A Spicy Little Weekend...Ole!

I have successfully not turned on the TV at all this evening. I was tempted to have it on in the background while I cooked, but based on all the ridiculous Facebook comments...I think it's better that I'm just listening to music. Speaking of music, I forgot to clarify the album from my last post: it was the new Kings of Leon. On the play list this evening: Brandi Carlile and Mumford & Sons!

This weekend was great. I spend a very relaxing few days at Brian's in NY. I took up a little of the granola for them to taste...had some for breakfast...and snacks. Needless to say, I am making another batch for this week. This round I'm forgoing the fruit because I have fresh berries. I'm also using pecans rather than walnuts and almonds. It's smelling good!

Saturday night Brian and I decided to make some dinner based on whatever was in the kitchen. It had snowed overnight, then iced for most of the day. We didn't really feel like venturing out...so this was the only alternative. The result of our findings:

We made a little vegetable risotto. It was pretty darn tasty...especially since we were so limited to what was in the kitchen. We added a bit too much white pepper...so it was super spicy! Here's the details:

1T olive oil
1 small red onion
1 small yam
1/2C celery
1/2C carrot
1/2C sun dried tomatoes
1C Arborio rice
4C vegetable stock
1t dried rosemary
1/8t white pepper (not what we used...but the amount that should be used! ha!)

Saute onions in olive oil until softened. Add yams, celery, carrot and cook for a few minutes. Add tomatoes and rice, cook for 1-2 minutes. Begin adding hot vegetable stock one cup at a time until completely gone and rice is nice and creamy. Enjoy!
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As I was brainstorming for this weeks menu, I was really wishing I knew how to make tortillas. So...there was my challenge. Not entirely sure how happy I am with the results...but will say the last batch turned out MUCH better than the first. I ended up making two batches of whole wheat and one of corn. The corn was a disaster. I don't even know how to fix what I did. ;) The whole wheat was a bit chewy and bland...but would definitely suffice is I was really craving a tortilla. I'm pretty sure they must use some type of shortening when they are mass producing them?

The last picture is my progress from start to finish. HA! The bottom is my first shot at the whole wheat. The corn was my only attempt...and the top is the second round of whole wheat. I used a combination of whole wheat flour, water, canola oil and salt. I'll have to experiment more later on to see if I can't get closer to the real deal.

For tonight's dinner (and the next few days) I went for a little south of the border feel. I made some Mexican cornbread and what I am calling Mexican Loaded Potatoes. First, the cornbread:

This turned out pretty good. It is slightly dry, but has great corn flavor and great surprises when you bite into a piece of the peppers. Here's what I did:

2C cornmeal
1 1/4 C almond milk
1t apple cider vinegar
2t baking powder
1t salt
1/2t black pepper
1/4C canola oil
1/2 canned corn (no sodium added)
1/4C jalapeno (I used pablano because they were out of jalapenos)

Mix milk and vinegar together and set aside. Mix all other ingredients, then combine with milk/vinegar mixture. Mix until combined, the pour into desired baking dish.

For muffins, bake for 25 minutes at 350.
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For the main course...Mexican Loaded Potatoes! It's a baked sweet potato topped with black beans, fresh salsa and avocado. Mmmmm...so good!

The black beans:

1lb dry black beans
7-8C water (depends on how tender you want your beans)
1t salt
1/2t black pepper
1t chili powder
2t cumin powder
2 cloves garlic

Boil beans until they are soft to the bite. Add spices and garlic. Stir and let sit until ready to use.

The salsa (original recipe courtesy of Brian):

3 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 large red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2C jalapenos
juice of 1 lime
1t salt
1T white wine vinegar
1/4C cilantro

Mix all together and let sit. Best if you can let it sit over night.
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You must try this. The ingredients are simple...but such a good combination.

I am almost a week into the start and I'm still feeling good about it all. It is taking up a lot of time (a lot!), so I guess it's a good thing that I really enjoy cooking. It has been forcing me to think outside the box and venture into what could possibly be a total disaster. It's teaching me to take more risks.

Friday was a hard day...food wise. I guess Friday's in a weird way correlates to eating out or having a snack if I've been good all week. Although it was a hard day, I made it and didn't break any of my rules. It feels really good to be back into eating fresh and vegan. It's always a little shock to the system when you make such a change...but it's amazing how great you feel. I have more energy and I feel "clean". That may be weird...but it's the best word I can think of at the moment.

My friend Naomi asked (and I think it's appropriate) if I thought I would loose any weight. I think I will? Not entirely sure...but I did weigh myself the morning of day 1...so I'll keep you updated on that too!

