been intimidated by it because the recipes are written in a funny format. Once we started cooking from it, however, we found out that it's actually quite easy and the food is good. We picked a meal called "hot chana" (Chickpeas with very hot spices), because we both love ordering chana masala from indian food restaurants. However, we were supposed to make it last week and I just kept putting it off because we also decided to make a flatbread and for some reason I thought it would be a lot of effort. Well we had to make it today because it's the last meal on our "weekly schedule" of meals, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only did it take less than 1hr to prepare (including 1/2 hour sit time for the flatbread), but it was also delicious and tasted like actual Indian food (always exciting). And because I made use of one of my 2 new cilantro tricks, I'm going to share those with you too. I find that one bunch of cilantro is too much to use up before it goes rotten, so I've tried to find things to do with it to avoid wasting. (tricks to follow in a different post)

We had this meal with a Puri (fried, puffed whole wheat flat bread), which was a new one for us. I started cooking chickpea flour pancakes with our Indian meals, but chickpeas with chickpea flour pancakes? It's a bit much.

The hot chana meal + flatbreads was a good amount for 2 people, but we've already figured we're going to be hungry in a couple hours. It would have been nice to round it off with some sort of green veggie, and maybe a potato dish if we were feeling particularly ambitious. In the future I will probably share a spinach recipe (David showed us this one - it's GOOD), and a potato recipe from this veg indian cookbook.

Photo: Hot Channa with the lazy version of naan (recipe to be posted at a later date)

Hot Chana (chickpeas with spices)

Effort: easy

Ingredients: semi-easy. It calls for black mustard seeds which I can't find anywhere. And hing, which I also can't find. But I just use normal mustard seeds (bulk barn), and omit hing.

Cookbook: Indian vegetarian cooking in your home

1 Tbsp veg oil

1 tsp cumin seed/mustard seed/sesame see mix

1/4 cup onion, chopped

3 Indian bay leaves (I used regular bay leaves)

2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (or 2 cilantro cubes, as I used)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp salt

1/2-1 tsp hot red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp tumeric

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/8 cup veg broth

1. Put onion, bay leaves, cilantro and garlic in a bowl.

2. Put cumin, coriander, salt, red pepper, tumeric and garam masala in another bowl

3. Rinse chickpeas

4. Heat oil, cumin/mustard/sesamee seed mixture in a pan until seeds pop.

5. Add onion bowl and cook until onions transparent.

6. Add spice bowl, followed by chickpeas and veg broth.

7. Mix (simmer if desired), and serve.

The chana recipe recommended serving with puri (below), although rice and/or other breads could work. I tend to eat this along dish with another Indian meal, such as Shahi Paneer, Moghlai Spinach, or Potatoes.

Puri (whole wheat flat bread)

Effort: easy

Ingredients: easy if you're willing to substitute

cookbook: Indian Vegetarian Cooking at your house

1 cup (Indian) whole wheat flour (I used regular whole wheat flour and it was OK)

1/4 TBSP veg oil

dash salt

optional: dashes of cumin powder, coriander powder, hot pepper, tumeric

1/4 + a little bit extra warm water

1. Mix flour, oil and salt into a bowl. Slowly add water, just enough to form a firm dough, and knead until smooth. Cover and let rest at least 1/2 hour.

2. Knead dough briefly. Divide into small golf-ball sized balls. Roll out into 6" rounds on an oiled board. Heat veg oil in wok or frying pan. Add a little salt to oil to keep it from smoking.

3. Fry one puri at a time, holding them under oil on first side until they puff. Turn and fry until light brown, and drain on paper towels.

Picante Pasta

This is my first email that I also post to the blog simultaneously. Go me!

I think eventually I'll phase out of emails and just go to blogs... However there are ways of getting notified of new blog posts so you don't have to remember to check it all the time. Either way, there will be dual posts for now. The blog will be the only place I post photos, though. Although I'd like to point out yet again that taking photos of food is REALLY REALLY HARD.

I can't remember if I've told this story but I'll tell it now anyways, at the risk of repeating myself. I'm a big fan of Freecycling (Freecycle.org - where you give away stuff you don't want anymore and you get stuff for free), both to get rid of stuff I don't want and to get stuff that I do want. A few months ago, I grabbed hundreds of recipe cards off some woman who must have been collecting them for years (literally... there were some very 50's style recipes going on there). I sorted through them and grabbed anything that sounded remotely interesting (weeding out all of the meat recipes), and I still ended up with well over 100 recipes. A lot of them are dessert recipes (which means I'll probably never make them), but some of them were salads and a few were pastas or other veggie-based entrees. Today's recipe is one of those. It's from a series of recipes called Grandma's Kitchen, and it's actually called "Linguine with Picante Sauce" but I've just been calling it Picante Pasta and there's no reason that it has to be linguine, so whatever. The recipe sounds a bit weird because it involves black beans + pasta, but I was very happy with the end result. Topping it with mozza cheese made it extra yum, too. I've modified the directions slightly because I don't agree with the order they were written in.
As always, I suggest chopping all of the veggies up first so that the actually cooking part isn't stressful.

