Stuffed Hatch Chili Peppers with Lime Cilantro Sauce

So, my dad ordered some Hatch chili peppers. If you aren't aware, Hatch chili peppers are a special type of pepper that is only grown in Hatch, NM.  They are quite delicious; however, with my CSA, I need more peppers like I need a hole in the head.  (Currently I have a 1 gallon bag filled with roasted frozen peppers and more to do).  At any rate, instead of telling my dad, no thanks, I said sure and then had to decide what I was going to do with this latest batch.  I did decide to stuff some and even had resigned myself to find a recipe with either meat or cheese, but then came across this recipe.  Wow!  These were so good!  To be honest, the filling did not really stand out, but between the pepper itself and the sauce...again, just wow!  I hope to make these again with some poblanos cause again...peppers...hole in the head.  (but it was the last week so it should be over soon!)

Breakfast Cookies

Oh, this was a good one.  I made these with my mom while visiting over the weekend, which of course for me was the most fun part, but my daughter will eat anything if you call it a cookie or a muffin.

I'm not a huge fan of anything that has a banana flavor to it, but these were better the second day.  Even later in the afternoon.

I plan on trying these with quinoa.

Here is the link (of course, I found it on pinterest first!).

Fresh Tomato Sauce and Pasta

Found yet another one on Pinterest.  Love that site. Find the recipe here.

Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce

The only thing I would do differently is that I would have not refrigerated the tomatoes. I know, I know. You are not supposed to refrigerate the tomatoes. I did anyway, because I bought them at the farmer's market on Saturday, so I could make this dish, but I wasn't sure when I would get to it.  So I put them in the fridge.

Refrigerating tomatoes really does impede their flavor.  Don't do it.  This is a fantastic recipe and mine would have tasted wonderful if my cold tomatoes didn't have a metallic taste to them that comes with sitting in the fridge.

Totally easy to prepare. I even went the extra mile to scrape out the seeds before processing them. I made the sauce in advance and then squeezed much of the liquid out of the bowl before mixing with the pasta.

Bam! dinner was done. I'd say it took me less than 15 minutes.

Makes plenty of leftovers.

Quinoa Crunch Salad

Oops, I accidentally posted on the wrong blog!  I took this picture with my ipod touch and posted it using the blogger app.  The picture is a little off, but you get the idea.  What I said on the other blog is that I am not always a far of the quinoa, but I really liked it in this salad.  I think the crunch really is what made it, and it was strangely addictive.  I got the recipe from my blog crush at The Lively Kitchen.  Enjoy!

Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad

This is a super salad. 



This is one I found off of Pinterest. I've become a pinterest junkie lately. So many good ideas.  I have to say I quite liked this recipe. The roasted salted almonds added a crunch factor that was quite fun.  Find the recipe here. It was easy to prepare, and I could make it in advance and leave it in the fridge until everything else was ready.

My two oldest would't eat it, but my baby sure likes Kale. He gobbled it up.  Oh, the flecks of orange are carrots. I screwed up and added carrots to it, even though the recipe doesn't call for them. I was doing too many things at the same time and got confused. But who can go wrong with more veggies in your diet?

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I had a bad experience with brussels sprouts once - when I was kid.  Poorly prepared, sitting cold on my plate. I tried to feed them to the dog but even she wouldn't eat them.  I haven't been back there since.

Now, 30 some odd years later I'm brave enough to try them again.  Got the idea out of Veganomicon.  And I read somewhere that the smaller ones are not bitter. The ones I had were all about the size of a marble or a superball your kids would get from those little vending machines.They were quite yummy.

Get a fresh bunch from the farmer's market.
Trim the knobby ends and slice in half.
Lay cut side down on the tray, evenly coat with EVOO and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast at 400 for 15 mins, throw a teaspoon of minced garlic in with them in the last few mins of baking.

Voila. They were so good, my husband (who also doesn't like brussles sprouts) and I ate the whole batch.

Give it a go.

wait for this cake . . . .

I've tried most of the recipes from this month's VT issue. Up Next:  Garlicky Cheezy Kale & Crispy Chick’n Salad,  Jack Burgers and Fabulous Vegan Fudge Cake with Bittersweet Icing

I have to say, I've liked almost all of them.  Follow this link to get the recipes, and see below for my comments.