Well, that's all for now. Wishing everyone a great week!

Breaking the habit

When I get a new album, I can't help but listen to it over and over. Which brings me to my title, I need to break that habit. I'm on day 3.25 of listening to the same album and I need to stop before I get sick of it. I just can't help it!

Today was a day, let me tell you. I tried leaving for work early because I needed to take my car to the shop (an ordered part finally came in). Well, my typically quick exit from my wonderful street parking "spot" was not so kind to me. All in all, it took me 20 minutes to get my car out of the freaking ice. I guess there was quite the deep freeze last night...which had then cemented my tires to the rest of the snow/ice on the side of the street. It was a mess...I was incredibly aggravated...sweating...put a big scratch in the car from the shovel...bad start to the day. Luckily, it did get better as the day went on.

Dinner. In my efforts to use all the ingredients that I have purchased for the week, I was forced to think up something creative. I had an extra package of mushrooms that I had planned on putting into the risotto, but decided to just make half. So, my thinking of mushrooms led me to gravy. I was thinking a little mushroom gravy over mashed potatoes...with some other randoms on the side. Maybe a piece of toast to use up the bread before it is a rock. I didn't have any potatoes on hand. Side note: I typically keep whatever I'm going to be using for the week on hand, as I don't like for things to go bad on me. This past week I bought a 3lb bag of Honeycrisp apples (best apples ever!) and that was a stretch for me. I think I should get more familiar with buying in bulk? OK, back to dinner. Since I didn't have potatoes, that led me to the bread that I have leftover. At the end of my wickedly annoying thought process, I decided to make a spinach/mushroom open faced sandwich of sorts. Done.

It was actually kind of decent. I'm not saying that I would make it again...but it served the need for dinner and tomorrow's lunch. Here's what I did:

2T olive oil
1 small onion
4oz wild mushrooms
2 small tomatoes
3oz baby spinach
1T butter (earth balance)
1T flour
1C almond milk (unsweetened)
1/2C water
1t Kosher salt
2t black pepper
1/4t cayenne pepper
bread (toasted)

In a cast iron skillet, add 1T olive oil and saute onions until caramelized. Remove from skillet and add 1T olive oil and saute mushrooms until cooked. Remove from skillet and set aside with onions. In same cast iron skillet, add butter. Add flour and whisk together, making sure the mixture doesn't burn. Slowly add in your milk and water. Add spices. Return onions and mushrooms to mixture and heat through. Remove from heat and add spinach. Let rest until bread is toasted. Scoop over bread and garnish with chopped fresh tomatoes.
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Well, there you have it. Not sure what I'll be cooking up this weekend. I'm making another batch of granola (sans fruit because I have some fresh berries that I was to use in the morning) to add to the batch that I made yesterday. Turns out its a fun snack, so I thought I would start making batches every so often just to make sure I don't run out. I had it for breakfast with a little almond milk and it was tasty!

Later gators.

Snow Day!!!

Howdy folks. Today was indeed a snow day...technically ice day...but nonetheless, I was working from home today. It really is amazing how much work you can get done without all the interruptions of a day in the office!

Now that I got that out of the way...let's get to the good stuff. Today I worked on my breakfast recipes. I decided last night that if I didn't go into work that I would take the time to make some pancakes for breakfast. So, I pondered the ingredients as I drifted away to sleep with the hopes of it coming out beautifully the first time. I guess I jinxed myself. My first go was OK...definitely not the right balance of the small stuff. So, I ate part of it simply for the fact that I was hungry and didn't want to throw it all away. After working for the "day"...as "day" as you can get when working from home...I decided to try another batch. I looked at my list and adjusted what I thought needed to change...scooped out the batter...let the iron skillet do its magic...and BAM:

I wanted to try one more variation, but just didn't have the time. I am very happy with the outcome...earthy, slightly chewy and very filling. This recipe made about 3 large pancakes. Here's the stuff...

1C almond milk
1t white vinegar
1/3C unbleached white flour
1/3C whole wheat flour
1/3C quick oats
1t baking powder
1/4t salt
1t vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)

Combine the milk with vinegar, stir and allow to sit while you combine the dry goods.

Add the flours, oats, baking powder and salt. Mix dry goods together. Add vanilla bean paste to milk and stir. Add the wet to the dry and mix just until incorporated.

Drop approximately 1/3C into saucepan (I used my iron skillet) and cook as normal.
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Next in line this evening was granola! I do love me some granola and this mixture of molasses and spices make it a perfect snack or breakfast for those cold winter days! Delish!