Picante Pasta
Effort: very easy
Ingredients: very easy
Source: Grandma's kitchen card (modified from)

Ingredients:

• 8 oz linguine (I broke my linguine noodles in half because I"m a slob and can't handle full-length linguine without making a mess of myself)
  
• 1 med onion, coarsely chopped
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
  
• 1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  
• 1 tbsp veg oil
  
• 2 1/2 cups canned stewed tomatoes (we used diced)
  
• 1/4 cup picante sauce (we used plain ol' salsa)
  
• 1 tsp chili powder
  
• 1 tsp ground cumin
  
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
  
• 4 oz finely shredded Colby Jack cheese blend (we used mozzarella because that's what we had on hand)
  
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

1. Heat veg oil in large skillet over med-hi heat until hot. Add onion and garlic and mix well. Saute until onion is tender.
   
2. Add undrained tomatoes, picante sauce (salsa), black beans, chili powder, cumin, and oregano and mix well. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and cover.
   
3. Simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes; remove cover. Increase heat to med-high. Cook, stirring frequently, until sauce is the desired consistency, about 5 min.
   
4. Meanwhile (around step 2 or 3), cook pasta using package directions; drain. Rinse quickly and cover to keep warm.
   
5. Serve sauce over pasta (either one large platter or individual plates/bowls), sprinkle with cheese and cilantro.

A Delicious Mix of Pureed Vegetables

(originally emailed on 2008-12-28)
Happy holidays everyone!

I kid you not about the name of this recipe. It sounds odd, and it ends up looking pretty weird too. But I found it really tasty (once I added a few extra things) when served with pita bread. It takes a long time to make, but it's mostly chopping and then let everything simmer for an hour, so it's not bad. I've even had success with for crockpot cooking, too (I'll add directions at the end). I'll point out the extra ingredients that I added.

Also, the previous post contains a lot of information on Iron. Apparently it is somewhat easier to become anemic if you are vegetarian, because the iron in plants is more difficult to absorb than that in meat. I did some research to find out some facts about iron, as well as some of the foods that are rich in iron. Some of them were really surprising.

A delicious puree of mixed vegetables
Effort: easy
Ingredients: very common (fresh dill is the most difficult, but it's essential so don't omit it! and garam masala can be picked up at any bulk barn)
Cookbook: World vegetarian (Madhur jaffrey)

• 1/4 cup peanut or olive oil
  
• 4 garlic cloves, pealed and chopped
  
• 1 fresh hot green chili (use more or less as desired)
  
• 1 med. onion, peeled and finely chopped
  
• 10 ounces fresh spinach, trimmed, well washed and chopped (note: a bag in the produce section is about 8oz. we used that amount and it worked out well)
  
• 10 green beans, cut crosswise into fine rounds
  
• 1 med. carrot, peeled, halved lengthwise and then cut crosswise into fine slices
  
• 1 med. potato, peeled and cut into small dice (Note: if you cut the chunks small enough, you can leave the peel on for extra nutritiousness - including iron)
  
• 2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped (instructions on how to peel tomatoes here)
  
• 1 med zucchini, cut into small dice
  
• 1 very well-packed cup of chopped fresh dill
  
• 1/2 cup yellow split peas (we couldn't find any so we substituted lentils which we boiled for 10min before adding)
  
• 3 cups water
  
• 2 tsp salt
  
• margarine / butter (Nic's addition)
  
• garam masala (Nic's addition)
  
• baguette and/or pita or other flatbread (to eat the puree with)

1. put oil, garlic and chili into a very large pan (we used a wok) over med-high heat.
   
2. when garlic is golden, add onion, spinach, green beans, carrot, potato, tomatoes, zucchini, dill, split peas/lentils, and 3 cups of water. Stir and bring to a simmer
   
3. cover, turn heat down to low, and simmer gently for 30min.
   
4. -turn heat up slightly to med-low, uncover partially, and continue to cook for another 30min.
   
5. add salt and mix.
   