Garlicky Cheezy Kale & Crispy Chick’n Salad

The jury is out on this one.  First of all, I couldn't find Gardein Mandarin Orange Crispy Chick’n. I search SuperTarge, Cub Foods and Kowalski's (which is gourmet grocery). Nada. Whole Foods is in St Paul and I didn't have time or energy in my schedule to drive all that way, so I just made do with good old fashioned Garden Burger meatless chicken patty. The recipe was simple to prepare, had a distinct tahini taste to the dressing. I didn't love it, didn't hate it, but it was kinda nice to have the mix of chicken strips with the salad.  I'm not sure why this one got an Honorable Mention in the VT Get Lucky Recipe contest - seems to me that there would better recipes out there.  I'd make it again though.

Jack Burgers



To me, Jack burgers would be a competitor to the Chick Pea Cutlets from Veganomicon.  They were prepared similarly, but I used bisquick instead of the GF pancake mix the recipe called for. They were a little mushy on the inside, but not really too bad. Good flavors.  Easy to whip up in the food processor and the recipe makes quite a few.  I'm going to experiment with freezing and cooking the remaining batter to see how that would work. Will keep you posted.

Fabulous Vegan Fudge Cake with Bittersweet Icing

This cake really was so fabulous, it probably deserves its own entry on this blog. OMG. my mouth is watering just thinking about the leftovers in the fridge. My husband ate two slices last night and had one for breakfast this AM. 

Rich. Fudgy and thick.  Super easy to make. I used rice milk instead of soy (since I was pregnant I've developed an aversion to soy milk and it grosses me out).   One note however: when making the icing, allow it to cool significantly before pouring it on the cake. Seriously. If you think its ready, wait a little while longer. It will still pour even if its chilled. Mine ran all over the place and my cake was sitting in a pool of icing. Not the best for appearances, but it was still yummy.

More from Vegetarian Times

I'm guilty. I'm just going to post pictures of the tings I made from the Sept 2012 issue of VT because I'm too tired to reproduce them. (Sorry folks, I'm just a busy mom, like everyone else and I've got too much to do not enough time). If you can find it, go out and buy this month's issue. Its worth it.  If you prefer to wait until next month, I'll post the links to these recipes on this blog when they are available.

I really recommend this issue. I've tried most of the recipes in it and there are a few. We had Heirloom Tomato Salad with Grilled Foccaccia and Rosemary Honey Drizzle one night for supper. It was really good.  I've been visiting the farmer's market here. Local produce just adds to the yumminess. 

Heirloom Tomato and Nectarine Salad

served with:

Grilled Bread with Rosemary-Honey Drizzle

AMY - YOU ARE MAKING ME FEEL BAD!

 

Gnocchi with White Beans 

This wasn't a really great recipe, but it was an easy pantry meal that I was able to throw together after being out of town and I didn't have to go to the store!  I love gnocchi, but it seems like a lot of work to make without a lot of yield.  This why I usually get it at Briosa.  Someone else makes it.  Well, when I make my run to Trader Joe's, I usually pick up a package of premade gnocchi.  It usually sits in my pantry for awhile.  It is not the same as fresh, but in this case it was ok.  

Crap, now why isn't that picture working.  See, this is why I stopped blogging, I am tired of the computer issues.

Four- Grain Hot Cereal

Its a good thing I had this ready to go this morning. 2 of my 3 were up ALL NIGHT last night - sick. We've all been there before - sick kids is no fun for anyone.  At least it was nice to wake up and not have to do a thing to prepare breakfast.

Its Four-Grain Hot Cereal, by Better Homes & Gardens.  I bought the book a few years ago, before I started eating more vegan, because I wanted to simplify my life. Most of the recipes in this book are just okay (only a select few are vegan). This one included.  But at least it was healthy and I didn't have to do much at all.

Butternut Squash 3 Ways

I wrote that I made the butternut squash pizza a week or two ago and it was really good. I'm totally planning on making it again.  But I bought a huge squash and I only needed a little of it for the pizza. I sure wasn't going to waste the leftovers.

So I visited my old friend Annabelle Karmel.  She wrote a book called First Meals and I used to use it quite a bit, but its been a while since she called me to open her pages and read her words of wisdom.  Plus I feared my kids were getting bored with PB&J, carrot sticks and grapes.