2C oats
1/2C chopped walnuts
1/2C sliced almonds
1/2C raisins
1/2C craisins
1T molasses
2T water
1/2C brown sugar
1t vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
1t cinnamon
1/8t ground cloves
1/8t nutmeg
1/2t Kosher salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Add all dry ingredients together. In a small saucepan, heat molasses, water, brown sugar and vanilla bean paste until the sugars have dissolved. Pour sugar mixture over dry ingredients and stir until it is completely incorporated.

Pour mixture into greased cookie sheet (or similar...I prefer something with edges so it doesn't spill all over.) Bake for 1 hour, checking and stirring every 15 minutes. Let cool and dig in!
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I need to cover something really quick. You'll notice that I have been using vanilla bean paste in my recipes. My wonderful friend, Naomi, gave me this bottle for Christmas. It is SO good.

I had the leftover risotto from last night for dinner....even better the day after! (side note...the risotto didn't taste nearly as salty as I thought it did last night. Hmmm...)

That's all folks. Until next time...

Day 1: Success

So today wasn't a complete failure! That's a start, right? There were a few times where I had to pull my hand back from grabbing those snacks that my co-workers put out. I do it too...I put stuff out that I just want to get rid of so I don't eat the last ever loving piece of...but seriously...it needs to stop.

Like they say, breakfast starts the day off right. So I attempted to lower my cholesterol by having some oatmeal, a smidgen of brown sugar and a handful of fresh blueberries. After having cereal for months on end, it was quite nice having a change of pace.

Oatmeal. Let's face it, steel cut oats are really fantastic. But who has time? I opted for the rolled oats...the semi-lazy version. I was lucky enough to have someone send me a crock-pot recipe for steel cut oats that I'm going to have to try. I'll keep you posted on that (no pun intended. haha)

Lunch. I talked about my intentions last post and I think it mostly came through. My evaluation: B. The middle was fantastic, but the bread fell apart a little. The flavor of the bread was really good...and it was slightly dense, just how I like it. I ate the whole thing, so it must not have been that bad. Can we just think about the awesomeness of roasted red peppers...fresh roasted red peppers....mmmmmm! Delish!

A coworker (who knows I am doing the blog) asked me what I was eating. I told her and she said "That's tofu? Oh, it looks like chicken." It may seem odd, but I take that as a compliment.

As I was preparing for dinner tonight, I realized that I need to start writing things down so I don't forget what I meant to put in something. I was also thinking about portions. Cooking for one person can be difficult because recipes more often than not make a large amount. With that being said, I have always made a large batch of something Sunday evening and then have the leftovers for lunch (and sometimes dinner) all week! I feel that I need to make an effort not to do that so I can get the most out of the experience. So...my resolution for this week: split the ingredients I bought for the risotto and force myself into making two separate meals out of them (without going back to the store for more stuff). I think I did it...so look for something new on Thursday!

OK...risotto. This turned out really good. I used the vegetable stock that I made on Sunday (good call!) and added in all the flavors that I wanted to go together. The only thing I would do differently is not add any salt to the recipe until the cooking was about half-way finished. My stock was salted and I added 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt. It may not be for others, but it was just a bit much for me (plus I really like to monitor my sodium intake). Here's the recipe (enough for 2-3 servings...but could easily double):

4C vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
2T olive oil
1/2C shallots
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2t dried rosemary
1t dried thyme
1/4t white pepper
1/4t cinnamon
1/2t Kosher salt (may want to wait on this one)
4oz wild mushrooms
1C Arborio rice
3oz spinach (rough chopped)
dash of truffle oil when plated

In medium stockpot, bring stock and bay leaf to slow boil. Keep the stock hot at all times until it is gone.

Heat saucepan, then saute shallots and garlic until shallots are translucent. Add all spices, salt and pepper and saute for another minute. Add mushrooms and saute until they start giving off their liquid. Add Arborio rice and let "brown" for 2-3 minutes (stirring frequently so it doesn't burn). At this point it is time to start adding in the stock. Add 1C (or one ladle full) at a time, allowing the rice to soak up the stock before adding more. It will go quickly for the first few cups. Stick with it and keep stirring...this allows the risotto to become nice and creamy! Keep adding the stock until it is gone and has been incorporated into the rice. Turn heat off, add spinach and let it wilt into the mixture.

Once plated, add a few drops of truffle oil. Enjoy!
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If you don't have the white pepper or the truffle oil, you'll survive. If you do have them...use them. You'll be forever hooked! The white pepper adds a nice quick and unexpected heat that black pepper just doesn't have. And the truffle oil...its an expensive little bottle, but you'll have it for a really long time!