6. mash vegetables together until you have a coarse puree (I used one of those hand-blenders that you can use to make milkshakes with. i didn't blend it to homogenization, though)
   
7. serve in bowls. add some margarine to each bowl to help make the flavour "deeper" or "more savoury". sprinkle with a little bit of garam masala, until you like the taste. eat with bread, pitas, flatbread, etc.

Crockpot Directions

1. put oil, garlic and chili into a medium pan over med-high heat.
   
2. when garlic is golden, add onion, green beans, carrot, potato, tomatoes, and zucchini and cook for 5 minutes
   
3. Put spinach, dill, and split peas/lentils into the crockpot. Add the other veggies from the pan, and 3 cups of water. Stir and bring to a simmer.
   
4. Cover, turn heat down to low, and simmer gently for 30min.
   
5. turn heat up slightly to med-low (or the higher crockpot setting), uncover partially, and continue to cook for another 30min.
   
6. add salt and mix.
   
7. mash vegetables together until you have a coarse puree (I used one of those hand-blenders that you can use to make milkshakes with. i didn't blend it to homogenization, though)
   
8. serve in bowls. add some margarine to each bowl to help make the flavour "deeper" or "more savoury". sprinkle with a little bit of garam masala, until you like the taste. eat with bread, pitas, flatbread, etc.

Please let me know if you try any of these recipes and what you think of it. I'm curious if these are useful at all!

Pad Thai

I lurve this recipe. It's so easy and so tasty. It's also one of the "gateway" recipes I used to make Kyle kind-of-sort-of like cilantro. In reply to my email I was asked a few questions (is there something you can substitute for the ketchup? can you omit the cilantro? what other veggies would you add?), and I have since modified the recipe to include some of the suggestions. The original recipe did not have tofu or red pepper. Here are my answers, based on the original email:
"Don't omit the ketchup. The sauce doesn't end up tasting like ketchup, so don't worry. Cilantro is not necessary if you hate it. However, Kyle hates hates cilantro and I added about 1/8 of a cup really finely chopped and he was OK with it. I think it makes it better because the cilantro is cooked a bit. But if you hate cilantro, then no point in buying it, right. I wouldn't add other veggies... pad thai is usually pretty simple. Maybe some chopped red pepper. And I"d probably add protein next time by frying up some tofu, chopped into small cubes... right now it's pretty protein poor. If you're not into tofu yet, this is an OK way to cook it to start getting used to it: Chop it up until small cubes - about 1-2cm on each side. Marinate it in a little bit of soy sauce, garlic, ginger and veg broth for as many hours as you can. Then dump the tofu (sans soy sauce) into a frying pan with sesame oil.. Fry the tofu until it's brown and crispy (this might take a while). Then add it to the pad thai in the last step when you're adding everything else. Even people who don't really like tofu tend to like it when it's prepared that way."

Pad Thai
Effort: med-easy
Ingredients: pretty common (rice vinegar and rice noodles would be the only difficulty)
Cookbook: I can't remember where I found this recipe, and I've made modifications anyhoo

8 oz rice noodles, uncooked (I just used one package of rice noodles)
1 block tofu, cubed (1/2 " cubes work well)
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp each reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1 tbsp + tsp sesame oil, divided (+ extra for sprinkling)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup diced red onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup bean sprouts (i usually omit these and it still tastes good)
1/2 cup grated carrots (i usually add more than this)
1 red pepper, chopped into med-small dice
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped, fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped peanuts (optional)

- If you are can plan ahead, chop tofu and then marinate it in a bit if soy sauce, garlic, and lime juice for several hours (or overnight).
- Cook noodles according to package directions (usually this involves pouring boiling water over them and letting them sit for 3 minutes). Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Sprinkle with sesame oil to help prevent sticking. Set aside.
- Saute tofu over med-high heat in 1 tbsp sesame (or chili) oil until it starts to take on some brown colour. Set aside.
- To makes sauce, combine ketchup, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, vinegar, 1 tsp sesame oil, and crushed red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Heat veg oil in a large, non-stick wok or skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook and stir until onions are tender, about 3 minutes. Add sauce and bring to a boil. Add the tofu plus all of the vegetables (bean spouts, carrots, green onions, red pepper and cilantro). Mix well. Add noodles, mix, and cook until noodles are heated through, about 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle individual servings with chopped peanuts.

Pizza Pasta

I'm a big fan of "slop-in-a-pot" type recipes, where the ratios and amounts of different ingredients are suggested, rather than fixed. This is one of those recipes, which explains why I don't give measurements. I make it veggie-based but it can easily be made to simulate meat (use fake pepperoni/ham on top, or put Yves veggie ground round in the sauce) or fully meaty. I'll take suggestions for pizza toppings, because I'm getting pretty bored with my usual.