Low and behold were two recipes that I had all the ingredients for already. I was prepared. I went to work.

2) BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO

This was absolutely delicious.  DH and I really liked it. The kids wrinkled up their noses at first, but they ate it when I told them they couldn't have dessert if their plates still had food on them.  They had it again a second time around so given that they ate it with a small amount of intervention on my part, I think this one was a success.

Risottos are a little bit of a pain.  Constant stirring for 30 mins or more make them high maintainence and therefore off my list of menu items to prepare regularly.  However, DH was home and could watch children so I could tackle this.

Risottos use a special rice called Arborio. Its a short-grain, high-starch rice. The starch content allows it to stick together.  I guess the desired texture for risottos is soft on the outside of the grain and firm on the inside. I didn't think my kids would go for that, so I cooked it a litttle longer to make it soft. I thought it was good. Maybe thats why I'm not a professional chef or food critic.

It was good as a leftover as well. I didn't try to freeze it and I'm not so sure that it would really freeze the greatest, but if anyone wants to try, let me know your results.

Here's her recipe:

2/3 C Butternut squash, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 1/2 T EVOO
1 onion
1 garlic clove
1 C arborio rice
2 1/2 C hot veggie stock
8 sage leaves, torn into small pieces

Steam the squash for 5 minutes. Heat EVOO in heavy bottomed pot and saute onion and garlic over low until soft. Add the rice and stir until well coated. Cook over medium for 25 minutes adding the stock on ladleful at atime stirring constantly allowing the rice to absorb each ladleful of liquid before adding the next.

About 10 mins before the end of cooking time, add the squash and sage. Continue to add stock until its all used up.

*note the original called for 3 T parmesan to be added at the end, but I omitted it to keep it vegan.

3) BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND ALPHABET PASTA

I had a bunch of puree already made up. I thought it was cute to use the alphabet pasta as well.
This recipe could easily transform into a soup by thinning the puree with vegetable stock.  My baby really liked it.

3 C butternut squah peeled and cubed.
2-3 T alphabet soup pasta
2 T EVOO
1/2 T chopped fresh sage

Steam the squash and puree until smooth. Cook the pasta until tender. Cook sage in EVOO for 1 minute until fragrant. Combine sage, squash and pasta. 

This item freezes well. I froze it in ice cube trays so I can pull out exactly what I need each time and there is no waste.

Who Wants Dessert?

The Elvis and Magic Bars

My daughter loves to read my cookbooks. She loves cupcakes and cookies. She inherited my sweet tooth. Last year when I first turned over this vegan leaf I was relieved that I wouldn't be tempted by desserts anymore. Then I discovered Isa Chandra Moskowitz and her books Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World and Vegan Cookies Invade your Cookie Jar.  There goes that plan.

If you have a sweet tooth, I'd recommend both of these books. She hasn't steered me wrong yet.

The first one is the Elvis. My daughter picked this one out by herself. I was a little skeptical. Wasn't Elvis's favorite food a peanut butter sandwich with bananas and bacon?  Ick.

But whatever, if she wanted to try it I'd go for it. The cupcake part tastes just like banana bread. Very light with a fine crumb. Top it off with peanut butter icing (not my favorite) and garnish with chopped peanuts, chocolate chips and a banana slice.  The combination was actually quite delicious.  If you are really brave, try sticking a piece of facon bacon on it to be really authentic. I couldn't bring myself to do that.

Secondly, she wanted to make magic bars. Now, these I was really game for. Kinda like a 7 layer bar with coconut, nuts and chocolate chips. It was fun to do with her too she could help with all parts of the assemble since no loud machinery like a mixer was involved.  She stirred the base and put it in the pan, I poured the caramel sauce then her favorte part: making the layers. Which actually turned out to be more like mountains of each ingredient in the middle of the pan, but we were able to get them spread out.

Refrigerated overnight and voila! Bribes!

Eat More Kale!

Oh, I've got a slew of kale recipes up my sleeve. This is another one from VT (I'm telling you, this month was a good issue!).

Kale Chips.