 

Tomorrow might be a snow/ice day for me (fingers crossed!)...so I might have some time to experiment!

That's all for now. Off to enjoy a glass of wine and relax for a bit.

The Last Supper

My belly is full...my heart is happy. After enjoying a delicious sushi pizza from a great little place in Milford, PA (and some cocoa citrus ice cream...which was simply the best thing I have ever had) I must come back to reality and prepare myself for tomorrow.

Yesterday was a day of prep for my adventure. I spent about 4 hours getting everything ready to start my week. However, before I could do anything I needed to clean out my cupboards. This is everything that I either donated to friends or put away into a "DO NOT TOUCH" section:

I made my list of food for the week and went shopping. Tomorrow night I'm making a spinach, wild mushroom risotto...and lunches will be sandwiches with crudites.

Let's start with the sandwiches. Since I am severely lacking in the "I make awesome bread" category, I decided to memorize a recipe before starting this adventure. I love bread and am not really willing to live without it...so I needed to have some place to start. This recipe will be a good jumping point for me (at least I hope). On top of the bread I will do homemade hummus (1/2 lb garbanzo beans, 3 cloves garlic, juice from 1/2 a lemon, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1t kosher salt, 2t black pepper and water as needed for consistency), roasted red bell peppers (olive oil, salt and pepper), baked tofu (sliced, pressed, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne pepper), lettuce and tomato.

As for the hummus. I opted into buying dry garbanzo beans because I was just curious how it would do. Not going to lie for a second...canned garbanzo beans are freaking easy...but I think the taste overall is way better in the end! The only issue I had were the skins of the beans not fully breaking up in the food processor. Any suggestions?

I'm excited for dinner tomorrow night. I have made a similar recipe before, but have NO idea on the amount of ingredients I have used. I'm also switching it up a bit...so we'll see! I decided to go ahead and make my own vegetable stock:

I know, technically I could say it is an ingredient...but what's the fun in that? I have always wanted to try this (not that it is that difficult). After taking a little sip about two hours into simmering....I think I actually shouted out loud "holy cow that is awesome!" You must do this...freeze it...use it right away...just do it. The flavor is just fantastic and you can alter it in whatever way you want based on the veggies and/or leftover pieces that you have laying around. Here's what I used:

4'ish quarts of water
1T Kosher salt
1 potato
5 carrots
4 stalks celery (tops included)
1 tomato (might use more next time)
1/2 a large onion

That just about sums up my afternoon and evening.

Next in line after the risotto...granola (I need some snacks and other breakfast options) and possibly banana bread (I have an old banana that's just begging to become something awesome).

And so it begins...

It's the middle of winter here in Northeastern PA and it's just plain cold. That being said, when you are looking for something to do, there are two primary options: drink or eat.

A few months ago I had this idea to fight the winter blues and avoid packing on those winter pounds. I can't say that I'm going to stop drinking, because quite frankly, that isn't going to happen. However, I have decided to challenge myself and switch things up for the entire month of February. I know, I know. February just happens to be the shortest month...but it also happens to be the best month to do my experiment.

I must give a quick shout out to my friend and former co-worker, Karen, who told me I should blog about this experiment. In all reality, it will be fun to share my experience and hopefully keep me on track.

So here it goes...the rules.

1. No eating out for 1 month (February 1-28, 2011)
2. All meals must be made from scratch (not including leftovers)
3. Cannot purchase, nor eat, anything pre-made or prepared (not including beverages or basic ingredients for my recipes. Ex: tofu, peanut butter, mustard, etc.)
4. Must use fresh ingredients if available (if not, canned ingredients may be purchased)
5. Must make everything without the use of recipes (recipes from memory must be altered in some way to make "original")
6. May not use any meat or dairy in any meal

Now for the purpose:
1. For the challenge and fight the winter blues
2. To compare grocery/eating out costs from January to February
3. To create healthy, new original recipes
4. To show how exciting and tasty a vegan diet can be

So...there it is. I think it is going to be very challenging, but I'm ready for it. I have enjoyed cooking and eating vegan since I switched in October 2008. However, the past few months have not been so good as far as eating habits go. I think this will be a good jump start into not eating out so much and watching what I put into my body.

I'll post my recipes, share my thoughts and put lots of pictures of the journey. I'm currently getting ready for Tuesday's start because I will be enjoying my last night of freedom tomorrow night having a very special dinner! :)

Until next time.