Some example combinations:
- Mediterranean: Prepare as below. Top with black olives, feta, oregano flakes, red and green peppers
- Spicy: Mix fresh minced garlic and chopped up hot peppers with the sauce before adding to the pasta. Top with chili flakes, red and green peppers, green olives, and a sprinkling of cheddar cheese.

Nic

Pizza Pasta
Effort: super easy
Ingredients: super duper easy
Cookbook: an ex-boyfriend's mother + a recipe card

Pasta (I like rigatoni, but medium-sized shells, penne, or macaroni would also work. Use as much or as little as you like - leftovers make good lunch)
1 large can/jar of Pasta/tomato sauce (add lots of oregano and basil to make it zippy)
Mozzarella cheese, grated
Possible toppings:
Green/red peppers
Hot peppers/jalapenos
Olives
Onions
Mushrooms
meat/shmeat
garlic/roasted garlic
fresh basil leaves, chopped
extra cheese (feta, parmesan, cheddar, goat)
chili flakes
oregano flakes
shredded spinach
small broccoli florets
zucchini

- Cook the pasta and drain.
- Mix the pasta with the sauce - make it nice and saucy because baking it will dry it out (if you're adding fresh crushed garlic, it might be good to add it in with the pasta and sauce or else you'll end up with concentrated bites of garlic once it's all cooked).
- Pour the pasta&sauce into a baking pan (you want the pasta to make a layer about 2 inches deep)
- Top with mozza cheese (variation: add half of the cheese to the pasta and sauce in the stage when you're mixing together, and then top with the other half)
- Top with your favourite pizza toppings (mushrooms should go under the cheese to avoid drying out too much)
- Bake at 350 until cheese is melty and veggies seem cooked (around 20 min is good, but more is probably better. You can also broil in the last 2 minutes to brown up the cheese a bit).
- Serve with garlic bread, because garlic bread is delicious.

Protein tip:
Both pasta and cheese cheese have quite a bit of protein. You could also add some veggie ground round to the sauce (found in the produce section of a grocery store). it makes a pretty good substitute for ground beef and adds loads of protein. I recently tried veggie sausage and it was really bad, so I'd stay away from that. There is also veggie pepperoni but if you're still eating meat, you'll probably want to avoid any simulated deli slices since they only start tasting good once you haven't eaten meat for a year or so.

curried vegetables

My attention was drawn to this one because it looked so simple - it uses frozen vegetables! Most of the meals I cook take a long time to make because of all the chopping, so it was nice to have a shortcut. And I think frozen vegetables are healthier than canned ones. I don't normally like raisins, but they provide a nice sweet complement to the other flavours, so I'm actually quite pleased with how it turned out. Enjoy!
Nic

Curried Vegetables
Effort: very easy
Ingredients: common
Cookbook: favorite brand name Vegetarian cooking 1997

1 package of Rice a Roni herb & butter (I couldn't find this variety, so I used Uncle Ben's fast and fancy wild rice and herbs - it was good too.)
1/3 cup raisins (i might reduce this amount in the future)
2 tbsp margarine or butter
1 med. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp curry powder
1 package frozen carrot, broccoli and red pepper veg medley (I used "california mix" with broc. cauliflower and carrots, while adding fresh red pepper and a few sliced mushroom. I'm sure most variations and combinations would be OK)
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted (optional)

1. prepare rice-a-roni as package directs, adding raisins with contents of seasoning packet (or with Uncle Bens, I waited until the water was boiling before adding raisins)
2. Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, melt margarine over med. heat. add onion and garlic; saute 3-4 min. add flour and curry powder; cook 30 sec, stirring frequently.
3. add frozen vegetables, water and salt (If using fresh veggies, consider adding them slightly before the frozen ones). cover; bring to a boil over high heat. reduce heat and continue cooking 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Serve rice topped with vegetable mixture; sprinkle with almonds. (note: I bought slivered almonds from bulk barn and then toasted them in a frying pan on medium heat for a few minutes. yum)

You could serve this with some yogurt, if you were so inclined.
Also, it says it makes 4 servings, but I think that might be child-sized servings. If I made this again and wanted actual 4 servings, I might make an extra 1/2 cup of rice, plus add a few more veggies, to bulk it up.

fiesta burrito bake

On November 5th, 2007, I sent out an email to some friends and family stating that I was starting a recipe mailing list. The first two recipes I sent out were Fiesta Burrito Bake and Taco Salad.