Now, I tried Kale Chips before and I didn't like them. Not to mention expensive - I'm embarrassed to say I paid $7 for what I think is a 4 oz bag of them. But I didn't want to give up. Please keep in mind that I'm not a professional photographer. The picture above doesn't do them justice. You really must try these. They were the simplest to prepare. And totally yummy. Light, crispy, subtle hint of cheese.  None of that bitter green vegetable aftertaste that one would expect.

But I have take a moment to gripe.  Nutritional yeast. Can't find it anywhere. I could have driven to St Paul to Whole Foods to get it, but I didn't want to go all that way for one thing. I scoured the stores in my town - no one had it. So I ended up ordering it online from Bob's Red Mill. What a pain. I've skipped the nutritional yeast in many recipes before and they've all been fine. But if the recipe calls for it (and I'm coming across more and more that do), I figured I owed it the recipe to include it.

Kale Chips

1 12 oz bunch kale
1 T EVOO
1/3 C nutritional yeast

Preheat oven to 350. Tear kale into large chunks, removing the stems. Rub leaves with EVOO and sprinkle nutritional yeast over the top. Bake for 5 mins, then flip the kale and bake additional 5-10  minutes or until crispy.

Great!

Trek Bars

Great Harvest brings their goods to the farmer's market and I had the pleasure of trying. It was good. So-So actually. And for $2.50 a square they really weren't worth it.

But I'm a clever girl. Where there is a will, there is a way.  I found this recipe on another blog and tried it.
It has a peanut butter taste to it, but its really not too bad. I havne't tried it with other nut butters, but I don't see why you could use almond butter or anything else.

They seem like a good snack that could hold you over for a while.

Butternut Squash Pizza

I cheated a little on this one. I used parmesan cheese instead of a nondairy subsitute like Daiya. I couldn't find it in the local stores and am far too busy to make a special to Whole Foods. But I actually think this pizza would be great wtihout cheese altogether.

Its another one from this months issue of Vegetarian Times. See all the recipes I'm posting here..

Butternut Squash Pizza
Candice Garrett
Monterey, Calif

Serves 6
1 small butternut squash, peeled, halved, and sliced 1/8-inch thick
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced (1 1/2 cups)
2 Tbs. Eden Selected Spanish extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 16-oz. pkg. refrigerated pizza dough
1/2 cup fresh spinach leaves
1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Toss together squash, onion, oil, and rosemary in bowl. Spread in large baking dish, and roast 30 minutes, or until  tender.

3. Increase oven temperature to 450°F. Divide pizza dough into 2 pieces, and shape each piece into 8-inch round. Place dough rounds on baking sheet, and top with squash mixture. Bake 13 to 17 minutes, or until crust is crisp. Drizzle pizzas with oil, scatter 1/4 cup spinach over each, and garnish each with 2 Tbs. shaved Parmesan.


Per 1/3 pizza (2 SLICES) 295 cal; 9 g prot; 8 g total fat (2 g sat fat); 47 g carb; 2 mg chol; 448 mg sod; 3 g fiber; 5 g sugars

Sweet Potatoes!

I'm back to a recipe I found in my VT magazine this month. Evidently the mag had a contest - create a recipe with 7 ingredients or less.  I love this contest - so far I'm 2 for 2 in what I've tried from this contest. The biggest plus is that the recipes are simple and I've had most of the ingredients already.  I thought this was really good - although was skeptical at first - cumin can be so over powering. But in my opinion the flavors are really well balanced. I prepped the whole thing in the morning and kept  it in the fridge until it was time to pop it in the oven. Viola- Dinner!

Here's a new one by Jennifer Plantenberg of San Mateo CA.

Cumin & Lime Roasted Sweet Potatoes

1 large sweet potato peeled amd cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 t safflower oil (I just used canola oil)
1 t ground cumin
1 t paprika
1 lime, halved.
1/2 C chopped cilantro

preheat oven to 425. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or cooking spray (I used an 8x8 pan). Toss potato and onion with oil on prepared baking sheet. SPrinkle with cumin and paprika and season with salt if desired. Squeeze juice of 1/2 lime over the top and roast for 45-60 minutes. Toss half way through cooking time.

Remove veggies from oven squeeze juice of remaining 1/2 lime over top and sprinkle with cilantro.

Fruit Calzones - Pink-a-yummy!

I subscribe to Vegetarian Times magazine (Thanks Shannon for introducing me to VT!).  They have many new recipes and many of them are vegan. So when I saw this recipe in this month's issue I thought "how perfect! easy and my kids will love it!".

Well, my daughter nibbled on hers, surprisingly.  My son however devoured it. At least one of them liked it!

My husband liked them. Too easy to put together and quite yummy.
I had to reproduce the recipe - the magazine doesn't publish their recipes while the current issue it out.

Here it goes

1 pkg refrigerated pizza dough
8 t all-fruit spread
1 apple, grated
1/2 C berries of your choice, sliced if they are large
1/4 C sugar (opt)

1) Preheat oven to 500. coat baking sheet with cooking spray
2) Divide dough into 8 balls. roll out to 4x6 oval.
place 1 t fruit spread on inside and top with 1 t apple and 1 T berries.
3) Wet the edges of the dough with a little water and fold over the top half and seal. Crimp the edges with a fork.
4) Brush the calzones with water and sprinkle sugar on top.

5) Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden. Let stand 10 mins before serving. (mine got a little too done - still getting used to a new oven, I guess!)

Magic Kale Salad

I'm trying to eat more kale. I hear its supposed to be good for you - like spinach only better. I tried it once last summer - it wasn't the greatest. I used a recipe from my favorite vegan chef Moskowitz (some enchilada recipe out of Veganomicon). It was okay. I had an issue with the texture - very tough. And the curly bits on the ends got stuck in my craw. But I'm going to give it the old college try and really get into it this time.

Now, I'm not as big of a fan of Momma Pea as Kerri is.  I think her recipes are hit or miss. But she's a great writer and fun to read so I keep up with her as my schedule allows.  Lately I haven't been doing much cooking at all. Moving half way across the country takes its toll. I gave Shannon most of the ingredients out of my pantry and fridge before we left (can't take it with you on the truck), and restocking has been painfully slow. It would be one thing if I didn't care what I put in my fridge, but I really try to buy organic, wholesome foods and that is expensive. Additionally my children seem to have hollow legs - my 3 and 4 year olds are eating me out of house and home. I'm having to go restock basic fruits and veggies every 2 days. Plus, with unpacking and organizing the house, trying to get to know a new community blah, blah, blah . . . .  you know how slow things can go.

But I digress. I've been hanging onto this one for a while now.  My mom grew some kale in her garden and brought me some. This recipe was super simple and a very good basic salad. I wouldn't give it 5 stars, but I would make it again if I had to throw something together in a pinch. I used walnuts instead of pistachios because thats what I had. It was fine.

http://peasandthankyou.com/2012/02/23/magic-kale-salad-with-pistachios-and-apples/

Spiced Chickpea and Tomato Soup

So I don't have a picture. Tomato soup looks the same no matter how you photograph it - unless you are food photographer and stylist, then you have all the right lighting and know-how.

As you know we are moving in a couple of weeks and I'm trying to use up everything I have in my pantry and fridge so nothing goes to waste. I can bring some pantry good with me, but not everything.

So I had everything already to make this soup. It was good. I didn't love it, but my husband did. Not your traditional tomato soup. It is kinda cool though that a tomato soup can be nontraditional (as in no cream or basil). That Martha sure can shake things up.

I used fresh tomatoes that I had frozen from last summer (wanted to use them up), instead of the canned. And used vegetable stock instead of the chicken stock it calls for in the recipe. Voila - vegan.

http://www.marthastewart.com/353560/spiced-chickpea-and-tomato-soup

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos

I'm not trying to steal Shannon's thunder here - really I'm not. But she made these for me just after I had my baby and I LOVED them. Now I make them quite frequently. They freeze really well and heat up easily for a low-effort dinner. The filling is not exactly a cinch to make, but this recipe makes a ton, and its nice to have all those extras to freeze for later. They are from the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites Cookbook.

Try them here.

Orange Glazed Tempeh

<a href="http://s117.photobucket.com/albums/o79/wirrek/2012%20Food/?action=view&amp;current=007-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o79/wirrek/2012%20Food/007-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Yes, yes, it is yet another tempeh recipe from Color Me Vegan.  It was really good!  Definitely better than the other one I posted (although that one was still good).  The flavor was very good and very easy to prepare.  I did not steam the tempeh this time and I think I had dinner on the table in less than 45 minutes.