Fiesta Burrito Bake
Effort: easy
Ingredients: common
Cookbook: favorite brand name Vegetarian cooking 1997

1/2 envelope Club House Marinades seasoning - Tex Mex flavour
1 can refried beans
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup water
10 (6") flour tortillas (get whole wheat and it's healthier)
1 medium tomato, coarsely chopped (I usually omit the tomato)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

- Preheat oven to 375 F
- in small bowl, combine seasoning powder, beans, sour cream and water. Spoon bean mixture onto tortillas, then roll.
- In a 13 x 9in. baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, arrange rolled tortillas; top with tomato then cheese.
- Bake covered for 15minutes. Remove cover and continue baking until cheese is melted and tortillas are heated through.
- serve, if desired, with shredded lettuce, sour cream and guacamole

Nic's comment: goes really well with "taco salad".

recipe: green peas and mushroom green curry

(Originally emailed Apr. 9, 2008)

Kyle introduced me to Thai food within the first few months of me being in Windsor, by cooking a large curry for our lab group (I'll be sending that recipe out shortly). Since then, we've bought several cookbooks (one vegetarian thai) and have visited several Thai restaurants. After going to a few restaurants, Kyle decided that green curry is his favourite curry, so we had to try making it ourselves. We found a "green curry" recipe in the World vegetarian cookbook, but it turns out it was Indian curry... so we took out the spices, threw in Thai green curry paste, and now it's pseudo-Indian/Thai green curry. We've made it 3 times probably, and every time we make it we're surprised at how quick it is and at how tasty it is. The last time we made it, we added tofu to make it more filling. I'm going to give you our recipe rather than the one from the cookbook, seeing as they're pretty much different recipes. It's best with jasmine rice but I bet basmati would work well too.

nightscape, a completely un-recipe-related photo by me

Green Peas and Mushroom (Thai/Indian) Green Curry
Effort: 1 very easy
Speed: 1 very fast
Ingredients: relatively easy to get (Bulk Barn and International sections of grocery stores are your friends); or super-easy if live in Windsor
Source: modified substantially from World Vegetarian (Madhur Jaffrey)

Ingredients:
3 cups shelled or frozen peas (we use frozen)
4 tbsp water + 1/4 cup water
1 to 1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp Thai green curry paste (in Windsor, we bought ours from the International Food Market in those little tins. We stocked up before we moved to Québec.)
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp canola oil
1 brick firm or extra firm tofu, cut into 1 cm cubes
1 tsp whole cumin seeds (easiest found in Bulk Barn)
about 10 medium mushrooms, sliced or cut into quarters

A note about the steps. Kyle and I share the cooking duties, meaning that we cook together for almost every meal. We usually split up the duties so that I chop and do a lot of the prep work, while Kyle tends to make sauces/spice mixes and handle the actual cooking/stir-frying/stirring duties. I don't know if I've said this explicitly before, but I find it very important to make sure everything is prepped before turning the stove on. So that means cutting all veggies, getting the spices out into small containers, mixing the sauce ingredients, etc. With Kyle and I cooking together, sometimes we can relax that, but if I am cooking on my own I always try to abide by the "prep rule" because otherwise I end up overcooking/burning things. If I was making this meal alone, I would chop the mushrooms and get out 2 cups of peas. Then cut the tofu and start frying it (and then the mushrooms) while I made the sauce.

1. Start (jasmine) rice.


2. Cut tofu.


3. Make sauce: Put 1 cup of (frozen) peas into a blender/food processer/Magic Bullet and blend a bit. Add 4 tbsp of water and blend to a puree. Add curry paste, salt, and cream. Blend again.


4. Fry tofu: Put most of the oil in large nonstick frying pan over med-high heat. Add half of the cumin seeds and let them sizzle for about 10 sec. Add tofu and saute until starting to brown. Remove tofu from pan.


5. Cook mushrooms: Add some more oil if necessary, and the remaining cumin seeds to the frying pan. Let sizzle and then add mushrooms. Saute for 3-4 minutes.


6. Add the sauce mixture that you blended in step 3. Rinse out the blender with some (~1/4 cup) water and pour that into the pan as well. Stir gently and cook for 1 minutes.


7. Add tofu and remaining peas.


8. Turn heat to medium, stir gently, cover, and cook for 3-4 minutes.


9. Serve hot, over jasmine rice.

Do you have any comments on the style this recipe is written in? Do you like the steps to be numbered? Is it OK that the posts get really long when I skip lines between steps, or is it annoying because you have to scroll down more?