I tried some searches to get the recipe and post it, but couldn't find it.  If you want me to post this recipe, let me know.  I renewed the book AGAIN!

Linguine with purple cabbage and pine nutes

This is another one from Color Me Vegan.  Mark has this thing with purple cabbage.  He loves it.  This one was pretty good.  I liked it, but have to say, it is a little too sweet after it cooks. Still pretty good and I think we will make it again!

Tempeh with Cherry Balsalmic Reduction Sauce

Whoa, blogger has a new interface I guess... So, this was a fancy one. I checked out Color Me Vegan from the library. I love it! It has been a long time that a cookbook has interested me like this. One of the recipes that spoke to me was this one. When we would eat meat at hope, those chicken dishes were always so easy: saute a little chicken, make a little sauce, serve with a veggie and rice...dinner is served! This is kind of like that, but uses tempeh instead of chicken. First thing, the recipe states to steam the tempeh. Well, I had some time so I went ahead and did it. I guess it made a difference. The author says it gets rid of some of the bitterness of tempeh. I guess it did. She also recommends freezing tofu so take it with a grain of salt. Once the steaming was done, the meal came together quickly. It was pretty good. I could see making it again if I still have the book!

Quinoa, Avocado and Sweet PotatoTimbale

I have been hanging onto this recipe for a while. The picture made it look so yummy and I had been eager to try it. Honestly I was a little intimidated because I thought it looked really labor intensive. It really wasn't as difficult as it appeared. Nick and I each had two timbale and we felt satisfied. As in hara hachi bu (the Japanese philosophy of eating until you are 80% full).  These were good and really I don't have any serious complaints, but the recipe didn't send me over the moon. I'm not sure I'd make this again, but I still liked it.

In the event you'd like to try it, I do have a couple of notes:

1) This recipe has 4 basic parts. Each part can be done in advance, then assembled when its time to eat.

2) I would use the full jalapeno instead of half to prepare the Quinoa.

3) I roasted the tomatillas along with the sweet potatoes - just got it done faster and everything was fine.

4) I didn't have avocado when I made this (I forgot to pick one up), but I think it would be really scrumptious had I used it.

5) No need to use a mold to create the nice neat little stack. You could very well just pile it on the plate - it all will fall apart once you dig in anyhow. But on the other hand, the presentation is nice when you go the extra mile. I have to admit I actually felt a little special when I made it look really pretty - like I was eating something that would be served in a fancy restaurant. I used a large biscuit cutter as a mold.

This recipe is from a new chef I hadn't used before Tal Ronnen. His cookbook is called The Conscious Cook: Delicious Meatless Recipes to Change the way you eat. Find the recipe here.

Polenta with Tomato-Braised Beans

We liked this. I wouldn't say its in my top 10 of most used or favorite recipes, but it can be easy to prepare if you use prepared polenta from the produce section instead of dry polenta. Using the dried polenta can be high maintenance if you ask me - you just have to keep an eye on it, stirring alot and it can still get lumpy.  Polenta, if you don't know is a fancy term cornmeal.  You don't need to buy the pricier package that says Polenta on the label - I just use plain old House Autry Cornmeal.  You can however use prepared polenta you get from the produce section of the store - fry it or mash it and serve the beans over the top, and this meal will be just as good.

But its another way to get white beans into your diet - they have lots of calcium.

Try it here.

Heirloom Tomato Salad With Fresh Lady Peas

Here's one to use up all those tomatoes you'll get from Stanley this summer. This is one that we liked, but its more of a salad or appetizer than a main course. The store didn't have fresh peas so I used green beans instead and it was still good. The lemon basil dressing that goes with it was easy to make, but a little too lemony for my taste. I'd pare it down next time. But it was still really good.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/heirloom-tomato-salad-with-fresh-lady-peas-10000001634626/

Lucky Black Eyed Pea Salad

This is another fave in our house. Its very easy to prepare and keeps pretty well as a leftover. Just don't add the peaches and watercress until you are ready to serve it.

Find the recipe here.

Indian Sheppard's Pie

This is another one from Peas and Thank You.

It is presented as a way to use up holiday leftovers, and I have to say, I can see doing it. I had my eye on this one for St. Patrick's Day, but can't remember why I didn't make it. However, I did keep thinking of it. When I had some leftover quiona, I knew what I was going to make!



It is pretty impressive, and if you have the quiona or potatoes leftover, it only makes it easier.



The only think I would have done different is chop the spinach before cooking. This was really good!

Thai Mango Noodles

I have to say, I liked this recipe, even though it was a little boring. It is definitely very colorful, which gives me hope that it would be really yummy, but I think the ginger and garlic could have been pumped up a notch to give more substance to the flavors. Still I would make it again. It was easy to put together and makes for an easy lunch. Keeps well in the fridge.

The recipe is from Jennifer McCann, author of Vegan Lunchbox Around the World. Find the recipe here.

Plaintain Wraps with Black Bean Spread

We really liked this recipe. It reminds me of all the time we spent in the Caribbean. Plantains (Plan-Tains) are a member of the banana family. They are a starchy, low sugar variety that is cooked before serving as it is unsuitable raw. It is used somewhat like a potato would be used. Unripe plantains are green, just like unripe bananas, but unlike a banana they are at the peak of ripeness when they ripen thy turn black.

This recipe was super easy to put together. Any leftover the Bean Spread can be used as dip for chips. For myself, I would leave out the cumin in the bean spread next time and perhaps amp up the cayenne a tad. I'm not a lover of too much cumin. I think the smokiness of it is distracting. I did not feel it was necessary to add salsa or guacamole to the wraps, the plaintains turns sweet and crispy when fried and putting salsa on the wrap added too many competing flavors that took the spotlight away from the star of the show. Easy to make, easy cleanup and easy to prep in advance. I wish I could say they keep well as leftovers, but we ate them all! Will be making this again.

The recipe is from Jennifer McCann, author of Vegan Lunchbox Around the World.
Here is the link

Chesapeake Tempeh Cakes

I can't believe that these were really good. We like crab cakes and although I didn't use the nori, which would have made them a little "fishy", they had the texture of crab cakes without being mushy, as crab cakes can sometimes be.

I'm also not too familiar with tempeh. My only experience with tempeh until now was making Shannon's Facon Bacon. I failed to read the recipe and prepare in advance, then when I realized my shortcomings, I tried to "fake it" by substituting and skipping steps and ultimately ended up with a disaster. No fault of the recipe whatsoever.

I had been hanging onto this recipe for a while, and just hadn't gotten to it. Then I really hadn't been doing alot of cooking the past 3 months, because I had a baby in December. But after getting my body composition assessment done at the gym, I now realize that have to get back on the bandwagon.

I'm glad I did. These were quite excellent. Not too difficult to prepare either, despite the long list of ingredients. With few exceptions, any vegan should have these ingredients in his/her pantry already.

Its by my favorite vegan chef, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, of course. I can't stay away from that woman. Find it here.

Friday night

I am pretty good a meal planning. So, when I read articles that in order to lose weight or save money by meal planning I get annoyed. The way I meal plan is I go to the store on the weekend, get by during the week and then Friday night is whatever I can come up with. So, it was Friday afternoon, I really didn't want to go to the store, and I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner. Then I was reminded of this post from Peas and Thank You and thought, I have all those things!



I served it with sunshine salad and really didn't follow the recipe all that closely, but it was a hit and can't wait to make it again. Yay - Tempheh! I served it with sunshine salad.

Another feast?

This one was not quite as good as the one last week, but it did feature butternut squash and chickpeas as well.

I had some leftover butternut squash and some leftover wonton wrappers from the last time I made the vegan wontons. Since I did miss LNO, I decided to make my own butternut squash ravioli. I didn't really use a recipe, just came up with one.
- Roast 1.5 cups butternut squash with olive oil, salt and pepper for 25 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Process 1/8 cup almonds in food processor until chopped fine. Add the roasted squash and 2 leaves of fresh sage.
- Add TB to a corner of a wonton wrapper. Spread water on edges of wonton and fold over and seal.
- saute in oil of choice, adding a sprinkle of cinnamon and 1 tsp fresh sage when done.
- serve hot



I feel I over sauted them and I would have liked some kind of sauce, but it was pretty good.

I served them with another batch of roasted chickpeas, this time roasted with lemon and rosemary from peas and thank you. I didn't like these as much...they were just a bit too tangy. Perhaps I over marinated.

Rounded it off with a salad.

What a feast!

I'm pretty lazy, so it is pretty rare when I make a meal that covers the whole plate.



The kale chips I think I have posted before. Simple toss kale with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast at 400 for about 10 minutes. They come out pretty crispy.

I had a butternut squash that I had bought for soup but never used. Instead I used it to make Fall Quinoa with Roasted Butternut and Onions from The Lively Kitchen. It was pretty good. The onions really make this dish. I was worried that the cinnamon would be overwhelming, but it really wasn't.

The real hit of the meal were the chickpeas. Pumpkin spice roasted chickpeas to be precise. Got these from Peas and Thank You. So good! AND they even destroyed one of my favorite pans (use parchment paper next time) and I am not even made. Can't wait to made these again.

Lasagna

I lent my copy of "Peas and Thank You" to Shannon and she tried and told me about some great recipes that I wouldn't have thought of making otherwise. One of them was the lasagna. Mama Pea makes a great point that lasagna is only as hard as you make it. I did not add and extra veggies, just lazy, and for full disclosure, I used dairy mozzerella and cream cheese, cause I happened to have some, but I did use lentil "meat"balls from the freezer. Again, a good lasagna. This picture isn't so good cause I forgot to take a good one, but you get the idea.

Maple Donuts

I made these for Valentine's Day and you may have heard, I had some "baking powder/baking soda" issues. Other than that, I thought these were great. The donut part has a bit of nutmeg in them. I normally skip the nutmeg, but I grated a little bit of some fresh nutmeg and it was just the right amount. In the frosting, I used about a TB of maple syrup instead of maple extract and didn't use the smoked salt. (as an aside, I looked for smoked salt at TJ's and they didn't have any)

Again, maybe the best donuts yet!

Pumpkin Muffins

One bad thing about the Day School is that you have to bring snack. It ends up being once a month, unless you have two kids, so multiply 1 x 2 = 2 carrying the fact that Andy is actually in 2 classes = 3 times a month. It turned out Andy had to bring snack and I was not prepared. Keep in mind that Andy doesn't really eat anything except crackers. He is also fond of all the "P" foods: pancakes, pizza, and puffins. And it turns out, against all odds, he will eat pumpkin muffins. The good thing about baking from scratch is that you usually have everything you need to make something. I would also argue that with vegan baking you are even more likely to have all the ingredients on hand. Out of eggs and milk? No biggie. I found this recipe in my copy of Vegan with a Vengance.

They turned out great. I am a little concerned with the amount of sugar and oil in them, but that might be because I doubled the recipe. It just seemed like a lot. But, they were delicious!

Pasta and Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

I have a Costco membership. I like it because it saves me money. NOT because I buy things in bulk, but because I buy things in bulk, I make less runs to WalMart and Target. So, I spend less money. One of my finds there (in addition to dates, nuts, oatmeal, maple syrup, and craisens) is a HUGE jar of roasted red peppers for like $4. Super deal, or so I thought. Turns out it is hard to use up an entire jar before they go bar. Also turns out that since this jar is SO HUGE, it is impossible to open. It usually takes both Mark and I working as a team with alternating hot and cold running water, towels, and rubber mitts to get one open. I have one jar left. :( I will not be getting any more. At any rate, I decided to use some leftover peppers to make a sauce. I was originally thinking of making a sauce like my favorite sun dried tomato one, but couldn't really find a recipe. Instead I found a much healthier version without the added creaminess. I tried to find the source, but I made this awhile ago and couldn't located. It was basically to saute one chopped roasted red pepper, shredded carrot, and finely chopped onion in a pan then blend with a bit of water and put on pasta. it was ok. It was about the time I was serving it that I realized I could use my sun dried tomato sauce and just used the peppers. DUH! Next time!

Lentil "meatballs"

This is another one from Peas And Thank You. Truthfully, this is not the kind of recipe I usually go for. It requires you to cook the lentils before you can even make the meatballs. Two steps. Not interested. However, I bought an extra bag of lentils for some reason and Shannon gave them a positive review. Finally tried them right before Christmas. YUM! Very comforting just like regular meatballs. Mark knew they were not real and somehow, so did the kids, but I liked them. For the batch I made before Christmas, I froze half and we had them again this week. Can't wait to make them again!